Shamrock Shakes

Not to be confused with my last post, shamrock shapes, we now move on to shamrock shakes.  Tis the season for the sweet green milkshakes that only come out once a year. Thick and creamy, minty and refreshing.  I always find it a cool surprise when my hubby shows up with two that he's secretly stashed in the freezer for us to share after the kids go to bed. And look how adorable they've made it now with a ruffle of whip cream and a cherry on top. A cute little tasty treat to splurge on now and again. It seems in recent years, that as we get closer to the 17th most of the McDonald's have already run out of the delectable stuff.  I found out this year they actually start selling them mid February and that is the reason they are mostly gone by the actual holiday.  You'd think they'd plan ahead for that, right?

In a round about way, I can sort of attribute shamrock shakes to making some really good friends I've had for over thirteen years now.  I believe it was summer time or late fall right before Y2K (member the panic?) when I got a wicked craving for a shamrock shake.  Of course there weren't any to be had, so I went a searching the internet (wow I can't really even say googling, this was way back in 1999) and I came across a copy cat recipe site that had a shamrock shake recipe you could make from home.  

So I cracked out the blender and tried it that weekend.  Not too bad and definitely satisfied the minty taste I had been pining for.  Oh and those friends I mentioned, well I found a group of ladies on that cooking site that ended up started their own cooking site/recipe exchange and we have been friends all these years.  We are from all over the country, and most of us have never met in person, but we have been there for the births of babies, death of loved ones, highs and lows, and all the fun stuff in between. That was on top of sharing fabulous recipes and cooking tips, and all of that thanks to a little ol' shamrock shake you say?  It's funny but completely true.  Here's a little shout out to my Zesty girls (Bee, Sammi, Joanie, Stacy, Kelly, Christie, Tammy, Michelle, and Kim)!

Well as you know, shamrock shakes can be a little pricey, and of course you want the option of having them year round if possible.  So I went a googling recently (I can say google now, since it's modern day) to try and find another copy cat recipe that we could make from home, and here is our result (sans the cherry).

Homemade shamrock shakes

The recipe was almost self explanatory, and though close, I am still on the look out for one that is thicker/closer to the original.  Am I the only one who really feels that the shamrock shake is their eggnog shake (minus the spices) with mint added.  I really think it has an underlying eggnog background flavor, anyone with me here? Defend or Discuss.  Ok so I will link to the recipe we used, with simple ingredients of milk, ice cream, mint extract and green food coloring.  My first thought is the next time we make these, to use chocolate chip mint ice cream for an extra dash of mint flavor, not to mention chocolate chunks are always a bonus.The real test will be to make these next Christmas, when I can add a dash of eggnog in there to see if my suspicions are correct.  I will keep you posted.  In the meantime, enjoy the minty goodness one refreshing sip at a time!