I had purchased some vanilla beans from Amazon.com in preparation for making vanilla extract, but darned if I had \ever gotten around to actually making it. One issue was finding a suitable jar to steep the beans and alcohol, but recently a jar of peaches presented the perfect container. It is wide mouthed enough to allow easy access when I need to add new beans and alcohol in the future, but not so large that I would make so much that I would never use it all.
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Since this jar is clear, I will keep it in a cool dark location so that sunlight doesn’t spoil the mix, but once I start drawing on this batch, I will move it to smaller, dark plastic or glass containers to keep in the kitchen.
So, how do you make vanilla extract? It couldn’t be simpler!
Take vanilla beans and steep them in vodka or other neutral grain spirits like Everclear. For this batch, I picked up a 1/2 gallon of inexpensive vodka I found on sale over the holidays. The alcohol will pull out all the vanilla goodness and turn a dark brown. The process takes a few months to work, but you will be rewarded with pure vanilla extract whenever you want to use it for your baked goods. This batch will come in handy for my next batch of cookie baking, for sure.
As you use the vanilla extract, you can top up the jar with more alcohol and let it steep some more. You will eventually will way to replace the beans as well, but you will be surprised how much flavor they contain.
A friend in the UK sent us this wonderful gift for Christmas. They were part of our Podcaster’s Christmas Carol, saw this on the High Street and thought it would be perfect for us.
Post arrived the other day with this picture of The Queen attached. I love getting mail from outside the US. It always reminds me to expand my world view.
Special treat this morning, using the leftover eggnog from our celebrations. I used this recipe – Eggnog Pancakes from Cassie Craves. Some of them ended up a bit gooey in the middle, but I think this was because I was being careful not to burn them. Give them a few more minutes than a normal pancake, just to make sure they cook all the way through.
I took this afternoon to finish up two, final items for our big cookie party. Today was a candy day. This actually made a lot easier as it takes much less time to assemble candies than it does to bake cookies.
Cornflake Christmas Holly
These were called Christmas Wreaths in the original recipe (which has since gone offline), but I prefer to make them as Christmas Holly, as it is a lot less work in the final, forming step.
Cornflake Christmas Holly
Ingredients
24-36 paper cupcake cups
1/2 cup unsalted butter
3 cups marshmallows (miniatures melt more easily)
1 1/2 teaspoons liquid green food coloring (this seems like a lot, but it gives a nice dark color)
I tsp vanilla extract
4 cups cornflakes
Cinnamon red-hot candies
Directions
Prepare cupcake cups on cookie sheet by separating and laying them out individually
Melt butter and marshmallows slowly in large pan
Once melted, remove from heat and add vanilla and food coloring
Stir to distribute color
Add Cornflakes
Mix thoroughly until all cornflakes are covered
Working quickly, as mixture will start to set, spoon on by heaping teaspoon into prepared cupcake cups
As quickly as possible, add 3 cinnamon red-hot candies to each cup (adds look of holly berries)
Store in air-tight container
Peppermint Reindeer Feed
I came across the simple recipe on Pinterest.com and wanted to add it as something new this year. It takes minutes to make yet offers up a lot in flavor, crunch and presentation.
The rest of my day has been spent cleaning (Ok, really just re-arranging) my desk and putting away all my supplies and equipment from the last week. Our wonderful cleaner is coming tomorrow do make things look spic and span for the party, so I need to have all my stuff out of the way. I am always amazed at what she can accomplish in a few hours.
On the day of the party I will prepare my Super Secret Christmas Chili in the morning, so it has time to slowly cook and meld all day and also prepare the Pandoro Christmas Tree Cake with Limoncello whipped cream mentioned earlier. This has to be assembled the day of the party of it can get too soggy. After that, I usually end up sitting a lot during the party and talking. A perfect end to another great cookie baking season!
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