"vanilla" news and stories

With the recent announcement of Baskin-Robbins retiring 5 of its iconic flavors, including French vanilla, some of our readers asked us: "What's the difference between vanilla and French vanilla besides the yellow color?"

While both ice creams use vanilla bean to flavor the cream, the base of the ice cream is where the two differ. French vanilla ice cream has a custard base, which means egg yolks (where the yellow color comes in) are used to produce a thicker, creamier texture. Heating is also involved in a custard base. The classic vanilla ice cream has a base of cream or milk that does not need to be heated.

Related: The Perfect Ice Cream Maker, Vanilla Ice Cream Recipes

Vanilla's an essential part of so many desserts. But when should you use vanilla beans vs. vanilla extract?

Learn how to make your own vanilla extract -- it's as simple as set, shake and let sit.

I'm often surprised to realize that many of the groceries I buy can be simply made at home. I tend to presume that cottage cheese just grows on supermarket shelves, for example, or that making vanilla requires complex machinery. So while it may be more convenient to throw these items into your cart than to cultivate them in your own kitchen, try making any of these eight treats at home the next time you're feeling bold.

1. Homemade cottage cheese from Serious Eats
2. Homemade vanilla extract from Simply Recipes
3. Homemade peanut butter cups from Baking Bites
4. Homemade girl scout cookies, also from Baking Bites
5. Homemade yogurt from 101 Cookbooks
6. Homemade soy milk from Just Hungry
7. Homemade butter from The Wednesday Chef
8. Homemade soda from Mother Earth News

Make something special at home? Share the recipe!

My love affair with scones started early, when my family and I would head to Central Park in the summers to go see Shakespeare. Year after year, the little refreshment stand outside the Delacorte Theater would house a pile of delicious scones (with currants, I think) that my mother would wipe out every visit, for us to eat over the upcoming weeks.

Over the years, I never found a recipe that came close to those perfect Scottish treats, but I think I might have found one that could be darned close, with a little tweaking. The other night I made vanilla bean scones -- and I wasn't even looking for the perfect scone recipe, but rather to use up a vanilla bean so that I could make extract. Double plus!

These scones are incredibly simple and easy to make (I used a dough cutter to mix it all, rather than fingers and a knife), and they're perfect for the people who like a plain treat. But these are also scones just asking for a little flair -- some sort of fruit or extra flavor to make the scone pop. (This is why the recipe is teamed with a DIY jam, but that's only one possible option.) Add your preferred flavor and shape as you please -- you can make them round, like the recipe asks, or roll out a circle and cut with a pie cutter to create triangles, as you can see above. Then they're just nestled into a pan, and quickly baked.

If you have a recipe that you prefer, please share it below!