If you love ice cream (as I do), then you probably are always making up toppings and recipes in your head (as I do). Last weekend, Lillie and I had a huge container of ice cream to devour, courtesy of my mom and dad (thank you!). So, we decided to have a milkshake party. We came up with 6 scrumptious and easy milkshake recipes - some with a global flair, some with a Michigan bent (Sanders and Vernors are from Michigan!). 

Directions for all recipes:
Start with ice cream in a bowl, add your toppings. If it is hot out, you won't need milk. If it is, add a little bit, for easier stirring. Stir, stir, stir. Mix it all in really well. Pour or spoon into a glass, add whipped cream and toppings, if applicable. If you've got kids, this is a fantastic way to get them involved. Each person can stir a bowl! Remember that when you make milkshakes and malts, the ice cream really squishes down. 

Serving suggestion:
We could not decide on which one we wanted, so we chose small glasses and had several milkshakes each. Keep the milkshakes in the freezer while you enjoy one, then go for another, and another. Delicious, cold, creamy, smooth...it's hard to pick a favorite.

Blueberry Pie Milkshake

2 scoops of vanilla ice cream
cinnamon, to taste
blueberries
3 gingersnap cookies, crumbled
a few blueberries and crumbs, for topping

Chai Latte Milkshake

2 scoops of vanilla ice cream
1 t malted milk powder
dash of vanilla
cinnamon, to taste
3 T chai latte mix (we use tazo) - or make your own - here's my recipe

Mexican Hot Chocolate Milkshake

2 scoops of vanilla ice cream
2 T cocoa mix (we use Ghirardelli double chocolate)
splash of vanilla
cinnamon, to taste

Cinnamel Milkshake

2 scoops of vanilla ice cream
cinnamon, to taste
Caramel ice cream topping, to taste (2 T is my sweet spot)

Dark Chocolate Fudge Pecan Milkshake

2 scoops of vanilla ice cream
2 T Sanders Dark Chocolate Fudge ice cream topping
small handful pecan pieces
sprinkle malt powder

Triple Ginger Milkshake

2 scoops of vanilla ice cream
2 T ginger syrup
2 T Vernor's ginger ale (any ginger ale will do)
3 gingersnap cookies, crumbled
a few gingersnap crumbs, for sprinkling on top of whipped cream

Which one will you make first? (or all of them, as we did?) 

Note: this article was originally published in 2017, and updated in 2020