The Flavor of Christmas Starts Long Before December.

It's 100° outside in Texas, which can only mean one thing...it's time to start Christmas baking. Well...sort of. Every year, I make my own vanilla extract.

Because the very first ingredient in my Christmas cookies doesn't come from the grocery store in December. It starts quietly tucked away in the pantry in the middle of July.

Now, almost every tutorial will tell you to buy the cheapest vodka you can find. I'm going to be the Christmas rebel here. I've done that. The vanilla was good, but I could still taste that it came from the cheapest bottle on the shelf..

Now I spend a little more and buy a vodka I actually enjoy in a cocktail. My thinking is simple: if I wouldn't enjoy drinking it, why would I want it flavoring my Christmas cookies? Ever since I made the switch, my vanilla has been richer, smoother, and worth every penny.

The vanilla beans matter just as much.

Most recipes recommend Grade B beans or vanilla bean splits. I've used both, and they make wonderful vanilla extract. But if you're hoping someone takes a bite of your Christmas cookies and ask, "What did you put in these?" my vote is Grade A Madagascar vanilla beans.

I've tried all three of the most common varieties.

• Madagascar beans have that rich, classic vanilla flavor that tastes like Christmas to me.

• Tahitian beans are beautiful but just a little too floral for my taste.

• Mexican beans have a subtle spicy note. They're wonderful...just not what I'm looking for in a traditional vanilla extract.

There's no right or wrong here. That's simply the flavor I want tucked into every cake, cookie, cinnamon roll, and loaf of banana bread that comes out of my kitchen during the holidays.

Here's one little secret from my kitchen. Skip the grocery store and order your vanilla beans from a reputable online vanilla bean supplier. In my experience, the difference is night and day. The beans are plump, fragrant, and bursting with flavor instead of dry and tired from sitting on a store shelf. If you're going to spend months waiting for homemade vanilla, you might as well start with the very best ingredients you can find.

This year I'm trying something new.

I've seen several bakers recommend giving the split vanilla beans a gentle warm-up before making the extract. Just enough vodka to cover the beans, the lowest heat possible, and about a ten-minute rest. No boiling. No simmering. The theory is that it gives the extraction process a little head start.

Here's what went into each bottle:

• One 1-liter bottle of quality vodka

• 12 Grade A Madagascar vanilla beans, split lengthwise

• ·A gentle ten-minute warm soak before everything went back into the bottle

Then I poured every drop of that vanilla-infused vodka right back where it belonged, gave each bottle a good shake, and tucked them away in a cool, dark pantry for their long winter's nap...starting in July.

Now comes the hardest part, the waiting.

While the Texas sun blazes outside, these little bottles will quietly work their magic. By the time the Christmas music starts playing, cookie sheets come out of the cabinet, and gifts begin finding their way under the tree, they'll be ready.

Some people count down to Christmas with an Advent calendar.

I do it with bottles of homemade vanilla quietly aging in the pantry.

Ho, ho, ho! And Merry Christmas in July!