I made some vanilla!

I’ve been wanting to do this forever. When I lived in Texas, I was always able to get Mexican vanilla. It spoiled me. Even when I lived in Missouri, I always had Mexican vanilla because my parents always brought it up from Texas. Then I moved to Colorado and Mexican vanilla was around, but not at my grocery store. I feel as if my cooking has suffered a bit because I’ve been using whatever is at the store that looked decent.

I bought a large bottle of vodka and purchased some vanilla beans online and decided to make a batch. I went to Dollar Tree and found these cute glass bottles with a stopper that would be perfect for this and I was thrilled!

I read a variety of blogs with instructions on how to make it, how many beans or the type of liquor used or the type of beans to use, etc.

I purchased Tahitian vanilla beans and Madagascar beans. The Mexican beans were really pricey, so for a first attempt, I was going with the less expensive ones.

If you do not want to make your vanilla with vodka or any alcohol, you can use food grade glycerin.

The Pioneer Woman’s site tells us that we need 6 beans form8 oz of vodka. I followed this ratio.

I used up all of the Madagascar beans but have a few of the Tahitian left. I want to try those with some bourbon. I saw a great blog here. I bet that will make some tasty baked goods.

I like trying to make things on my own. Trying to control the ingredients, minimize chemicals, maybe be sorta kinda maybe healthy. But it’s fun for me. Here is my finished product. They are currently living on the floor of my pantry, behind some CapriSun. I plan on giving them a shake every week or so. I have 2 bottles for me and 2 for my daughter. Cookie baking will never be the same! (Especially if it’s lousy).

My handwringing with a chalk pen is super messy, but it’s ok, it’s for for us 😁

Let the baking begin!