Making your own Vanilla

So in my crunchy quest of hippieness (wow, what a mouthful), I've become better at this "from scratch" way of life. My latest endeavor has been to make my own vanilla extract. I've gotten real good at baking and vanilla is probably my favorite ingredient ever. So here's what your gonna need:

Some vanilla beans. I got some fair trade ones from a co-op, these in particular are bourbon vanilla beans:

The rule of thumb is one bean for every 1/3 of a cup. The jar we're using is 1 cup, so I used 3 beans. I cut mine in half so they could fit in the small jar I was using. Then you wanna split them lengthwise so all the yummies can seep out :)

Then, just throw them in your chosen container.

Next, you'll need some alcohol. I've heard some people swear by rum. But I'm cuban, rum is made for drinks lol. So I decided on a 100 proof vodka as my alcohol of choice.

Yea, obviously a container that big is not gonna be used solely for the use of making yummy extracts ;) Anyways, you fill up your container that has your beans (and a glass with ice if you're hardcore like that). 

Mmmm! Wait... one more.

Oh yea! Then you throw the lid on and give it a good shake. You should see little yummy pieces of vanilla happily floating around in their sea of delicious drunkenness. Store it in a cool, dry, dark spot for about 6-8 weeks. Make sure to give it a good shake every now and again.

This jar in particular is going to be a gift, so I added a pretty fabric swatch for good measure.

HAPPY BAKING!