Christmas in July – Homemade Vanilla Extract
With just under 5 months until Christmas, it might be time to start thinking about gifts for your friends and family. That’s what I was doing about a year ago. I am definitely a big planner and had decided early in 2009 to make as many Christmas gifts as I could. Some of these gifts required quite a bit of time and some were easy to throw together. This week I’ll be sharing the gifts that I gave our family and friends last year.
The first gift came about due to a sale on Amazon. There was a great deal on 1/2 lb of vanilla beans. I started with two bottles of vodka and the vanilla beans. Once the beans were split (but not scraped) and placed in the vodka, the bottles just had to sit in a cool dark place. Every couple of weeks Hubby would pull the vodka out of the closet and shake the crap out of it. A couple months later the vanilla extract was ready to go!
I ordered some bottles online and made some labels for the bottles to finish off the look. I also placed two vanilla beans into each bottle.
I love that the vanilla extract tastes so good, has the specks of fresh vanilla beans, and will essentially never run out. If the vanilla starts running low, you can just top it off with some more vodka. As you use vanilla beans, just throw the pods in the bottle to replenish the vanilla flavor.
One Year Ago: Goat Cheese Potato Salad and Salmon with Yellow Pepper and Cilantro Pesto
Two Years Ago: Champagne Cupcakes
I am Jen the Beantown Baker. Engineer by day and baking maven by night. Hubby serves as my #1 fan and official taste tester. We got hitched back in 2006. Barefoot. In the sand. With the waves crashing behind us. It was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. 
Wow! THey turned out great! 🙂
Oh I love the idea of using condensed milk. I was trying to figure out how I could use these for holiday tins with the need for refrigeration, and this is the answer!
I have seen these pop up on a few blogs, and I am dying to make them!!
Neat way to make candies from cookie…they look divine.
Hi! I just found that you linked to me. These truffles are always a huge hit. I am so pleased to hear you enjoyed these… Especially from a fellow Bostonian!
lol. did you know that chocolate was banned in switzerland for many years. read this
I made batches and batches of these last year – I absolutely love the idea of the condensed milk, so they don’t have to be refrigerated. I’ll have to try that!
I can not wait to try these! I’m not so good at baking though. Can you give me a tip on how best to dip them in the chocolate? Should I put them on a spoon? Help!
How much 1 pack oreo?
24 oreo or 36 oreo?
Thank you.