My husband and I love making homemade gifts for every occasion. We really enjoy tasty treats for presents for our friends and family. 

This year we couldn’t wait to try making homemade vanilla extract after visiting the Hawaii. 

We heard from locals that Hawaii has it’s own vanilla company? What?? I was so excited!  I told our national volcano tour guide! I have a food blog and I practically put high quality vanilla in everything! I mean everything! 

When we looked up the Hawaiian Vanilla Company, we saw that they offer tours! So luckily there were a few spots left on a tour the day before we were heading home. We signed up for the general tour but not the lunch tour. The general tour does come with delicious vanilla tea, coffee and ice cream! 

Warning if you love vanilla like me or even just like using higher quality ingredients for cooking and baking this tour is a must! Don’t pass this family run business and tour up. 
I love d the gift shop; it was filled with everything vanilla from beans to salt to body spray! So many good gift ideas for souvenirs or for yourself. 

The owner is very easy going and extremely knowledgable of the vanilla harvesting process. He loves sharing his passion for vanilla which really engages the audience. Also the whole family is invested in the business; 5 kids. 
One of my favorite parts of the tour was seeing the vanilla orchids and learning how delicate they are and all the work behind them. I have a better understanding why I pay so much for high quality vanilla. 

My favorite part was I brought some vanilla beans home to make my own vanilla extract for gifts. 

Ingredients: 

3 vanilla beans split

12 ounces of vodka 

12 ounce glass sealable container 

patience (9-12 months worth)

Directions:

1. Split the vanilla beans lengthwise with a sharp knife down the center of the bean. 

2. Place the split beans in the glass jar, fill the jars with vodka. 

3. Close the jar, & date the jar with a sharpy on the bottom so you know when to open it for use. 

4. Keep the vanilla extract while it rests in a cool, dry, dark area for 9-12 months before using in your cookies or cakes. 

Enjoy !