Photo: Bertha Herrera, El Universal

The cold weather in the East Coast have us craving some warm beverages. Our CEO’s grandmother prepares this super yummy beverage called Calientitos, a fruit punch commonly prepared during the Winter season in Mexico. It’s the perfect beverage for cold nights –sweet, delicious and warm.

The aroma of this punch while is simmers on the kitchen stove is hypnotizing. Your guests won’t be able to resist the blend of exotic fruits, cinnamon, and sugarcane in this punch and is the perfect drink to serve after any feast. A touch of brandy is optional but highly recommended. Don’t forget to set some aside for the children; they will love digging into the cup to get to the sweet fruit. Try it and you will love it just as much as we do!

This recipe yields about 10 liters

• 10 small apples cut in quarters
• 10-12 guavas cut in half
• 20-25 tejocotes cut in half
• 3 pieces of tamarind pods, shell removed
• 1-2 sugar canes (ask for them to be cut in to pieces, each will give you approximately 5-6 pieces of (20 cm or 8 in) each
• 7-10 pitted prunes, chopped
• 2 handfuls of dry hibiscus
• 5 large sticks of cinnamon
• 3 pilloncillos (if you want it to be sweet)
• water
• Brandy (optional)

Fill a large pot (needs to hold about 4 gallons), with water, add peeled tamarind pots, and hibiscus tea. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Then, remove from stove and strain out the hibiscus flower and tamarind. You should be left with a burgundy color liquid. Add the water back to the pot and set on stove.
Add the rest of the ingredients into the pot. Cover pot and let simmer for 30-45 minutes or until the fruit is tender and the piloncillo has dissolved. Stir very well to make sure the flavors and sugars combine.
The longer the punch sits, the more the flavors will infuse and deepen. Serve warm.

If you are using Brandy, wait until it is time to serve the punch and add Brandy to each individual serving.

Notes: You can use brown sugar (about 3 lbs) is you can not obtain piloncillo at your grocery store but I highly recommend you use piloncillo. It gives it a warm, caramelized, earthy flavor!