If you bake much, you know that vanilla extract can disappear pretty quickly around the kitchen. You use it in cakes, cookies, morning pastries, and even ice cream. So now instead of rushing out to the store mid-recipe, we're determined to start making our very own.
It's such an easy process to make your own vanilla extract, that in this season of canning and pickling, we thought we'd get a head start and make extracts as well. The recipes is as easy as soaking whole vanilla beans in vodka or another neutral flavored alcohol. So simple!
The only consideration that draws this fruitful DIY project out is time: the extract gets much stronger and more flavorful the longer you allow the vanilla beans to soak in the alcohol. Most recipes advise at least 4 weeks. So this is not a project you can begin the moment you need vanilla extract; it's a project you begin when you think of it (now!) and then in a few weeks time you find yourself pleasantly surprised by your efforts.
Get a recipe: Vanilla Extract from Zoe Bakes
Related: Making the Most of Vanilla Beans: Have you Tried This Tip?
(Image: Zoe Bakes)
How to Make Easy 3-Ingredient Energy Bars at Home
How To Cook Tender, Chewy Wheat Berries on the Stovetop
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Straw Mat from The ...
Find Your Style: 20 Classic to Contemporary Kitchens to Add to Your Inspiration Board
Beth's Romantic & Retro Residence
I've done this successfully, and should do it again because my last bottle is getting empty! When I did this (2 years ago?) I bought quite a lot of vanilla beans vacuum packed from ebay - the price was much better. I think I used half vodka & half rum to make it, and it was fantastic. Start now for Christmas gifts for foodies you know!
I've wanted to do this for a while, so thanks for the reminder.
I'd actually like to try this with a non-neutral spirit like rum. I'm not too ashamed to admit that there's already plenty of that in this house.
I love the extra warmth from rum.
I'm a pretty avid baker, so my husband made me a big bottle of homemade vanilla extract. He bought the beans in bulk and then used Skyy vodka. We tasted it after four weeks and thought it could use a little more time, so we're anxiously waiting! I love that it can be kept indefinitely and continuously added to with used pods, and I'm sure it only gets better with time!
I've been making my own vanilla extract for years.
I use 4 plump vanilla beans for 250ml vodka and let it sit in a dark corner of my larder. After about two months I start filling some of it into a smaller container and top up the vodka again.Obviously the vanilla extract gets a little less concentrated over the months, but it's still much more flavourful than what is being sold in supermarkets.
I make a new batch about once a year.
I've been doing this for years as well. A few considerations:
#1 - If you use Vodka, a cheap one will suffice. I look for sales on Smirnoff and use for this purpose. For an interesting twist, consider the flavored versions, but I usually roll with the plane Red label.
#2 - Scrape out the vanilla "caviar" and put into alcohol + the cut beans and let age. Don't touch for AT LEAST 4mos. TRUST ME. The most you should do is shake it once a week for the first 4 and maybe sneak in a few smells. ;)
#3 - You cannot go wrong with adding 2-3 more beans than whatever recipe that you find calls for.
#4 - Have fun, be patient and DO NOT over think this. :)
**I could talk vanilla extract for days, but I'll spare the masses. Haha.
We made vanilla extract a couple of years ago to give as Christmas presents. We used this tutorial and like Leeanns we used bulk beans from ebay and big bottles of Skyy vodka from Costco. We kept it in the closet for six months and then filtered it through a super-fine mesh reusable coffee filter (paper filters were really slow.) We put them in little bottles with our own labels and they were a big hit with our friends and family. We also ended up with enough left over to last us a few years.
I do this. It makes a huge, beautiful difference in baked goods, plus the boozy beans make great fodder for culinary experimentation.
Home-made vanilla extract is the best! Does anyone know how to make other extracts (almond, lemon, etc.)? Would it be the same process of soaking the ingredient in vodka/rum for a few months?