Because we can never have too many treats in our lives, ice cream lovers take note! It’s milkshake season! Sure, I made it up but who’s going to argue? For this week’s Cooking with Heinen’s post, I’m making milk shakes. Not just any runny, processed, fast food, milkshakes, but thick, decadent whole food ingredient shakes. There are soooooo many combinations. Salted caramel, Oreo Cheesecake, Captian Crunch …yes it’s good! How about a Pecan Pie Bourbon Milkshake? I’ve got the recipe HERE.
Here are a few concoctions from my own kitchen. This assignment was officially my kids’ favorite. My recipes below are nearly suggestions. Please feel free to adjust the amounts to your liking. Each batch makes two to three servings depending on the size glass. I use a powerful blender and always start with a minimal amount of liquid. You can always add if your blender struggles but the ultimate goal is the thickest possible shake. This leads me to another suggestion, use quality ice-cream. I have raised three teen aged boys, I get the choice to buy the gallon jug of cheap no name ice-cream. They’ll eat it so fast they won’t taste it anyway. However, for shakes, the higher the quality (which usually directly corresponds to the simplicity of its whole ingredients and the butter fat content), the better. This is a perfect time to splurge.
If you follow me at TableandDish you may have already figured out that I have a weakness for anything made with lemons. One of my favorite treats is to mix Mascarpone cheese and lemon curd and put it on…anything… scones, biscuits, cake or just a spoon. So it was a logical leap for me to mix it with a bit of vanilla ice-cream and make a shake. The added element of Cardamom I attribute to my grandmother who used to make delicious lebkuchen cookies with candied fruit and just a hint of cardamon. Cardamom has a way of making even mundane foods something completely different. It can overpower other flavors so it pairs well with simple ingredients. It has a complex taste that starts bold and leaves you with hints of lemon, mint and smoke. I first tasted Cardamom ice cream in France. It’s been a love affair ever since.
Lemon Mascarpone Cardamom Milk Shake
- Start with 1 pint vanilla ice cream.
- Two scoops lemon sorbet
- Add about 1/4 cup of lemon curd
- Add 1/4 cup of mascarpone cheese
- Add a teaspoon of fresh Cardamom.
- Start with a little milk or half and half add just enough to blend.
- Top with whipped cream and a slight sprinkle of fresh cardamom.
Malted milk balls, double chocolate ice-cream and cold brew coffee, a trifecta of taste. We’re throwing it way back with the malted milk balls giving the coffee chocolate combo a thick rich texture. If you want to keep this Chocolate Cold Brew Malt Ball Shake for just the grown ups try adding a bit of Kahlua.
Chocolate Cold Brew Malt Ball Shake
- Start with 1 1/2 pint chocolate ice cream
- Add 1/4 cup of cold brew unsweetened coffee
- 1/4 cup of half-and-half
- Add a handful of chocolate covered malted milk balls.
- Blend
- Top with whipped cream, chocolate drizzle and a few crushed malt balls.
This next one has another ingredient that takes me way back to my early days in footie pajamas, cooking with my Mom. She loved to use buttermilk and I always had a little glass of it while she cooked. The tart buttery flavor of this Blueberry Açai Buttermilk Shake mixes great with rich vanilla bean ice cream and fresh blueberry and açai berry puree. If your going to treat yourself at least include a superfood!
Blueberry Açai Buttermilk Shake
- 1 1/2 pint Vanilla ice cream
- 1/4 cup buttermilk
- 1cup fresh blueberries
- 1 pack thawed acai juice
- Blend
- Top with whipped cream.
I use the organic Açai fruit purée by Amafruits in the Heinen’s freezer section. But you could substitute Açai juice.
Last but not least, the classic strawberry milk shake with a fresh addition of sweet basil. There’s nothing better than fresh strawberries in a milk shake. Sure you could use strawberry syrup but nothing can imitate the actual fresh flavor of real strawberries. Tis the season and they’re abundant, so go get them for this Strawberry Basil Milkshake!
Strawberry Basil Milkshake
- 1 1/2 pint of strawberry ice cream
- Six finally chopped fresh basil leaves
- 1/4 cup half-and-half
- 8 to 10 large fresh strawberries
- add a little strawberry simple syrup*
- Blend.
*simple syrups are simply a combination of equal parts of sugar and water combined with an additional part of fresh fruit brought to a boil then simmered until thickened. Then strained and allowed to cool to room temperature. They last a week or so in the refrigerator. I like to make earl grey tea simple syrup. It gives a subtle tea flavor to what ever you use it in (like your favorite cocktail perhaps) Have fun experimenting with simple syrups.
Photographer Sally Roeckell specializes in contemporary lifestyle portraiture with an emphasis on food photography. She regularly shops at Heinen’s for the family dishes she features via Table and Dish on Instagram and on her website at TableAndDish.com.
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Heinen’s Grocery is located at 500 N. Hough Street, between E. Main Street and Route 14 (next to Meatheads) in Barrington, Illinois. They’re open 7 days a week from 8:00 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. For more information, visit Heinens.com.
