A recipe for Christmas stove top potpourri, using seasonal ingredients, that will have your home smelling cozy and sweet all winter long, especially around Christmas!
Aw, its officially time to start thinking of Christmas and shamelessly listening to the Pandora Christmas station all day long (been guilty of this for a few weeks now). This is truly the most wonderful time of year!
One of my favorite things to do to get me in the Christmas mood is to make a delicious stove top potpourri. I’ll usually have this simmering on the stove while I cook and clean throughout the day, definitely while I get out our Christmas decor, and especially on the mornings of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
If you have never made a stove top potpourri before, you are missing out! They are so easy to throw together, and really do make your entire home smell amazing. My favorite thing about simmering a stove top potpourri is how strong they are and how well the aroma can go about the whole house.
If you don’t have all of the ingredients on hand, do not worry. These kinds of recipes are very versatile and you can really just use whatever you have. Citrus fruits, especially orange for the winter time work great. Any kind of warm and cozy spices. You could even throw in a branch or two of pine (that’s been cut up).
Christmas Stove Top Potpourri Gift Ideas
In addition, you can just as easily make this entire recipe into a gift for friends and family. What a great hostess gift it could be! You can either put all of the ingredients fresh and whole into a gift basket, or you can dry the fruits and combine them with the spices in a jar.
Jot down the recipe on a simple gift tag, and wow your loved ones with this sweet and yummy smelling gift. Tie a ribbon on your jar or basket, make sure it has a name and recipe tag, and you’ll be set.
If you are not familiar at all with stove top potpourris, read along for a little background on them, and how to get the most out of this Christmas stove top potpourri!
What is stove top potpourri?
Stove top potpourris are just what they sound like! Potpourri usually refers to a mixture of things (most often dried petals and spices) that are placed in a bowl of water or a small sack to act as a perfume. Stove top potpourris act in the same way, but the the mixture is heated in water in a pot on the stove.
When the mixture is heated the perfumes from the ingredients waft into the air and can make your whole home smell wonderful. The heat helps the ingredients in the potpourri to break down and gives it a stronger smell.
Ingredients for stove top potpourri
Of course, this stove top potpourri recipe is very versatile and can be adjusted throughout the seasons. Lemons and mint in the spring and summer or apples, cinnamon, and cloves in the fall. Just use what you have!
If you have any fruit that is going bad and you don’t feel inclined to eat it any longer, throw it in a pot on the stove and you’ll have a delicious potpourri in no time. This particular recipe is perfect for winter and especially Christmas! Pomegranates come into season in fall and last almost all through winter. Cinnamon and cloves are iconic winter and Christmas spices, and the rest of the ingredients bring it all together and finish it off.
When to use stove top potpourri
Because your stove top potpourri will need to simmer throughout the day, you’ll want to do it on a day when you will be home. You can throw it together in the morning and have it simmering all day long. Be sure to check your mixture every few hours, as the water will evaporate and you may need to add more water throughout the day.
You can use the same mixture for up to four days! It won’t look as pretty by the end, but it will still smell wonderful. Each morning just add more water to your pot until all of the ingredients are covered, and continue to simmer. This would be especially wonderful to have simmering if you are having guests over, and all throughout the holidays, ding ding, Christmas morning!
Christmas Stove Top Potpourri Recipe
Directions:
Place all ingredients in a pot, cover with water, and simmer on low on your stove. Cover with more water as needed.
Ingredients:
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1 pomemgranate, quartered
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1 orange, sliced
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1 1/2 cups cranberries
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1 Tbsp. vanilla
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2 rosemary sprigs
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3 cinnamon sticks
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2 tsp. nutmeg
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3 tsp. ground cloves
I have let mine simmer on our stove 3-4 days at a time. Simply turn your burner on in the morning and let it cook throughout the day while you are home.
Have you ever made stove top potpourri before? Do you have one simmering on Christmas day? Tell us about it in the comments below.
Enjoy!
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