My daughter, Ellen, who lives in Florida, wants to make spiced apple rum cider for Christmas and New Year’s visitors and wanted to know if I could find a recipe for spiced apple rum cider.

That’s kind of like asking if a bear catches salmon in the river. With my collection of cookbooks and my trusty computer, I can find recipes for most anything.

I remember the aroma and the taste of spiced apple rum cider from the time back when I was on a trip to Williamsburg, Va., a long time ago. The hotel had a pot of the warm drink sitting in the lobby so guests could help themselves. It was a pleasing treat at the end of a long, busy day.

There are many recipes with slight variations to make this punch at home. I especially like the ones made in a Crock-Pot, as you can’t do it any easier than that.

You can even make this punch nonalcoholic if you’re entertaining young folks. You just go through the steps and omit the rum. (You can even have it both ways by keeping a bottle of rum next to the pot so you can add some to the glass or mug when you’re serving adults instead.)

Crock Pot Spiced Apple Rum Cider

8 cups of apple cider

1 apple cut crossways into thin slices

1 orange cut the same way

20 cloves

2 cinnamon sticks broken  in half

1 teaspoon allspice

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

2 cups of rum

Optional: 1/2 teaspoon butter on top of each mug when served

Set your Crock-Pot on high and place the ingredients from the apple cider through the brown sugar into it. Give it a good stir, cover and heat it for a couple of hours on the high setting.

If you’re serving adults, add the rum and turn the Crock-Pot setting down to low. Cook for a couple more hours.

Some folks like to add about a half-teaspoon of butter on top of the warm punch when serving in cups or bowls.

You can serve the warm cider punch direct from the Crock-Pots by putting a ladle in the pot and keeping cups or mugs beside the pot. Let guests help themselves, which makes the occasion informal and friendly.

You can use more Crock-Pots if you plan on having a large crowd. Just mix the ingredients the same way for each pot. And remember, if you want to have a nonalcoholic version, just omit the rum and mark the pot so guests can enjoy their treat the way they like it,