By Wendy

With most baking recipes, cakes, cookies or cupcakes, there’s always a need for vanilla extract. And if you’re an avid baker, that little bottle you buy at the store runs out pretty quickly. So instead of finding yourself in mid-baking mode without your much needed vanilla extract, why not make a homemade batch in your own kitchen. All you need is a few ingredients and less than 5 minutes. The hard part will be waiting to taste the homemade goodness.

Making your own vanilla extract is definitely less expensive than purchasing a bottle at the supermarket. You can also spice up your homemade vanilla extract by customizing it with other flavors of vodka. You’ll be pleasantly surprised at the intense flavors you’ll get from soaking your own vanilla beans in your choice of alcohol. And it’s eco-friendly!

 

What you need:

4 ounces of vodka

1 vanilla bean split down the middle

What to do:

Put ingredients in a bottle and seal for 4 to 8 weeks

Note: the longer you let the vanilla beans soak in the alcohol, the stronger the flavor.

 

If you’re new to DIY projects, this would be an easy one to start with. And it makes a great gift for your fellow bakers. Can’t wait to taste my very own homemade vanilla extract. Only a few more weeks to go!

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Wendy Yu is a digital marketing professional living in New York City. When she’s not using the power of social media to share ideas on how to be more environmentally friendly, she is exploring the city, trying local foods, and learning more about how she can reduce her carbon footprint.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of Green Halloween® or our partners.

This entry was posted on Friday, July 13th, 2012 at 6:30 am and is filed under Everyday Green, Food (general), Recipes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.