How to make homemade almond extract – it is easier than you think! I love to make my own extracts. Not only do they taste better, I know what’s in that bottle (how about 2 ingredients!). Making extracts aren’t difficult and once you start making them, you’ll be hooked. I also love to give them away to friends who cook and bake; they love them.
How to Make Homemade Almond Extract
Ingredients to make one pint of Homemade Almond Extract
15 raw almonds, blanched (directions following)
2 cups of 80 proof vodka
1 pint sized mason jar
Jar/s for long term storage of your extract
Directions to make one pint of Homemade Almond Extract
- Blanch your raw almonds
Take your 15 almonds and put them into a pot of boiling for for EXACTLY one minute. Drain quickly and rinse with cold water. Lay almonds out on a paper towel to cool. The skins should look shriveled. Once come cool enough to touch you should be able to just squeeze the almonds from the skins (discard skins). Then put them on another paper towel and allow them to finish drying. - Rough chop your blanched almonds and place those in the pint jar.
- Pour your vodka over the chopped almonds and put on the lid securely.
- Now give it a shake and place it in a cool dark place (under a cabinet or in a closet).
- Allow your extract mixture to sit for at least 6 weeks (8 weeks for max flavor). But be sure to give the bottle a shake every other day while it sits.
- Strain your finished homemade almond extract through a coffee filter or cheese cloth and bottle it for future use. You can keep the entire extract in a mason jar or put into small amber bottles for gifts. Make sure to label them so you don’t get them mixed up with your other homemade extracts.
Now you can use your homemade almond extract to make my yummy Gluten Free Almond Poppy Seed Bread!
Want to make more extracts? Check out my recipe for Vanilla Extract!
Mine has been sitting now for 8 weeks and I opened the jar (finally!) to strain it today, but it SMELLS TERRIBLE! It smells like rubbing alcohol and NOTHING like the sweet cherry smell of the store bought almond extract. I tried troubleshooting (on-line searching), and am finding this is not an uncommon problem. Does yours actually smell good after 8 weeks? Help please and thank you!!!
Did you blanch your almonds?
I bought them blanched 🙂 – saved a step! 🙂
Any ideas?? Thanks! 🙂
Well it is going to smell like alcohol, more than store-bought. You can try giving it a little more time but then I’d say try it in a recipe and see if it gives you the results you want. Let me know!
Thank you! I went ahead and added fresh almonds. I have made homemade Vanilla Extract and that doesn’t smell like alcohol, so that is why I was hoping for the same with this. Thanks for the tip; I will try it in a few weeks!
I have seen other Almond extract recipes that did not blanch the almonds so I was wondering what the purpose of blanching is?
You know I was taught it that way, so that’s all I know.
Takes the skins off the almonds , u can buy them already blanched online
The answer could be to use raw almonds instead of some already processed. I have never tried to make any kind of extract before so I may not know what I’m talking about. I hate to try something just to have wasted time & money on something that doesn’t work…
Sorry, I just re-read the recipe & it does say raw almonds. My bad!
Ok 😀
I’ve done the same and it’s been 8 weeks it smells like vodka and tastes like it too!!
I read the ingredients on the bottle of a store-bought almond extract says they use some kind of sweet almond oil in it, I need to explore that!!
Can you answer this question? I picked bitter almonds from my garden and forgot to blanch and remove skins before placing in the vodka – will my extract still work or should I start again?????
Thank you
Anyway you can take them out and slice the almonds and put them back in? I don’t think you’ll get enough almond flavor with the skins on.
Thanks
My extract is cloudy. I followed your directions. I am wondering if I should be concerned?
Usually if it is cloudy it has gone bad. How long has it been since you made it?
Is there anything that i can use instead of vodka…. i have no access to alcoholics….
I have no recipes for extracts without alcohol, I’m sorry.
It’s been eight weeks and I tasted it and it just tastes like vodka. Anything I can do? Looking to make amaretto with it!
Did you blanch the almonds?
Try to use far more almonds! Break the almonds, fill the recipient and covers the broken almonds with vodka.
Keep in mind that natural almonds have a very mild flavor, so do not expect it to be the same as the artificially manufactured “extracts” on the market.
I followed directions exactly and after 2 months my extract smells and tastes like Vodka, nothing like my store-bought extract. Has anyone had success success in making their own who can help me figure out why it’s not working? My mint extract came out great. Grew my own mint, easy-peasy.
can give us some ideas on why it works sometimes and why it doesn’t?
in other extracts I’ve made I warmed it over a very low heat, to burn off the alcohol – although I haven’t tried it for almond extract, it may be worth trying a small amount to see if the almond flavour is stronger as a result
Good tip!
would it help to use more than 15 almonds and why that amount?( to get more of the store bought flavor). Also a good brand of vodka, I used both cheap and SKY vodka when I made my vanilla extract, threw out the cheap stuff and now always use SKY vodka. I am going to make almond now as I need it for my oh so yummy keto almond cookies.
It might help.
You will have much better results using peach or plum seeds yes peach or plum for almond flavor… They are richer in flavor and that results in stronger flavor if you are stuck on almonds, that’s ok too but you have to use bitter almonds or bitter almonds oil. Don’t change the recipe just you different seeds
Apples, peaches, cherrys, plums, bitter almonsds and others of Rosaceae family may contain cyanide in the seeds, just DON’T use it!
Ooops! I mean cherries (not “cherrys”).
Almonds have cyanide also.
What is peach or plum seed or is it the pit
Dont buy blanched almonds. When you blanch them yourself it brings some of the oils out. Buying blanched almonds can affect the extract. As they are dried completely with air dryers. This loosing the necessary oils Ned to develop the extract.
So I didn’t think to look for a recipe, but just chopped up almonds with their skins still on and put then in some whiskey to sit. I know it won’t come out the same but it is dangerous or Will it ruin this to have the skins on?
Yeah, the skins need to be off for the right flavor.