Cookies and Cream Milkshake

Before you start

The challenge with a cookies and cream shake is getting cookie flavor without turning the drink into a sandy paste. If you blend chocolate sandwich cookies with the ice cream from the start, they break into fine crumbs that make every sip gritty and gray. If you only stir them in, they sink and get soggy.

The solution is two stages. First blend the vanilla shake with a couple of cookies fully, so the base tastes like cookies and cream. Then add the rest broken into quarters and pulse just two or three times to leave real chunks. Large pieces stay crisp a little longer and are easy to catch with a wide straw or spoon.

Ingredients

• 3 large scoops (about 300 g / 2 cups) vanilla ice cream
• 100 ml (scant ½ cup) cold whole milk
• 6 chocolate sandwich cookies — divided
• ¼ tsp vanilla extract — optional
• To top whipped cream and 1 crushed cookie — optional

Method

1. Freeze the glass for 10 minutes and let the ice cream soften on the counter for about 5 minutes.
2. Break 4 of the cookies into quarters by hand; put the last 2 cookies whole into the blender.
3. Add the milk, vanilla and ice cream to the blender with the 2 whole cookies. Blend on medium for 15 to 20 seconds until smooth and lightly speckled.
4. Add the quartered cookies. Pulse 2 or 3 times, for about 1 second each, just until they are in pea- to coin-sized pieces.
5. Pour into the chilled glass, using a spatula to scrape out the chunks that cling to the jar.
6. Top with whipped cream and a crushed cookie, and serve with a wide straw.

Tips for success

• Use less milk than in a plain shake; cookie pieces add bulk, and a slightly stiffer base holds them suspended.
• Chill the cookies in the freezer for 10 minutes before pulsing so they stay crunchier in the shake.
• If you prefer completely smooth flavor with no bits, blend 3 cookies into the base and skip the pulsed pieces.

Substitutions

Vanilla ice cream

Cookies and cream ice cream gives a double cookie hit; reduce the added cookies to 4.

Chocolate sandwich cookies

Golden sandwich cookies, chocolate chip cookies or graham crackers all work the same way.

Whole milk

Dairy-free milk and ice cream make a vegan version if the cookies you buy contain no milk; check the label.

Variations

Mint cookies and cream

Use mint chocolate chip ice cream as the base.

Peanut butter cookie

Blend 1 tbsp peanut butter into the base before adding the cookie pieces.

Troubleshooting

Gritty and gray

All the cookies were blended fully. Blend only two into the base and pulse the rest briefly.

Cookie bits block the straw

The pieces are too big or the straw too narrow. Pulse once more and use a wide boba-style straw.

Pieces turned soggy

The shake sat too long. Serve immediately and freeze the cookies first so they hold up.

Storage

Serve immediately; the cookie pieces soften within minutes and the shake thins as it warms. It is not a good make-ahead drink.