Homemade Vanilla Extract

Keyword: vanilla, vanilla extract

Calories: 926kcal

Gently slice open the top layer of the vanilla bean skin, lengthwise, with a paring knife. Try not to completely slice the pods in half, just enough so you can open them up.
Scrape the vanilla beans out of the vanilla pods with the back (the blunt side) of your knife. Add the scraped vanilla beans to the glass jar by scraping your knife on the interior of the jar. Then add the vanilla pods to the jar. If necessary, trim the height of the beans with kitchen scissors to fit in your glass jar.
Cover the vanilla beans with vodka. Tightly close the lid and give the bottle a little shake.
Place in a cool, dark place such as your pantry. Let sit for at least one month and up to three months and then give it another shake. The longer the vanilla sits, the stronger the flavor will be.

Try out variations of vanilla extract with rum, bourbon or whiskey instead of vodka.
Use 5-6 vanilla pods if you want, it will just take longer for the extract to infuse. But you can always add pods after you’ve scraped them for baking recipes, even if most of the vanilla beans have been used in a recipe, the pods will still add flavor to the extract.
If you use a shorter jar for gifting, cut the scraped vanilla pods in half before adding to the jar.
Ignore the nutritional information for this recipe; it's for the entire jar, which no one would ever consume!!