Homemade Vanilla Extract

I hope you'll be as surprised as I was to find out that you can make your own vanilla extract...with two ingredients!! All you need is a few vanilla beans and some vodka.

I use small 4oz glass bottles with corks that you can find at the container store. You can find vanilla beans at whole foods, Penzy's etc. For a 4 oz bottle, I usually use 3 beans.

Slice the beans open on one side, scrape out the insides with your knife and put in the bottle. You don't have to get it all but it's good to open up the beans and get some of the goodness out. Put the beans in the bottle too. Fill the rest with vodka and let sit for a week or two. Give the bottle a good shake every couple of days to help the process. It'll eventually turn dark brown and will be yummy and a lot cheaper than the store bought stuff.

**Or, you can put the whole (uncut) beans in a larger bottle, fill with vodka and let sit for a week or so. Vanilla vodka is great for cocktails!