Happy Day 3 of DIY gifts! Today’s gift could not be any easier to make and will most likely be something they will receive from anyone else. Pure vanilla is pretty expensive…especially when you double the vanilla in pretty much every recipe like I do. Making your own vanilla isn’t a whole lot cheaper, but it does taste a lot better! The other perk is it takes very little work to make, but on the downside, it does require a little time. There are several recipe’s for making your own vanilla so I took bits from each and decided how I wanted to make mine, but I encourage you to make adaptations and let me know how it turns out!!
Supplies
- 5-7 Vanilla Beans (I bought mine at whole foods, but there are several places to order them online as well)
- 500 mL Vodka
- Glass bottle/mason jar
Instructions
- Cut the beans down the center leaving about 1 cm of the end connected
- Place in a jar or glass bottles
- Add Vodka to the bottle
- Place the lid on the jar and shake gently
- Allow to sit for 4-6 weeks for the alcohol to extract the vanilla from the beans
Notes: You can certainly try a different type of alcohol to make your extract. I made a jar with Whiskey because a few people said that it makes for a more complex vanilla flavor. Now, I’m no Vanilla connoisseur but I like whiskey so I figured I’d give it a try. I also know several people who make theirs with rum so try out different options! The only thing I will say when choosing your alcohol is that it MUST be at least 35% ABV in order for it to extract the vanilla.
