i am personally not a huge DIY-er. i am not crafty, as as much as my mom sweetly says “honey you can do it”, i honestly have no desire to be.  if my husband were a part of this conversation, he would tell you the infamous first-year-of-marriage farm table story, where i begged him to let us buy this old farm table for me to refurbish. it sat on our back porch in north carolina for A WHOLE YEAR without being touched. when we moved, we had to throw it off the balcony into a dumpster because of all the wasps nests that had set up shop all over it… ::sheepish grin::
hey, i was busy with other things. like figuring out how to be a wife.

but there is one exception to my not being crafty: vanilla and cinnamon extracts.
i decided earlier this year to try it, probably because that meant i could source and buy cute little bottles and print out these really cool labels for them (being the design nerd that i am, this got me really excited). and aside from the obvious reason that it’s way cheaper, i like that you can control the flavor.

wondering where you might use the lovely-sounding cinnamon extract?
try this glorious, crumbly cinnamon coffee cake.

vanilla extract
makes one cup/8 ounces of extract

ingredients

3-4 vanilla beans

1 cup/8 ounces medium- to high-quality vodka, bourbon, or brandy (**see note below**)

directions

1. clean & dry a small, 8 ounce kerr/mason jar or bottle – set aside.

2. using a sharp knife (if you have one, a bird’s beak paring knife works like a dream) cut the vanilla bean lengthwise down the center, exposing all of the inside but not cutting all the way through the bean. cut in half or into 3 pieces and put into jar or bottle and (using a funnel for a bottle) top with vodka or brandy. make sure the beans are completely submerged in the alcohol. give it a good shake.

3. allow extract to sit for 8 weeks in a cool & dark spot, shaking the jar(s) every few days or so.

cinnamon extract
makes one cup/8 ounces of extract

ingredients

4 cinnamon sticks

1 cup/8 ounces medium- to high-quality vodka

directions

1. clean & dry a small, 8 ounce kerr/mason jar.

2. place cinnamon sticks in jar and pour vodka over the sticks. make sure the sticks are completely submerged in the alcohol. give it a good shake.

3. allow extract to sit for 8 weeks in a cool & dark spot, shaking the jar(s) every few days or so.

notes
– after making a jar, i usually put a post-it note on the outside with the date that i made the extract. then after the 8 week period, i put on a nice sticker label.
– for vanilla extract: using vodka will create a cleaner extract, without much extra flavoring besides the vanilla itself; and using brandy or bourbon will create lots of rich character. (brandy and vodka are my 2 preferred extract alcohols.)
– after the 8 weeks and once you start using your extract, make sure to give the jar a good shake before using each time, to combine and in case anything has settled to the bottom.
– if you want to make more than one 8 ounce bottle, below i’ve done some multiplication for you:
2 cups of extract = 16 ounces = 1 pint = 6 vanilla beans (or 8 cinnamon sticks)
4 cups of extract = 32 ounces = 2 pints = 1 quart = 12 vanilla beans (or 16 cinnamon sticks)
– if you are looking for cute bottles or vanilla beans, beanilla is a great website. also, amazon sells good quality vanilla beans.
– which vanilla bean to use for your extract? if you want bold and smoky, go for a mexican bean. if you are wanting rich and creamy, use madagascar beans. if you want a chocolate-cherry/floral aroma, buy a tahitian bean.
– when you’ve used all of the extract, you can just add 1-2 new fresh vanilla beans (or 1-2 cinnamon sticks) and refill the jar with alcohol, shake, and let sit 8 weeks. how economical is that?!

helpful resources:  joy the baker, spoonforkbacon, and beanilla.