Time to make Vanilla for the Holidays! {Beanilla Giveaway}
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Can you believe the holiday season is just a few short months away?! Thanksgiving is just 77 days away! What the what?!!!!
Many of us do some amount of baking for the holidays, whether it’s just a batch of your favorite cookies, fudge wreath, or baking for a holiday party or gift giving. Chances are your recipes are going to call for vanilla. Vanilla extract and vanilla beans are such essential items in a holiday baking spice cabinet.
Last year I shared how easy and much more economical it is to make your own vanilla. It’s so simple to make but needs to sit at least 6-8 weeks before you can use it, so get started now to have plenty of vanilla extract on hand for your holiday baking. Download and Print the free homemade vanilla labels Kelly made and you’ll have a fantastic gift ready to pass out to friends and family in December.
You’ll notice vanilla beans can be pretty pricy at the grocery store, so if you plan to make more than one bottle of extract I highly suggest purchasing your beans online, from places such as at Beanilla.com. right now they have 25 Madagascar Vanilla Beans for $25 + FREE shipping! that’s a fantastic price!
Now is the time to make vanilla for the holidays
- recipe and step-by step instructions to make homemade vanilla extract
- download and print free Homemade Vanilla label
- shop beanilla.com for vanilla beans and bottles
WIN IT! GIVEAWAY ENDED
My friends at Beanilla would like to help two lucky TidyMom readers get their vanilla going this year with an awesome $150 prize pack of vanilla making supplies!
Each winner will receive:
- 1 Package (vacuum sealed) of 5 Madagascar Vanilla Beans
- 1 Package (vacuum sealed) of 5 Tonga Vanilla Beans
- 1 Package (vacuum sealed) of 5 Indonesian Vanilla Beans
- 1 Package (vacuum sealed) of 5 Mexican Vanilla Beans
- 1 Package (vacuum sealed) of 5 Ugandan Vanilla Beans
- 1 Package (vacuum sealed) of 5 Indian Vanilla Beans
- 1 Package (vacuum sealed) of 3 Tahitian Vanilla Beans (Tahiti)
- 7 Clear Glass Bottles, 8.5 oz w/ Swingtop
- 1 Vanilla Bean Sampler (7 glass vials containing 3 beans of each variety)
How to enter:
- leave a comment on this post sharing your favorite recipe with vanilla!
- Then simply complete the steps in the giveaway widget below. Personal information will not be shared or used for any kind of mailing list, it’s simply used by me to select and contact the winner.
If you don’t see the widget, be patient because it might take a minute to load (especially with Internet Explorer 9). Or you can click here to for the entry form if you have any questions, you can contact me via email
Disclaimer: this post is a collaboration with Beanilla. All opinions, views and love of vanilla are all my own.
Hi there, I'm Cheryl!
As a wife, mom, and caffeine enthusiast, my journey has taken me from bustling mornings with my family to sharing delicious recipes, home care tips, and heartfelt decorating insights with wonderful readers like you. My love for baking, photography, and tidiness shines through every post I craft. Dive into my world and discover the art of homemaking, one tidy moment at a time. Read more...
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Please respect my work, recipes and photographs. If you do use a recipe in your own writing, please give proper credit and link back to the original post.
I do a LOT of baking & a good vanilla extract is a STAPLE in my kitchen. I think the one thing that really comes to mind when using vanilla is my pancakes & waffles. A good vanilla really MAKES the pancakes, whereas a not-so-good vanilla makes them….blah. 🙂
White cake mix with added vanilla and vanilla powdered sugar glazed
I add vanilla when I make sweet crepes for my husband. They are so amazingly good!
RECIPE:
ALL PURPOSE FLOUR – — 2 CUPS
EGGS —– 3
MILK —–2 CUPS
SUGAR —- 1 CUP
SALT —- QUARTER TEASPOON
VANILLA — 2 TEASPOONS
PREPARATION:
IN A BOWL MIX ALL INGREDIENTS UNTIL SMOOTH.
HEAT A FRYING PAN TO MEDIUM
MELT IN A PAT OF BUTTER AND POUR IN A LADLE OF CREPE BATTER, TILT PAN AROUND TO SPREAD THE BATTER.
WAIT UNTIL THE TOP LOOKS DRY THEN FLIP AND COOK ABOUT 45 SECONDS AND TAKE THE CREPE OUT.
REPEAT WITH PAT OF BUTTER AND LADLE OF BATTER UNTIL FINISHED.
SERVE AS IS OR WITH FRESH FRUIT AND WHIPPED CREAM (HOMEMADE WITH VANILLA ADDED IN OF COURSE)
I love using good vanilla for my poundcake to give as Christmas gifts! A good vanilla can give it so much depth of flavor!
Banana Cream Pie is my favorite recipe with vanilla. The depth of flavor in the custard relies completely on an outstanding tasting vanilla.
Honey Bun Cake is my favorite recipe using vanilla. I use it in the cake batter and for the powdered sugar/milk icing I pour over the hot cake. Mmm!
Vanilla is a great addition to all my baking goods.
I have recently rediscovered no-bake chocolate cookies. Yeah, I know, not really baking, but a quick easy treat that I have been craving lately…and my recipe calls for vanilla. Makes me just as proud to offer up these tasty little morsels as it does a plate of any other kind of cookies that I slaved over in the hot kitchen this time of year.
Can’t decide between pound cake, cheesecake and French vanilla ice cream!
There’s nothing quite like a basic cheesecake to compliment great vanilla flavor. This recipe was given to me by a family friend and it turns out perfect every time.
Cheesecake
Ingredients:
1 1/2 graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup melted butter
3 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup sour cream
3 eggs
Directions:
Mix together graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and melted butter in a bowl. Press mixture into a greased 9 inch springform pan. Bake in a 350 degree oven, for 8-10 minutes. Let cool.
Beat cream cheese with sugar until smooth. Add vanilla and sour cream and mix well. Add the 3 eggs, and beat very little, until just combined. Pour into springform pan.
Wrap springform pan with foil, and put in water bath. Bake for 60 minutes at 350 degrees. Center should be set, and top should be brown and unglossy.
Turn off oven. Take cheesecake out of the water bath and put back in the still hot oven for 1 hour.
Cool on counter. Put in fridge for 10-12 hours before taking out of pan.
A very nice and simple Swiss Meringue Buttercream… Vanilla just makes you melt in that… 🙂
My favorite vanilla recipe is White Almond Sour Cream Cake:
2 (18 ounce) boxes white cake mix (Betty Crocker or Pillsbury)
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 2/3 cups water
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons real vanilla
2 teaspoons almond extract
2 cups sour cream
8 large egg whites
Directions:
Place all dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl and stir together with a wire whisk.
Add the remaining ingredients and beat on medium speed for 2 minutes.
Pour into greased and floured cake pans, filling each pan a little over half full.
Lightly tap cake pans on counter to bring air bubbles to top.
Bake in preheated 325° F oven until cake tests done.
Baking time varies according to the size and depth of pans being used.
Vanilla ice cream.
I love to add vanilla to the chocolate oatmeal no bake cookies!
I use vanilla in ALL my baking!
My husband bought me an ice cream maker for my birthday a few months ago, and I love making my own ice cream. Many recipes call for vanilla extract! Vanilla makes everything better. In college, because I was cheap and didn’t know better, I always bought the cheap, fake stuff. I know better now, and am so interested in making my own vanilla! 🙂
My favorite recipe with vanilla is creamy homemade vanilla pudding.
pound cake
I recently tried a vanilla cupcake recipe that I loved! I’m a sucker for a good vanilla cupcake!
My favorite pie that is to die for!
Buttermilk Pie
1 stick butter
2.5 C sugar
2 heaping T flour
4 eggs
2 t vanilla
1 C buttermilk
Cream together butter sugar and flour. Add eggs, vanilla and buttermilk. Mix well. Pour into unbaked pie crusts. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Makes 2 pies.
mexcian tea cakes
I have a food allergic son so I bake almost everything from scratch and a good vanilla is a must for me. I love baking pumpkin bread in the fall and I gift homemade goodies like breads, cookies and candy for Christmas.
My favorite recipe with vanilla is cinnamon roll pancakes and banana nut bread! I never knew you could make your own vanilla extract, so I am loving this new info and giveaway!! Thanks for sharing 😀
Just to be simple, I love to add vanilla to to many things — french toast, sweet potato casserole anything with chocolate.
I LOVE to bake! While vanilla is used in many of my dishes; the main one that comes to mind is cookies.
my grandma’s excellent chocolate chip cookie recipe 🙂
Lately my fave recipe with vanilla has been almond butter brownies! They are completely flour free and are amazing. I also love making GF pancakes!
Fav around my house is banana bread!
YUM! What a fabulous giveaway!!! 😀 The first thing that comes to mind is homemade vanilla ice cream! I can’t wait to make some with these awesome beans! 😀
Love real vanilla and cinnamon in my morning coffee
Any kind of cookies
I always add an additional 1/2 or double the amount of vanilla a recipe calls for! I LOVE IT! Custard would be my favorite vanilla recipe. It’s a recipe that really lets the vanilla shine! Egg Custard Pie Recipe:
4 eggs
2 cups milk
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla (I use 1.5)
nutmeg
Stir eggs, milk, sugar and vanilla until well blended. Pour into pie shell, sprinkle generously with nutmeg, and bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes or until set.
My favorite is ANYTHING with vanilla!! I always add a smidge extra to every recipe. 🙂
During the fall and winter I bake a lot. Vanilla is the key to great cakes, cookies and breads. It is also a staple ingredient in my frostings and custard. This is a great givewawy Thanks
I LOVE vanilla in everything. My favorite is probably a homemade vanilla pudding or homemade vanilla ice cream. This is a fabulous prize!
I love putting it in the chocolate peanut butter mixture for puppy chow and banana bread! Almost any baked good is better with vanilla!
Love to use pure vanilla for all cooking needs! Especially in French toast mixture……Mmmmm
Oh, one? I add vanilla to EVERYTHING – whether it calls for it or not.
I like an easy homemade coffee creamer with vanilla
My favourite recipe with vanilla would have to be Snowballs – shortbread cookies wrapped around a Hershey kiss, then rolled in icing sugar!.
We like making snow cream with vanilla extract
I use vanilla in almost everything!! I love it in pancakes and all baked goods!!
I like making panna cotta
I love to make a simple cheesecake with a sour cream topping. I put vanilla extract in the cheesecake batter and the topping. Delicious!
My favorite recipe with vanilla is homemade cinnamon rolls for family, friends, coworkers. Oh, and for me too!
Snickerdoodle Cookies! I love the hint of vanilla in all my desserts! =)
My favorite thing to bake with vanilla is cookies.
I love it in granola bars!
Homemade bittersweet chocolate sauce made with home made vanilla and some added vanilla bean. Yum!
I love to bake and my mind is totally drawing a blank on my favorite recipe. But so many use vanilla and it’s so important to have good vanilla!!