Homemade Vanilla Extract ššŖš„ 200 Days Until Christmas!
- Mary Draper
- 3 days ago
- 2 min read
This is Episode 2 of our Countdown to Christmas series, where I share a Christmas-themed recipe every 50 days until Christmas
Today's recipe is one of my favourite ways to prepare for holiday baking (or holiday gifting!): homemade vanilla extract
If you start it today, it'll have plenty of time to mature before Christmas cookie season arrives. Or you can pour it into cute little jars for gifting to friends & family. Either way, future you will thank you!
Homemade Vanilla Extract
Ingredients
ā¢10 vanilla beans
ā¢2 cups high-proof gluten-free alcohol of choice (vodka is traditional, but bourbon or rum are also great choices)
ā¢500mL glass bottle
Notes: I purchased my vanilla beans at Costco, but there are also some great online sources
Vodka is the traditional choice for its neutral flavour, but you can experiment with different flavours by using rum, tequila, or another gluten-free spirit. For this batch, I'm using a dark Venezuelan rum that was gifted to my husband by a friend as a thank-you. He's been saving it for a special occasion, and thought homemade vanilla for Christmas baking was the perfect reason to finally open it, and I think it'll add something extra special to our holiday baking.
Instructions
Split vanilla beans lengthwise
Place beans in a clean glass bottle
Cover completely with alcohol
Store in a cool, dark place
Shake occasionally
Allow to mature for several months before using
Use it in all your holiday bakingāor pour it into small bottles and gift it to friends and family at Christmas
š Episode 1 Recap
For our 250 Days Until Christmas recipe, we combined classic Christmas Crack with the viral chocolate chip hack by using gluten-free Pringle-style chips instead of crackers.
It was a huge hit!
Important:Ā Pringles themselves are notĀ gluten-free. If you'd like to make that recipe, check the description on the previous video for recommended gluten-free alternatives
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