An Attempt to Make Vanilla

I'm not a baker, by any stretch of the word. But,  I do enjoy baking a good batch of chocolate chip baked goods for Scott. And, when I make a batch, I always use a bit more vanilla than is called for in the recipe. Apparently that's ok, because Scott is always asking me to bake his favorite treat.

With that being said, I go through vanilla extract like it's going out of style. And, I don't like the cheap stuff.  I like the stuff that has a scintillating smell and fabulous taste. For those of you who bake, and use vanilla, it's not cheap, especially if you get the good stuff.

Thank goodness for a friend of mine who is obviously outstanding in the kitchen. I found a home made vanilla extract recipe on her blog, and decided to give it a go. If it turns out well, I'll let you know. But, you'll have to wait about 8-12 weeks as that's how long it takes to gather the goods.

The mason jars, all ready to go.

The ingredients: vanilla beans and vodka.

After snipping the beans in half they're submerged in the vodka.

In about 4 weeks I'll check the jars to see if the vodka smell has been replaced by the sweet aroma of vanilla.

(I'm filling the middle jar this afternoon.)

After just one day a beautiful brown hue begins to emerge.

If you're searching for some AMAZING baking recipes I urge you to check out my friends blog. Her stuff looks so yummy, just reading her blog and seeing her pictures makes my mouth water. Here's the link to her blog http://www.lemon-sugar.com/ , check it out!!