Double Strength Vanilla

This is a very simple idea that I've been doing for years. It gives my baked goods just the right amount of boost and a well rounded flavor. The key is not to use inferior ingredients. Buy the best vanilla extract and vanilla beans you can find. Once you've made this double strength vanilla, there will be no going back to the plain kind.

The ingredients:

-1 vanilla bean

-pure vanilla extract

Split your vanilla bean in half, lengthwise.

There is no need to scrape out the seeds.

I tuck the vanilla bean into a small apothecary

jar that will hold the extract.

Pour carefully through a funnel & fill your jar.

Make sure the vanilla bean is submerged.

I like to "cure" this vanilla for a week or 2

before I start using it.

The dark, rich double-strength vanilla.

Places will sell you a "double strength" vanilla, but they're expensive. Doing it yourself at home is much easier and less costly. You don't absolutely need an apothecary jar for this; just stuff the bean into a new jar of extract and voila! For someone that bakes a lot, though, it's good to have a large jar of this on hand. I do advise you to keep this in a cool dark place. Enjoy!

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