December means baking—sugar cookies and shortbread cut into trees and stars ... and is there really beaver goo in the artificial one? Vanilla beans are the fruit of the vanilla orchid, a ...

But the extract is made by steeping vanilla beans in alcohol. Vanilla beans are the pods of a flowering plant. And then there's vanilla paste; a thick paste made from vanilla extract and vanilla ...

Bake the Christmas tree in the oven for 1½-2 hours ... When the meringue and fruit syrup have cooled, whisk the cream and vanilla bean paste in a bowl until soft peaks form when the whisk ...