I saw a Vanilla Extract "kit" in a store 2-3 months ago. All it was, was a clear bottle with 2 Vanilla Beans in it.
The intructions stated that all you had to do was to add alcohol, (Vodka ) and in 2 months you would have Extract.

Since the instructions were so easy I decided to buy an empty bottle, ($1.99) and I already had Beans at home that I bought Wholesale online.

I threw 3-4 split Beans in the Bottle and filled it 3/4 of the way with Vodka. Every 2-3 days I would shake the bottle up. It was stored in our Pantry for almost 3months.

It's got a brownish color to it and I havent tried to use it yet. If this procedure is correct, it would be worth to make it on your own. Beans can be bought for pennies online and Store bought Extract is expensive.

This is how I make extract. I'm in the process of setting up another bath now. It works great.

Yep, I think alot of people here make their own.....you can also make vanilla sugar too

Thanks, I know about the Vanilla Sugar.

Is there a correct ratio to use? How long do you let it set before your able to use it? Mine has been sitting since 12-26-07.

I was told 3 split beans in a 5th of vodka....shake it once a week for 3 months, replacing the beans once during this time.
I have only made the sugar

woah...... i knew i could make vanilla sugar but i didnt know you could make your own vanilla extract.... can someone post exactly what to do? just cut open 3 vanilla beans and put them in a fifth of vodka? is it really that simple?

What does everyone use the vanilla sugar for??

you can also keep adding more vodka once you start using to keep it topped up you can do this till you find that the beans are not strong enough to flavour the extra vodka. This is great if you dont use it that often like hobby bakers who may only use a tsp or 2 at a time.

'Doug' is the one to ask....pm him....I'm sure he'd love to help
He's made the vanilla for quite some time now I believe.

'what exactly is vanilla sugar and how can you make it?

Dragonwarlord was the first one to post a recipe on CC and this is the one I followed. here is a link to his post (none of it lost!!) I have followed this method and love the results.

HTH

http://forum.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-663-vanilla.html+vodka

vanilla sugar is when you take the vanilla bean after using the seeds and putting the empty been in some white sugar. It's good for putting in coffee or on fruit or for anything really if you want a little vanilla flavour.

...yep, you can use it for baking as well