Homemade Vanilla Extract
Get a head start on your holiday baking and gifting with Homemade Vanilla Extract! It comes together in five minutes and is ready to use in two months, improving as it ages.
Servings: 2 8 oz. bottles
Equipment
- Swing Top Glass Bottles
- funnel
Ingredients
- Grade B Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla Beans 5 – 6 beans per 8 oz. bottle
- Mid-range name brand vodka like Smirnoff, 8 oz. per bottle
Instructions
- Split your beans with a knife or cut with kitchen shears so the vanilla caviar / seeds are exposed. Make sure to add any seeds / caviar stuck to knife or scissors to your jars.
- Place your beans in your jars and add the vodka to cover completely; cut beans as necessary so they’re completely submerged.
- When your beans are completely covered, close your jars and give them a shake.
- Store your vanilla at room temperature and out of direct sunlight. Shake a couple of times a week initially or once a day if you can remember as the seeds will settle to the bottom.
- Vanilla will be ready to use for baking or gifting after two months, but the longer the vanilla steeps, the better the flavor.
Notes
- Alternatively, you can steep your beans in a large mason jar. Add 10 – 12 beans to a jar, cover with 16 oz. vodka. Cut the beans down to size so they’re completely submerged in the vodka. After two months, use a funnel to transfer vanilla to gift bottles.
- As you use your vanilla, top off your bottle with more vodka and give it a shake. Unused aged vanilla extract (with the beans fully submerged) will last several years. Once you begin using the vanilla and adding more alcohol after each use, the beans will eventually need to be replaced. Remove the old beans, add fresh ones, shake, and continue to use/refill. Aged extract, without beans, will last indefinitely.
- Vanilla extract is most commonly made with vodka, but you can also use bourbon, rum or brandy.