help with recipe

[pearljammin89]

Every year at thanksgiving my family makes hot apple cider but adds orange and cloves. We do this by baking an orange stuck full of cloves and once it turns black throw it in a pot with the warm apple cider.
I would like to recreate this flavor and I was thinking about using the zest of two oranges baked in the oven plus 1 ounce ground clove and maybe an ounce of cinnamon dissolved in some sugar on the stove then added to apple cider.
does anyone have any tips or ideas? any help would be great maybe using some honey or maple syrup instead of sugar.

 

[JByer323]

I'd make a tincture and add it to the cider instead of just tossing the spices in and hoping you get the levels right.

ETA: Clove is very, very overpowering. 1 ounce is an insane amount in my opinion, as is an ounce of cinnamon.

 

[pearljammin89]

alright thanks I was just kind of throwing numbers out there good to know about the cloves and Cinnamon

 

[MeadWitch]

I'd make a tincture and add it to the cider instead of just tossing the spices in and hoping you get the levels right.

ETA: Clove is very, very overpowering. 1 ounce is an insane amount in my opinion, as is an ounce of cinnamon.

+1 I agree here, spices should be used to add depth, not overpower the taste of the cider. If you measured out an ounce of ground spice and just looked at it, I think use would understand the vast quantity you would have.

I have never heard of baking an orange until black and then simmering it in cider. Sounds interesting. I usually just throw a few big pieces of orange zest studded with a few cloves into the pot, plus a cinnamon stick or two.