Vanilla extract

As of yesterday I have some 60 oz. of homemade vanilla extract! Back in May, I bought Madagascar vanilla beans on E-bay. I bought a pint of rum, a pint of brandy and a pint of vodka, and three glass jars that cork.

Once you have the materials, this process is very easy. Each pint of liquor needs six vanilla beans. Cut the bottom three inches of each bean in half as shown, place the beans in the jar, fill the jar with liquor, cork it, and you're done!

It takes about two months or so for the liquor to extract all of the flavor from the beans, but the shelf life is forever. And from what I understand, when it gets low you can just pour in more liquor and it will extract all over again (I have a hard time believing this though. isn't there only so much vanilla in there

to extract?)

Here is what those bottles look like after sitting for a couple of months.

I have a lot of leftover Madagascar beans, and I think it'd be a good idea to make more of this stuff. What a great gift! And you could just have it laying around, ready for whenever, with some curled up ribbons tied to the handles.

That's neither here nor there though. For now I'm most excited about making my special cookies!