Homemade Vanilla Extract

Ingredients

• a few vanilla bean skins (you can scrape the little beans/specks out of them first and use that in another recipe, like pudding, or if you're impatient like me, you can just use the whole thing) Can buy online
• cheap vodka (enough to cover the beans)
• a jar (I use glass for everything. A 1/2 pint mason works well for this.)

Cut up the beans so that they fit nicely into the bottom of your jar. Cover with vodka. Tightly cover and store in a dark place for at least 3 weeks (the longer the better). Shake/turn the jar every few days so that the beans evenly infuse into the vodka. When your extract reaches a nice carmel color and smells like vanilla, it's ready!! Strain out the vanilla bean particles and pour your finished product into a container to be used and enjoyed! I used an old essential oil bottle for mine and added a cute label. It's not a science...so play around with it! You can keep adding beans and vodka to the mix, as you use it, or start over each time.

Source

Other Recipes:

• In The Homemade Pantry
• The Kitchn