Homemade Vanilla Extract

This is a quick-and-easy homemade gift that your friends and family will rave about.

Prep Time 10

Use the best quality vanilla beans you can find - split the beans along the long edge to reveal the seeds inside.
Add beans to a sterilized mason jar and add the high-proof alcohol of your choice. Our favorites are vodka and bourbon, but you can use rum, or brandy, as you please.
Cover with a lid and store in a cool dark place for as long as possible (a full year or more is best - vanilla extract never expires and only gets better with age.
When you are ready to bottle your vanilla, there is no need to discard the beans, cut them to fit each bottle and the flavor will continue to develop and it adds a nice touch to the bottled extract.
We continue to top off our kitchen bottle with the alcohol used for the extract - as long as the beans have more flavor to yield.
If you prefer, however, you can remove the vanilla beans and make a second batch of extract with them instead of topping off your bottle.