Homemade Vanilla Extract

Pure Vanilla extract consists of 2 things: vodka and vanilla beans. I swear! That’s all that vanilla extract is! Go check the label of the bottle in your cupboard. The number of beans and amount of vodka you need depends on how much vanilla extract you plan on making. Here is my ratio: 2 vanilla beans to every 4 ounces of vodka. The quality of vodka doesn’t matter… cheap is good.

I know that vanilla beans can be expensive. I decided to go with Madagascar vanilla beans from Beanilla and they were a GREAT price! There are many different varieties of vanilla beans so pick the one you want and go for it! I don’t think you can really go wrong! When your beans arrive they should be fragrant, plump, and oily! That is the sign of a good bean.
I used 4 oz. Boston round bottles that I found here.

Follow these super simple instructions…

And then let your Vanilla extract sit in a dark place for approximately 2 months.  About once a week, take each bottle and shake it for about 10 seconds. Then put it back and resist using it until the full 2 months is up.
You can see in my pictures above that the color of the extract will darken over time. You only see my vanillas up to the 5 week mark because they aren’t quite done yet. They will be just in time for Christmas! But I wanted to get a jump on this and share it with all of you so you could possibly squeeze in making these in time to give them as gifts!