Homemade Gift Idea: Vanilla Sea Salt

I love the holiday season. Many recent evenings have been spent browsing Pinterest [1] for holiday decorating and gift giving ideas. I’m such a sucker for homemade gifts that get all prettied up in festive packaging. Fancy ribbon, colorful tags, and cute jars – yeah, I’m pretty much smitten with it all.

Last year I made Homemade Vanilla Extract [2] to share with family and friends. The extract was quite a hit, so I thought that I’d keep with the vanilla theme and whip up a batch of Vanilla Sea Salt.

If you have never used vanilla sea salt, you’ll want to rectify that immediately. It’s subtle flavor is absolutely perfect for a variety of sweet treats such as Sweet and Salty Brownies [3], Fleur de Sel Caramels [4], Bars [5] and Chocolate Tarts [6]. And you can even use it on savory items such as pan seared scallops and fresh lobster. Imagine vanilla flecked salt rimming your favorite margarita! So many possibilities with a little jar of salt!

Join Katie and I this week in sharing your favorite recipes that feature vanilla for a chance to win an incredible gift basket from Beanilla [7]. Beanilla has been my go-to source for all things vanilla related for over 3 years. I am confident in saying their products are the absolute best that I have tried. Their entire line of beans, extracts, pastes, and powders will turn you into a vanilla addict!

Join in on the fun and link up your recipe for a chance to win a gift basket from Beanilla! You’ll also definitely want to check out Katie’s idea for a Homemade Vanilla Sugar Scrub [8].

Packaging Info

- The jars seen in the photos are Weck Mini Mold Jars.

If you have a Silhouette Machine and are interested in the shapes and fonts I used, here is the info:
- Snowflake Doily by Loni Stevens cut on light blue card stock with a 2.4 inch width
- Plain circle cut on white card stock with a 1.49 inch width
- Vanilla font is called Liorah BT, Sea Salt font is called Pharmacy

Vanilla Sea Salt

December 5th, 2011

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

1 cup sea salt
4 vanilla beans, split lengthwise and scraped, seeds reserved

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, combine sea salt and vanilla seeds. Use the tips of your fingers to rub the vanilla seeds into the sea salt until they are thoroughly combined.

2. Spoon salt into individual jars, cover tightly, label, and store in a cool, dry place.

Notes:

- Depending on how you package your vanilla salt, this recipe will yield 2-4 gift jars.
- I used Mexican Vanilla Beans [9] to make my Vanilla Salt, but any type of high quality vanilla beans will do.
- Don't throw those empty vanilla beans away, make homemade vanilla sugar. [10]

Adapted from CHOW

How To Participate

For a chance to win an Beanilla Gift Basket Gift Card {updated 12/5/11} valued at $150. Beanilla wanted to callow the winner to pick their own items, so the prize is now a $150 Gift Card! Woo-Hoo!

  1. Write and post a recipe on your blog featuring VANILLA OR VANILLA BEANS.
  2. Include “Come join the fun at the My Baking Addiction [11] and GoodLife Eats [12] Holiday Recipe Swap sponsored by Beanilla [13].” in your blog post.
  3. No blog? Just leave your recipe in the comments section.
  4. Add your link to the widget on either GoodLife Eats or My Baking Addiction (we have the same widget code, so only add it on one site).
  5. Submit your post before December. 12, 11:59 PM.
  6. Anyone can participate in the link up, but the prizes will ship to US addresses only.
  7. More detailed info are available here [14].

Link Up Your Recipes:

Love any of the recipes featured in today’s Holiday Recipe Exchange? If so, be sure to to use the Ziplist Web Recipe Clipper [15] to add your holiday favorites to your online recipe box.

‘);
// ]]>

This Week's Prize:

Beanilla Vanilla Gift Card valued at $150

Prizes provided by Beanilla [13].

Recipe Theme Schedule:

If you enjoyed this recipe, you may like...

This delicious recipe brought to you by My Baking Addiction
http://www.mybakingaddiction.com/vanilla-salt/

URLs in this post:

[1] Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/bakingaddiction/

[2] Homemade Vanilla Extract: http://www.mybakingaddiction.com/holiday-gift-idea-bottling-vanilla-extract-with-a-free-printable/

[3] Sweet and Salty Brownies: http://www.mybakingaddiction.com/sweet-and-salty-brownies/

[4] Fleur de Sel Caramels: http://www.mybakingaddiction.com/fleur-de-sel-caramels/

[5] Bars: http://www.mybakingaddiction.com/chocolate-caramel-shortbread-bars/

[6] Chocolate Tarts: http://www.mybakingaddiction.com/chocolate-caramel-tart-recipe/

[7] Beanilla: http://www.beanilla.com/

[8] Homemade Vanilla Sugar Scrub: http://www.goodlifeeats.com/2011/12/homemade-gift-idea-vanilla-bean-sugar-scrub-holiday-recipe-exchange.html

[9] Mexican Vanilla Beans: http://www.beanilla.com/mexican-vanilla-beans-p-50.html

[10] homemade vanilla sugar.: http://www.goodlifeeats.com/2011/07/simple-and-inexpensive-hostess-gifts-recipe-for-vanilla-scented-sugar.html

[11] My Baking Addiction: http://www.mybakingaddiction.com/holiday-recipe-exchange-rules/

[12] GoodLife Eats: http://www.goodlifeeats.com/holiday-recipe-exchange-rules

[13] Beanilla: http://www.beanilla.com

[14] available here: http://www.mybakingaddiction.com http://www.goodlifeeats.com/holiday-recipe-exchange-rules

[15] Ziplist Web Recipe Clipper: http://get.ziplist.com/how-it-works/web-recipe-clipper?utm_source=mybakingaddiction&utm_medium=foodbloggertext&utm_campaign=holidayrecipeexchange

[16] Stout Cupcakes with Chocolate Covered Pretzels: http://www.mybakingaddiction.com/stout-cupcakes-with-chocolate-covered-pretzels/

[17] No Bake Raspberry-Lemon Cheesecake: http://www.mybakingaddiction.com/no-bake-cheesecake-recipe/

[18] Pumpkin Roll: http://www.mybakingaddiction.com/pumpkin-roll-recipe/

[19] Reindeer Chow: http://www.mybakingaddiction.com/puppy-chow-recipe/