Vanilla Bean Lemonade

Days are getting warmer and longer. You know what that means don't you?

Barbecues, picnics, and lemonade.

Lots and lots of lemonade.

I have two favorite lemonades.

First is Strawberry Lemonade. 

Next, well I am sure you can guess...

Yup.

Vanilla Bean Lemonade.

Oh gracious. Lemons and vanilla beans. I think they must be soul mates. I am so glad they found each other.

I first had Vanilla Bean Lemonade when we lived in Ohio. The Hubs had come across it at a Market in Cleveland. He bought a few bottles to bring home. After trying some, I had to force myself not to drink it all down.

The lemonade was perfectly sweet and tart. Then it finished with the best vanilla flavor. I know it will sound cheesy, but it was like drinking a summer breeze and a summer sunset all in one.

We haven't lived in Ohio for almost three years now (which is crazy people, CRAZY) and I haven't had Vanilla Bean Lemonade since then. I have been missing it. I mean, seriously almost three years without my favorite lemonade. Well that is just craziness.

So I figured I should probably whip up my own Vanilla Bean Lemonade.

Oh my favoritest lemonade I am so glad you are back in my life. I look forward to many long summer days, relaxing on the back patio with the warm breeze blowing across my bare feet drinking down glassfuls of this lemonade.

Happy Summer.

Vanilla Bean Lemonade

4 large lemons, juiced (about 4 cups)
2 quarts of water
2/3 cup sugar
1 vanilla bean, scrapped
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

First, scrap the vanilla bean to get all the seeds out. If you have never scraped a vanilla bean, here is a great video by the Martha Stewart on How to Scrape a Vanilla Bean.

Put the sugar into a small bowl and add in the vanilla beans seeds. Mix until the seeds are evenly combined in the sugar. This makes vanilla sugar.

Combine the vanilla sugar, lemon juice, water, and vanilla extract in a pitcher.  Stir until the sugar is dissolved.

Pour into glasses. Add ice. Drink it down.

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Vanilla Bean Glazed Vanilla Cake Bars

A few weeks ago while on a trip to visit family in Utah, I made a pretty spectacular and magical purchase.

No, this particular purchase was not at IKEA. Although to be frank, I went there too and there were many purchases made in the store-where-dreams-come-true. While fabulous, they weren't spectacular nor magical.

My SIL, who knows I like to cook/bake/eat/eat some more let me know about this family owned business that sold Mexican vanilla. But not just any Mexican vanilla...CLEAR Mexican vanilla.

Say what?!?

I don't know about you, but I didn't even know such a thing existed.

Being that I like Vanilla anything a whole lotta bunches (that was totally proper English), I agreed with her that we needed to hop in the car and both go purchase ourselves a giant thing of Mexican vanilla.

AND I mean a giant thing of vanilla...FOUR LITERS.

I think I am set for awhile...give or take 25 years...hehehe...

The crazy thing is, once I got home I found myself being very particular about what I used my precious clear Mexican vanilla for. I actually didn't bake with it for awhile. I wanted to use it for the most perfectly perfect recipe.

Well hello there Perfectly Perfect. And what might your name be??

 Oh Vanilla Bean Glazed Vanilla Cake Bars, well it is nice to eat...er uh, I mean meet you.

When I first came across this recipe, it was actually called a Vanilla Brownie. Alas, they just weren't the consistency of a brownie, so I didn't feel grand about calling them such...you know since I have a love affair with brownies several times a month.

I also thought that they needed much more vanilla than called for. I mean, hello, more vanilla equals love. Oh, and plus I had more than enough vanilla to use a little more.

While I opted to call these cake bars, they are denser than regular cake. They are almost pound cake consistency. Dense, soft, vanilla infused bars, that is what they are.

Basically all you really need to know is they are vanilla bars topped with vanilla bean glaze AND they are fantastic.

 I mean FAN.TAS.TIC.

These bars are dreamy. This vanilla is dreamy. Dreamy, dreamy, dreamy.

Now obviously these bars will be just as good with regular pure vanilla, so don't go all,

"Well whatever shall I do, I don't have clear Mexican vanilla AND now all I want is to make some of those bars. My day is pretty much ruined. Ruined I tell you!"

If you find yourself some clear Mexican vanilla, SUPER. If not, your hopes and aspirations of baking these scrumptious bars are not dashed. Bake them anyway.

They will still rock your world.

Enjoy!!

Vanilla Bean Glazed Vanilla Cake Bars
adapted from Oh Bite It.

Printable Recipe

Cake:
1 box vanilla cake mix
2/3 cup evaporated milk
1/2 cup melted butter
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Glaze:
1 vanilla bean scrapped
2 cups powdered sugar
Milk or Cream (amount will depend on desired thickness of glaze)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix the cake ingredients in a bowl until combined.

Pour into a greased 9x9 baking dish. Bake for 20-25 minutes until the bars are set.

While the bars or baking, make the glaze.

Scrape the vanilla bean and put all the glorious scrapings in a bowl. Add in the powdered sugar, and start adding in the cream/milk 1 Tablespoon at a time. Stirring in between Tablespoons. Stop when it is a thick glaze, but thin enough to drizzle.

Drizzle the glaze over the done bars.

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