The holidays are right around the corner and that means baking season has arrived! I bake all year around but starting around October/November the kids and I go all out. We make homemade candies, enough pierogis to last until at least Easter, cookies, pies, we can jams, stock up on homemade hot cocoa mix, and homemade body scrubs and lotions.
With all that baking we go through a lot of vanilla and it can get expensive when you bake a lot. I don’t mind using imitation in a pinch but when I found out how easy it was to make vanilla from scratch, well, I was pretty excited. I can make enough vanilla for a year for the same price as just one months’ worth of vanilla bought from the store.
Ingredients
750 ml Vodka 70 Proof/35% alcohol (you can use rum or bourbon as well)
10 vanilla beans
1 large mason jar (optional)
Directions
Split five beans lengthwise and cut in half the other 5 beans. Place in jar and pour in the vodka. Place in a cool, dark area and shake every few days. It needs to infuse at least two months before you use it, but the longer you let it infuse, the stronger and more awesome the vanilla flavor will taste.
This actually makes a really great homemade gift too. It is something that everyone needs, it has a more intense vanilla flavor and is really cost effective. Just add a pretty scrap of fabric and/or a bow to a little jar of your vanilla and you have a pretty gift for way under 10 bucks.
UrbanFarmingMom 