Those are vanilla beans. I swear. It’s not some sort of weird science project my kid is making out of twigs and salt.
A couple of weeks ago, I did a giveaway with Celiac Chicks. Kelly reminded me that though I cater to a host of allergies, there is one that is really hard to avoid in baking: corn allergy. This is because vanilla extract is often made with alcohol distilled from corn and because baking powder usually contains corn starch. The good news is that there are ways around both of these problems. There are brands of baking powder that are corn-free, but the vanilla issue is a little tougher. Of course, you could make your own vanilla extract with a vanilla bean and some vodka, but that could take months. Or, you could buy powdered vanilla beans. I love using vanilla sugar instead because it’s so European and therefore just a little bit exotic. Not really, but it feels so sophisticated when I use it!
Vanilla sugar is this stuff, that in Europe, comes in little sachets at the supermarket. No one in Germany or France uses vanilla extract (at least from what I could tell when I was living there), but uses vanilla sugar instead. It is so easy to make, so I thought that I would give you this foolproof recipe to use in your next batch of chocolate chip cookies or vanilla birthday cake. Just keep it on the shelf until you’ve used it all up and then make another batch. It’s a lot more economical that vanilla extract, corn-free and just as delicious. Yum!
Vanilla Sugar
3 cups granulated sugar
1 whole vanilla bean slit vertically from top to bottom
1) Pour the sugar into a container with an airtight lid (I used a mason jar, mostly because it was pretty) and place the scored vanilla bean in the center.
2) Cover the sugar and store for 2 weeks (in order to deeply infuse the sugar with flavor) before using. Use the sugar in any sweet recipe that also calls for vanilla. Feel free to double or triple the recipe.
