Vanilla Extract

McHubby and I went to French Polynesia (Moorea, Bora Bora, and Tahiti) for our honeymoon. While we were there, I bought some Tahitian vanilla beans and later used them to make this extract. It’s a sweet reminder of our vacation every time I use it!

Source: Vanilla Extract, The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook

Ingredients
12 vanilla beans
1 bottle vodka

Directions
Combine the vanilla beans and vodka in a jar tall enough to hold the vanilla beans. Allow the mixture to sit at room temperature for at least a month until the vodka becomes vanilla extract and the beans are soft enough to cut the end and squeeze the seeds out. Add more vanilla or beans, as needed. The extract can sit at room temperature indefinitely.