Homemade Vanilla Bean Powder is easy to make and fairly inexpensive with zero waste. It’s a great way to use grade B beans, older beans you have on hand, or beans from a mother jar. Vanilla powder is a bit more concentrated, so 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla powder can be used in place of 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.  Cooks Illustrated share a great article on how vanilla powder stands up to vanilla extract, paste, and whole beans. Follow the link and check it out!

Good luck on your vanilla adventures!

Ingredients:

Vanilla beans

Instructions:

• Drying out the beans:

-Some prefer to leave the beans out on the counter for several weeks. I prefer to put them in the oven at 150 degrees for one to one and a half hours, they will still be a little pliable coming out of the oven. Let them cool. Once cooled they will become brittle

• Cut the beans up into smaller pieces and grind them up in your coffee grinder.
• Place the powder in an air tight container in a cool dark place and it should last up to a year.