The Story:
I am always looking for ways to make my baking a little more special. What is more special than homemade vanilla extract? Plus, it is incredibly easy! So while I was off at college, I emailed my mother the instructions, she ordered bottles and she got this stuff brewing!
Ingredients:
8 oz bottle
8 oz cheap vodka
3 vanilla beans
Directions:
1. Split or cut vanilla beans lengthwise.
2. Place beans in 8 oz bottles.
3. Fill bottles with vodka.
4. Place in a cool, dark place for 2 months and shake occasionally. They will darken over time.
We ordered Madagascar vanilla beans and bottles online. We filled about 20 bottles, tied raffia bows and gave them away as gifts.
I love making homemade vanilla extract. And when you start to run out all you have to do is refill and wait again!
vodka? i didnt know that!
I have a batch brewing right now. Where did your find the bottles?
This is a really cool idea! I use a lot of Vanilla because I limit my sugar. I even add it to my morning coffee for a treat! Thanks:)
I make homemade vanilla every year for Christmas gifts! If you add a little simple syrup to the bottle it "extracts" faster and tastes more like the store-bought stuff. BTW, not sure where you got your vanilla beans but you can order them really really cheap from ebay. I make up a handle of vodka in the summer so it's perfect by Christmastime! Love your blog; your pictures and recipes are AMAZING!
Hi Ladies,
For those of you who have made the vanilla extract before can you tell me if you have seen little white things floating around……….I’m not sure what it is and it’s kind of got me wanting to throw it away and try a new batch.
thanks
What a brilliant idea! Thanks for sharing!
I'm not sure if I would add the simple syrup it takes away some of the purity in the extract. Just my opinion.
Love the bottles, too! From where did your mom order them?
http://www.specialtybottle.com/
The website is SO cool and they are based out of Washington state, just drive there because shipping is half the cost.
what was the capacity of your bottles?
i saw 20 vanilla beans for £9.00
My bottles were 8 oz
I make vanilla sugar but it never occurred to me to make vanilla extract. Thank you!!! New follower here!
This really made my day. It's very hard to find decent vanilla extract where I live. It's all chemical stuff. So thanks for the tip! Love your cupcakes too.
Where do you buy vanilla beans from?
Costco had some, so we bought some there, and also online. There a tons of companies that will sell beans online. Good luck!
Where I live it’s very difficult to buy Vanilla extract, unless you want to buy online and pay expensive postage. So I am really please to see an easy recipe like this. Thanks!
I ordered my vanilla beans from ebay from http://stores.ebay.com/Vanilla-Products-USA They threw in a free sample of vanilla beans which was cool. I am going to make vanilla sugar and vanilla extract. Great post! Thanks much
Hi. I’m new to your blog and loving all the cakes!!! I do have one questions. Once this is made, how long does it last? I want to get an early start on Christmas presents and this would be so fun and unique! Thanks for sharing and everyone’s thoughts!
It’s just like normal vanilla extract. So it should last years
Good luck!
Glad to see others interested in making vanilla extract. I have a few tips at my site. We’ve had readers do taste tests between “cheap” (plastic bottled) vodka and a decent brands. The better brands fared better, but that doesn’t mean expensive. A decent Smirnoff or otherwise should only be around $10-12 for 750ml. Good article – thanks.
Love this! Vanilla beans cost $17.00 for 3 here. I had no idea I could order them online or get them from E-Bay at a lower price so I will be checking into that definitely. I bought 100% pure vanilla extract and it had corn syrup in it, just like the fake vanilla extract. How can it be 100% vanilla if it has corn syrup? I so want to make my own and now, thanks to you, I can!
HI! I just got my first start at making vanilla, I’m really excited about tasteing the first batch! I read that when it starts to run out that you just refill the bottle. Does that mean that I just add more vodka to the already used beans or do I need to add new beans as well? And is there anything I can use the used beans for if I have to add new beans each time?
You can add both! You can just leave the old beans in the bottle, or I dry mine and then throw them into my sugar container. It makes a nice vanilla sugar.
Crazy, I can smell the vanilla by just staring at your pics.
What is vanilla sugar and what do you use it for?
Vanilla sugar is just sugar that has been infused with the aroma of vanilla. You can bake or do anything with it that you would with normal sugar. It smells amazing!
What vodka did you use?
I used the cheapest vodka I could find
Hey this sounds like a great idea. I’m trying to figure out how 3 vanilla beas gets spread out over 8 bottles evenly. In your photo it looks like a few beans in each bottle. Does Madagascar beans come rally long and we just slice them up? Maybe you can shed some light? Sort of late for this Christmas, but great for gift baskets all year long! Thanks…… Want to hear the answer to my question.
Cher
one bottle, with 3 beans in the one bottle. I sliced mine in half, so it looks like there are more beans.
Lizzie, I’ve been making a large batch for 7 weeks. In the large bottle it smells amazing and is a nice dark color. When I poured it into the smaller bottles, all I could smell was the vodka!!! Thoughts????
That’s strange, but the beans really do need to sit for a while, I just leave my beans in my small bottles when I give them out as gifts.
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