Vanilla Extract Recipe
Taste the difference in homemade frostings, vanilla bean ice cream, cookies, cakes, pies, and other desserts, and make your own vanilla extract! A good quality vanilla extract can be expensive due to the cost of growing the pods on tropical vanilla orchids. Not all extracts are alike. Create this easy recipe at home with concentrated fragrant vanilla flavor to use in baking or gift during the holidays.
Servings: 48
Calories: 547kcal
Equipment
Ingredients
- 12 whole vanilla bean pods
- 8 ounces vodka
Instructions
- Clean and sterilize your jars or bottles.
- Slice each of the 12 vanilla beans down the length but not all the way through using a sharp knife.
- Place the sliced beans into the clean bottle or jar, you can cut them in half with scissors if they don't fit.
- Cover the beans completely submerged with 8 ounces of 80 proof vodka. Shake daily the first week, then rest in a cool dark place at room temperature out of direct sunlight for at least 6 months. You can use it after 2 months, it just gets better with time!
- I like to use a small glass jar, like Mason jars or tall clamp-style glass bottles for a large batch. Its also fun to use labels, and write the date with a sharpie marker.
- Vanilla extract can remain indefinelty as long as you add new vanilla beans and more vodka as you use it in your baking.
Video
Notes
Best Extract Top Tips
- Storage Tips: Once you make your extract, keep it at room temperature, out of direct sunlight in a cool dark spot, and give it a shake once per week.
- Baking Tip: For recipes, measure the same amount of homemade extract as a store-bought brand.
- Holiday Gifting: It is nice to remove the beans so the lucky person you gift it to isn’t responsible for refilling with more alcohol and the beans need to stay submerged. However, if it’s been less than 6 months, I recommend gifting with the beans in the bottle, with a little note explaining to keep them covered with vodka and remove beans at one year mark!
- Sterilize Your Bottle Or Jar: Sterilizing the bottles is always a good idea! Use a container that can be run through the dishwasher or drop them in boiling water to sterilize them before using.
- Shelf Life: Unused aged extract (with the beans fully submerged) will last several years. Aged extract without beans has an endless shelf life. The beans will become a little slimy if they aren’t almost fully submerged.
- Black Specks: Vanilla pods have tiny black seeds inside and those are where the flavor is held. You will see lots of little black seeds in the bottle and in your baked goods too.
Want An Endless Supply?
As you use your extract in recipes, simply add a little more vodka into the bottle, and remove the old beans once a year. Simply add new split bean pods and this will become an endless supply. Take a look at my video for more tips! At the first full year mark, pour the extract through a strainer into a bowl. Discard the old beans, and replace the new sliced open beans in your bottle. Add the aged extract back into the bottle and keep on using it! Add some more vodka as you use it throughout the year.Flavors & Variations
Non Alcohol Extracts - Pure extracts are made from alcohol because it’s the easiest way to pull the flavor out of the key ingredient like spices and herbs. I’ve never made one with a nonalcoholic alternative, but there are some online recipes to try! Various Alcohols To Try: All of these will create different flavor profiles for your baking or cooking. The main rule of thumb for good flavor is to portion at least 1.5 vanilla bean pods in each of the ounces of alcohol you choose. Each of these will add a unique subtle flavor to your cooking and baking!- Bourbon
- Dark Spiced Rum
- Coconut Rum
- Brandy
- Everclear (dilute with distilled water to reduce proof to 80-100 range)
Nutrition
Calories: 547kcal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Fat: 2g | Sodium: 2mg | Potassium: 2mg | Iron: 0.02mg