Quick story: I absolutely love to bake, but I recently ran out of every baker’s go-to item: vanilla extract. So, I went to the local farmer’s market (also known as my heaven) to pick some up. Of course I picked up a bottle of pure extract, but it cost $7.00 for 4oz!
When I got home, I did a bit of research, purchased vanilla beans online, bought some 4oz glass bottles, and lots of vodka. Turns out making vanilla extract is very simple, and makes a fantastic gift too!
Here is a brief how-to for those out there that would like to save a little money on their extract. I made a bunch because I figured it would make great holiday or birthday gifts for all the bakers in my life.
Homemade Vanilla Extract
makes 24 bottles
Ingredients
-1/2 lb of vanilla beans (you’re going to have a bit left over, I gave mine to friends, but you can make homemade vanilla vodka with them if you like!)
-slightly more than 96 oz of Vodka
-24 4oz glass bottles
Directions
-Cut your vanilla beans in half, and then make a slice down the center to expose the yummy “caviar” inside.
-Insert beans (don’t take the caviar out) into your bottle. I added 3 half beans per bottle.
-Fill bottle with vodka
-Give it a good shake
Now, is the hard part…waiting. You’re going to have to wait about 8 weeks for it to become a true extract. Every week, just give your bottles a good shake.
Note
Do your research on the vanilla beans, otherwise you can end up spending a pretty penny. Also, make sure they are fresh and preferably vacuum sealed. Otherwise, the caviar inside is completely dried up and it won’t be as potent.
Maybe I’m a cheapskate, but I would much rather spend around $1.50 versus $7.00 on a 4oz bottle of pure vanilla extract. Plus, as an added bonus, people are really impressed that you made it yourself!
Enjoy!
From the monthly archives: "May 2011"
Quick story: I absolutely love to bake, but I recently ran out of every baker’s go-to item: vanilla extract. So, I went to the local farmer’s market (also known as my heaven) to pick some up. Of course I picked up a bottle of pure extract, but it cost $7.00 for 4oz!
When I got home, I did a bit of research, purchased vanilla beans online, bought some 4oz glass bottles, and lots of vodka. Turns out making vanilla extract is very simple, and makes a fantastic gift too!
Here is a brief how-to for those out there that would like to save a little money on their extract. I made a bunch because I figured it would make great holiday or birthday gifts for all the bakers in my life.
Homemade Vanilla Extract
makes 24 bottles
Ingredients
-1/2 lb of vanilla beans (you’re going to have a bit left over, I gave mine to friends, but you can make homemade vanilla vodka with them if you like!)
-slightly more than 96 oz of Vodka
-24 4oz glass bottles
Directions
-Cut your vanilla beans in half, and then make a slice down the center to expose the yummy “caviar” inside.
-Insert beans (don’t take the caviar out) into your bottle. I added 3 half beans per bottle.
-Fill bottle with vodka
-Give it a good shake
Now, is the hard part…waiting. You’re going to have to wait about 8 weeks for it to become a true extract. Every week, just give your bottles a good shake.
Note
Do your research on the vanilla beans, otherwise you can end up spending a pretty penny. Also, make sure they are fresh and preferably vacuum sealed. Otherwise, the caviar inside is completely dried up and it won’t be as potent.
Maybe I’m a cheapskate, but I would much rather spend around $1.50 versus $7.00 on a 4oz bottle of pure vanilla extract. Plus, as an added bonus, people are really impressed that you made it yourself!
Enjoy!
So, I read. A lot. I am usually reading about 2-3 books at a time. I like to think I constantly channel my inner Rory Gilmore (for the record, I am a HUGE Gilmore Girls fan).
Here is my current reading list, and of course, I would always LOVE suggestions!
1. The Contortionist’s Handbook by Craig Clevenger
This book got the thumbs up from Chuck Palahniuk, and that’s all I really needed to know.
2. Motley Crue: The Dirt- Confessions of the World’s Most Notorious Rockband
This little gem rocks (haha) literally. Some of the things I have read have made me want to take bleach to my brain, but then I realize that would probably be bad so I think about cupcakes and princesses and the world goes back to normal.
3. Bossypants by Tina Fey
In my opinion, Tina Fey can do no wrong , so even though I am only on page 10 50, this is the book I am most excited about reading.
Sidenote: I am slowly starting a collection of Penguin Classic Hardcover books (like the photo above), and I totally geek out at the thought of having them all! So far I have 11 and I’ll post pictures of my books soon (I have quite a few!)
Oh, the rainbow cupcake. There is nothing more in this world that I love more than rainbows and baked goods. The combination of the two is almost more than I can bear. With that in mind, I decided it was time to begin my rainbow food journey. 1st stop: layered colored cupcakes.
Rainbow Batter=Yum
So, I’m pretty proud of my 1st attempt. The layering was a little tedius, but not too bad at all. I even had one cupcake that looked like I had layered a heart on it, so I didn’t add any more to that one. I imagine that would be a bad omen.
See the yellow and blue one? That’s the heart.
I may or may not have filled the cups too high, and they may or may not have turned out with little muffin tops, but that’s embarrassing and I want you to think the very best of me, so I won’t show that picture (protip: it’s on the Flickr if you really want to see my fail).
Doesn’t it kind of look like a psychedelic flower?
At this point, it didn’t really matter how good they looked because they tasted wonderful. I grabbed a basic vanilla bean recipe off FoodGawker, and I think I’ll stick with that from now on.
You observant people out there must have noticed the lack of icing. Well, not to worry, I added a buttercream frosting that was a tad too sweet for my taste. I am actually still in search for the perfect cupcake icing and welcome any and all suggestions.
And there ya go!
