Guys. Are y’all as excited about DIY foodie holiday gifts as I am? I don’t know what’s going on with me this year, but I have literally flagged every single DIY food-related article I’ve run across online (damn you, Buzzfeed).
Flavored butters, cupcakes in a jar, mulled wine kits, homemade nutella…so cute, so practical, so delicious.
I want to make (and eat) all of it!
You know what it probably is? All of these DIY gift ideas involve adorable little jars, and I am a huge sucker for cute glassware.
Canning jars – want, have, used only when I have leftover frosting I can’t bear to throw out (but of course it just gets shoved to the back of my fridge and is immediately forgotten).Mason jars – want, have, almost never use, except when I want a blog photo to look particularly folksy. (Do people actually use them for other things?) Milk bottles – want, cannot allow myself to have, will almost never use…but they are so stinking cute and I love them so much!
Same goes for whiskey jugs, wine bottles, and pretty much any other glass bottles/containers that look awesome but are only useful to people less lazy than myself.
But hey look! I allowed myself to buy cute glass bottles this year and actually used them to make awesome, gift-able things – like these flavored extracts. Bottle upon bottle of flavored extracts, in four flavors: vanilla, mint, orange, and lemon.
Have I ever mentioned my love forhomemade extracts? It’s there, and it’s intense. I started making my own vanilla extract a year or two ago, after running out of yet another teeny tiny bottle of store-bought extract. I found a recipe online, and it was so unbelievably easy to make, and the resulting extract was so delicious that I haven’t gone back to the store-bought stuff since.
For this holiday season, I wanted to share the joy of homemade vanilla extract with my friends, and decided to throw in a few other flavors just for kicks. Mint and citrus seemed like winning, holiday-appropriate flavors.
How do you make your own flavored extracts? Easy – buy some bottles, a handle of vodka, a few vanilla beans, some citrus fruits, and some mint. Cut open your beans, zest your citrus, and peel the leaves off your mint. Shove everything into separate bottles, add vodka, and…wait.
After a few weeks, you have extract! And the best part is, if you leave your flavoring agents inside the bottles, you can replenish your stock of extract any time by just by adding more vodka – all it takes is a little patience, and you basically have yourself bottomless bottles of fun.
These are, I think, the perfect DIY holiday gift – adorable, useful, and cost-effective for everyone! Now if only I could decide who to give these to…
I know people are going to ask, so:
- Bottles – 4oz Boston Round Glass Bottles from Specialty Bottle
- Labels – Avery Removable Multi-Use Labels, Kraft Brown, 1.125 x 2.25 Inches, Pack of 24 (40151)
- Ribbon – Offray Spoolo Ribbon (White) from Michael’s
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DIY Flavored Extracts
Author:Tina @ Just Putzing Around the Kitchen
Recipe type:DIY
Prep time:
Total time:
Yields:Varies
Homemade vanilla extract
Ingredients
Vanilla Extract (single 4oz bottle)
- 3 whole vanilla beans
- Vodka (You can also use bourbon)
Mint Extract (4oz)
- ½ cup mint leaves
- Vodka
Orange Extract (4oz)
- 1 large navel orange
- Vodka
Lemon Extract (4oz)
- 1 large lemon
- Vodka
Directions
To make Vanilla Extract:
- Cut your vanilla beans in half, then split open each half to expose the vanilla seeds on the inside of the pod.
- Place cut vanilla beans inside your glass bottle.
- Add vodka, filling up to the neck of the bottle.
- Seal tightly and store bottle in a cool, dry place.
- Every few days, tilt your bottle upside down to gently mix the liquid inside.
- After 5-6 weeks, you have extract! (If you leave in your vanilla beans, when you start running low, just add more vodka and wait a little.)
To make Mint Extract:
- Stuff mint leaves into your glass bottle.
- Using a chopstick, skewer, or other poking device, lightly bruise/crush the leaves inside the bottle.
- Add vodka, filling up to the neck of the bottle.
- Every few days, tilt your bottle upside down to gently mix the liquid inside.
- After 5-6 weeks, you have extract! (I’m not sure if, like vanilla extract, you can just leave the mint leaves inside. Since it’s leafy plant matter which disintegrates more easily, it may be a good idea to take it out. My leaves went from a vibrant green in the beginning to kind of a dull brown by the end so I took them out just to be safe – I poured my mint extract into another container through a sieve and discarded the mint leaves, then poured the filtered extract back into the bottle.)
To make Orange Extract:
- Peel thin strips of zest from ½ of your orange.
- Place zest into your glass bottle.
- Add vodka, filling up to the neck of the bottle.
- Every few days, tilt your bottle upside down to gently mix the liquid inside.
- After 5-6 weeks, you have extract! (I think with citrus peels the acid (and alcohol bath), it’s probably safe to leave the peels inside the bottle like a vanilla bean for re-fill purposes. If you don’t feel comfortable doing this, take it out!)
To make Lemon Extract:
- Peel thin strips of zest from your lemon.
- Place zest into your glass bottle.
- Add vodka, filling up to the neck of the bottle.
- Every few days, tilt your bottle upside down to gently mix the liquid inside.
- After 5-6 weeks, you have extract!
