I've written about making vanilla extract and my special gluten-free flour before, but I think I have some new readers who might now know about it, so let's do it all over again before I talk about my Great Cookie Plan of 2025 based on comments from last week's post.
My husband has celiac disease and is very sensitive to cross contamination. Because I didn't realize that the vanilla extract I was using was not labelled gluten free and I glutened my husband once and the stuff that was labelled gluten free was super expensive, I started making my own.
Ingredients: Gluten free vodka and vanilla beans
Basically you just split the beans and put them in the vodka. Let that marinate for 6-8 weeks (or longer - the longer the better, so if you have it in there for a year, so much the better) in the darkest recesses of your pantry.
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| (I have been using Tito's because it's labelled gluten free. I have recently read a couple of concerning things about them supporting Republican candidates, but it doesn't actually look too bad on OpenSecrets.) |
The on the left is just poured. The one on the right has been hiding in my pantry for a few months.
Someone asked me how much vanilla I need and I'm going to be honest with you, I use one of these bottles every few months. I bake a lot of cookies and granola!!I will use King Arthur measure-for-measure gluten-free flour in a pinch, but I don't think it tastes as good.
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Have you ever made your own vanilla extract? How often do you have to buy a new bottle?
I've wondered about making vanilla extract. Thanks for the recipe!
ReplyDeleteNo worries. It really is about a five minute process. Plus the months of waiting, I guess.
DeleteI've also wondered about making vanilla extract. Where do you find vanilla beans? And what do you mean by splitting them?
ReplyDeleteYou can buy vanilla beans at most grocery stores, co-ops, or Penzey's, but they are super expensive. I generally wait until they are at Costco. You can also buy lower quality beans for cheaper online (https://www.slofoodgroup.com/collections/bulk-vanilla-beans?cmp_id=1702398164&adg_id=64497723737&kwd=bulk%20vanilla%20beans&device=c&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwqv2_BhC0ARIsAFb5Ac_T9z6aX587sVkCsM5BddgWzk3H-izlQa3ZEpLKUsqyn0E2PJ1FOgsaAk3JEALw_wcB) and then just use MORE beans in your recipe.
DeleteThe beans are super soft and if you just score them with a knife, you'll be able to see the vanilla flecks in the center. That's all I mean by splitting them.
Wow. It never occurred to me to make my own vanilla extract. I have celiac too. I bake a ton, but I rarely bake GF food. It's a sure fire way to be sure I don't eat a ton of baked goods. I have never made my own GF flour either. I started using King Arthur's GF flour by chance and it is my favorite.
ReplyDeleteMy husband is too sensitive to gluten for me to do regular baking in our house. The only things with gluten in our house are prepackaged items (currently I have regular pretzels, oats, and Girl Scout cookies) and they do not get to touch any of dishes or utensils. I don't know if this would change if we had children because GF supplies are spendy, but it is what it is at this point.
DeleteI glutened him a couple of times in our early days and I have no desire to do that ever again.
Really, vanilla extract has gluten??? I can see how you wouldn't have guessed that. I've always heard that it's super easy to make vanilla extract. And vanilla is kind of expensive so I should try it.
ReplyDeleteI've been using a gluten free flour blend from Rob's Red Mill for my protein pancakes . It works pretty well! I don't have any kind of gluten intolerance, but I'm always trying to switch things up because I don't think eating a ton of gluten is healthy for anyone. Anyway, I'm eager to see some of these cookies you're talking about!
I don't know, Jenny, if commercial vanilla extract does have gluten. A lot of them have "natural flavors" and aren't labeled GF, so who the hell knows? McCormick is now labeled GF, but it wasn't twenty years ago and I used it and he got sick, so that was the impetus for me making my own and making my own makes me feel more comfortable and is a lot cheaper, so I've just continued to do it.
DeleteMaking vanilla is one of those things I always MEAN to do and never ACTUALLY do. It must be such a minefield to have to make sure everything is gluten free.
ReplyDeleteWhen I first started dating Dr. BB it was so much worse. Things have gotten better and more people seem to understand my concerns when I'm asking about ingredients. But I made a lot of mistakes early on!
DeleteI've never made my own, but I know people that do and I bet it's way better than what I can get at the store. I skip using vanilla in most recipes that call for it, to be honest.
ReplyDeleteI had NO idea it would have gluten. How? Why???
You skip vanilla?!?! I feel like vanilla is crucial for everything in my life. LOL.
DeleteI don't know if it actually does contain gluten. It wasn't labelled GF and had "natural flavors" as an ingredient and I just started making my own.
Elisabeth, you skip vanilla? WOW. I feel like vanilla is so key to baked goods.
DeleteOnce when Maya was younger we were baking something, and she was reading the recipe to me, and I was working on trusting her and not diminishing her contribution by double checking everything, and she said a recipe took 2 TB of vanilla, and of course it should have been 2 tsp, but we used 2 TB and wow, that was a LOT too much. Not good.
Elisabeth! I did not know this about you! I am... fascinated!
DeleteI am a woman of mystery ;)
DeleteWhere our lakehouse is situated, we are near an Amish community. They sell lots of baked goods at their shops and stands. I've tasted some of it, and I noticed two things: one, that they were always overly sweet, and two, that they were always sort of...lacking. I finally put my finger on it, and it was that they used no vanilla.
DeleteI just did this with a tiny bottle of vodka someone gave me for opening night. I always have a conundrum about what to do with opening night alcohol since I don't drink, so I was really excited to learn that I could make vanilla. (I guess the other option would be to use it to spray my clothes between washes to keep them from smelling...)
ReplyDeleteNow if only I could come up with something to do with the bottles of red wine and champagne that I've been gifted.
Oh, keep track of who gave them to you, and then give them to someone else as gifts! Or bring them to parties as a host(ess) gift. Or I’ll come pick them up. ;-)
DeleteWe keep gifted bottles of wine and then serve them at dinner parties. I don't think I've actually had to buy a bottle of wine since I got married! Although I realized we didn't have any wine when I hosted book club last weekend, so I guess I will have to buy a bottle of white and red the next time I have people over.
DeleteI made my own vanilla extract once, and I made a ton so I could give it as a gift. I’m not convinced it was as good as store bought, perhaps my beans weren’t very good. I got them online. I put a ton in there, but I don’t think it got as dark as yours even after about 8 months. So now I just buy it. But we don’t bake very much, so it’s OK.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, it would never have occurred to me to make my own until I glutened Dr. BB. If I could just buy it, I would. It's not HARD or anything, but you have to plan MONTHS ahead and I'm bad at understanding how times works.
DeleteI love that you make your own vanilla extract and flour.
ReplyDeleteI love your use of "glutened" although I am sure it was awful in practice.
I buy a giant bottle of vanilla (16 oz, I think?) from Costco maybe twice a year. It is a good price and tastes decent.
Did you ever find a delicious gluten free lemon bar recipe?
I found an okay lemon bar recipe. It wasn't amazing or anything, but I did make it once. It wasn't memorable to make again. I actually like cookies better than bars, so I'm hoping to find the right lemon cookie recipe.
DeleteYes, I've made my own vanilla extract. It's so much better than anything you can buy off the shelf!
ReplyDelete