This extract is more complex and entirely worth the added effort. It’s a beautiful, festive, and sweet finished extract that will enhance the sweet taste of virtually anything you cook with it. For tarts, creams, sauces, holiday cookies, breads and even to splash it in a beverage, this is a wonderful extract to have in your kitchen year-round. It’s especially good in holiday hot wassail or a grown-up hot toddy. 

Makes about 16 ounces of extract

Extract time: 2 months 

Ingredients:

1. 1 orange x 2
2. 1 ounces dried cranberries x 2
3. 1/2 oz Cook Island vanilla beans (or your favorite)
4. 1 teaspoons of whole cloves
5. 16 ounces of dark rum with an alcohol content of 50% - 70%. (100 to 140 proof)
6. (If high alcohol content rum is not available in your area, use 10oz of 195 proof Everclear diluted with 6oz of filtered or distilled water.) 

Kitchen Essentials: 

1. 32 ounce (1 quart) glass extract jar
2. Glass fermentation weight
3. Measuring cup
4. Measuring spoons
5. Strainer or coffee filter.

Instructions: 

1. Slice 1 orange into pieces small enough to fit into the extract jar.
2. Add oranges, cranberries, vanilla beans, and cloves to the jar.
3. Carefully add rum to your jar, ensuring that all ingredients are completely submerged. If you are using a mason jar, you can add a glass fermentation weight on top of your ingredients to keep them submerged.
4. Store in a cool/dark place for four weeks. 

4-Week Update

1. After four weeks, open the jar and pour all contents through a strainer to remove the oranges and the cranberries.
2. Keep the vanilla beans and the cloves.
3. Add fresh cranberries (1oz) and fresh oranges from 1 oranges with the peel still on. 
4. Add more rum to cover the ingredients if necessary.
5. Seal the jar tightly and store in a cool/dark place for 4 more weeks.

8-Week Update

1.  Remove the oranges, cranberries and cloves.
2. Leave the vanilla beans in the extract, for as long as you would like. 
3. Taste test your extract.
4. Enjoy!