Making your own vanilla extract might seem silly, but it is one of the most practical things to make yourself.  When you bake often, you go through a lot of vanilla.  Pure, high quality vanilla is expensive.  I would go through a bottle almost every other week.  When I saw that how easy it was to make my own vanilla, I decided that I would try it out.  I found a nice bottle, bought some vanilla beans in bulk, a bottle of vodka, and invested about 10 minutes of my time.  I started my bottle … [Read more...]