Make It: Homemade Vanilla Extract

Saturday morning is here and it’s a perfectly foggy and quiet morning on the coast, which means we’re planning on a number of creative projects around the house and in the garden. We kicked off this weekend of goodness with a very simple how-to Aleah spotted from Ina Garten. It’s a two-ingredient method for creating your own vanilla extract.

For this extra-simple and sweet project you’ll need just two ingredients and any type of  canning jar. Two vanilla beans and a good vodka are the stars of the show. You can easily splurge on a really deluxe vodka as you don’t need much if you’re making in small batches. We bought a small bottle to fill this little jar.

Step 1: nestle the vanilla beans into the canning jar like so

Step 2: pour the vodka over the top of the beans to the top of the jar

Step 3: close up the jar. That’s it! Easy as pie, right?

Leave the vanilla to marinate for at least a month. The result will be a delightfully flavorful vanilla extract. We’ll post more images in a month when ours is cured!

Photos by Valley & Co.

These little jars of homemade goodness would make great unexpected hostess gift or as holiday or summertime gifts, wouldn’t they? Pair with a tea towel and a note describing what the contents are and your recipient will adore it!