By Jessica Schoner, Interactive Media Coordinator, Goodwill Industries of Southeastern Wisconsin & Metropolitan Chicago
We love homemade gifts at Goodwill! The time put into them, whether it is minutes or hours, adds a little something special to the gift itself.
Homemade vanilla is easy to make, but does require a bit of patience. If you don’t have enough time to get your vanilla done for this Christmas, consider gifting it for a Mother’s Day gift, or even next Christmas!
The instructions below will make one jar/gift worth of vanilla extract. Simply double, triple, or quadruple the amount of each supply in order to gift more vanilla!
From Goodwill:
From the grocery store:
Make It
Split each vanilla bean in half lengthwise (chop it in pieces, if necessary to fit into the jar). Place the vanilla beans into the jar, and pour the 8 ounces of alcohol in so that the beans are completely submerged. Cover the jar or place the lid on top and shake up the bottle.
Store the jar in a cool, dark place for at least one month. Throughout the month, shake the jar to make sure the flavors continue infusing.
After a month, you can choose to strain the vanilla pods out, but we think they add a really nice “homemade” touch when left in!