Homemade Vanilla Extract

Homemade vanilla extract, something I wanted to try and had to share. The credit, however, goes to Sprinkles of Parsley who originally saw the idea on The Italian Dish.

A couple of days before Christmas I found this fabulous post by Sprinkles of Parsley on the Foodbuzz Top 9. What a great little favor to send home with the moms on Christmas Day! But, bottles and vanilla beans were special ordered, if only there were more time...

Where there's a will, there's a way!

Along with all of my other last minute preparations, the search began. Vodka (had it), vanilla beans, and 4 oz glass bottles, how hard could it be?

Well, it was harder then I thought. So, here's a link to the Sprinkles of Parsley post. She has wonderful instructions with beautiful pictures, and all of the links to get everything you'll need.

But as I said before...where there's a will, there's a way!

I found these cute little spice jars with a rubber seal and latch on the clearance table at Wegmans. They were so cute, I had to make them work.

While at Wegmans, I picked up some organic vanilla beans (not the bourbon as suggested) and decided to give it a go.

Cutting the vanilla beans in half and then cutting the halves lengthwise to expose the seeds, I dropped 6 pieces into each jar filled with just under 2/3 cups of vodka (Grey Goose). Sealed the jars, and labeled with the use after date (I gave it 8 weeks to steep). Now, I did find 4 oz plastic bottles with screw on lids at a local craft store (definitely not as cute as the glass ones though), which I also gave to the moms. Reason being, if they like the finished product, the extract can be funneled into the plastic bottle and more vodka can be added to the spice jar with the original vanilla beans to begin steeping a second batch.

For now we wait...

Enjoy!