Today is my personal holiday – my vanilla is ready.  This is a major event because it takes three months for vanilla to be ready, and this girl has no patience. I’ll be able to get through the summer with this vanilla, but what today also means is that I need to start a new batch to get ready for Thanksgiving and holiday hostess gifts.

For those of you who have promised to make pie this Thanksgiving, it’s time to get your vanilla started.  Why you ask?  Because making your own vanilla is the secret to making your baked goods just that much better.  I have been making my own vanilla for years now and will never go back.

You only need a few things to accomplish this:  a jar, vodka and whole vanilla beans.  That’s it!  My husband is about to padlock the vodka because rather than drink it, I deplete it by peppering the liquor cabinet and just about any other cabinet with bottles of vanilla in progress.

The liquor cabinet of a baker

Why wouldn’t you put vanilla in the wine cabinet?

If you are interested in trying out homemade vanilla, this is a good time to get it going.  Homemade vanilla also makes a great hostess gift over the holidays (or anytime!), so you can get some extra bottles brewing to have on hand.  You’ll be so happy this winter when you don’t have to fret over what to give a teacher or a friend!  You can purchase great bottles at a local craft store, or you can just use a mason jar to keep things simple. I posted about this years ago when I first discovered this life changing secret, and you can find the instructions here.

Trust me, you’ll thank me in three months!