The two milkshakes in the center of the photo have ‘the works,’ adorned with whipped cream and cherries. Off to the right is a plain mint milkshake without the toppings, which is the way this test cook prefers it.
                                 Mary Therese Biebel | Times Leader

The two milkshakes in the center of the photo have ‘the works,’ adorned with whipped cream and cherries. Off to the right is a plain mint milkshake without the toppings, which is the way this test cook prefers it.

Mary Therese Biebel | Times Leader

But we’re celebrating spring, St. Patrick’s Day

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<p>The ingredients for these simple shakes include milk, ice cream, vanilla extract, mint extract, green food coloring, and cherries and whipped cream for toppings.</p>
                                 <p>Mary Therese Biebel | Times Leader</p>

The ingredients for these simple shakes include milk, ice cream, vanilla extract, mint extract, green food coloring, and cherries and whipped cream for toppings.

Mary Therese Biebel | Times Leader

“It’s delicious,” reporter Jen Learn-Andes said earlier this week as she sipped a minty green milkshake from the Times Leader test kitchen.

“I like that it’s not as thick (as a McDonald’s Shamrock Shake),” Jen continued. “It’s more drinkable. And it’s so cool and refreshing, you could serve it in the summer.”

“Oh, it was delicious,” reporter Kevin Carroll agreed. “I’m glad the mint wasn’t overpowering, and I liked the whipped cream.”

“I’d give it a 4 out of 5,” said news editor Liz Baumeister, who is not a fan of mint but tried a vanilla version of the shake. “It was very refreshing.”

“Not bad, not bad,” said columnist Bill O’Boyle, who opted for the mint variety. “It’s all part of the celebration.”

Meanwhile, my husband and fellow TL test cook, Mark, who tries to never duplicate a recipe himself, gave me a hard time about having made similar shakes in the test kitchen two years ago, in honor of St. Patrick’s Day 2022.

“Why don’t you just make some more anise cookies?” he said, referring to my tradition of baking anise cookies at least once a year because that’s just about the only thing I make that our executive editor Joe Soprano will consent to eat.

Sigh. “These shakes are similar to the ones I made before,” I said. “But they’re not identical. The milk-to-ice cream proportion is different. And this year I didn’t spend any time experimenting with mint ice cream. I went straight for the vanilla ice cream and mint extract.”

“That is the way to go,” Mark concurred.

The recipe I used this year came from thepioneeerwoman.com, and uses 3 cups of vanilla ice cream to 1.5 cups whole milk (OK, I did deviate a bit by using 2 percent milk). I think the best advice the Pioneer Woman offers in this recipe is to use “pure mint extract,” (I chose McCormick), which is a blend of oil of spearmint and oil of peppermint.

If you use plain oil of peppermint, the flavor would have more of a bite. This blended extract is a nice gentle mint, and it does taste great.

Before I took the ingredients and a blender to the newsroom, I made my mother a milkshake, sans whipped cream, which is the way we both prefer it. She called it “a very nice treat.”

Mark liked his (with whipped cream and a cherry) but added, “Imagine how good they’d be if you made your own ice cream and your own whipped cream.”

Dream on, Dearie.

Now for the recipe, from thepioneerwoman.com.

Homemade Minty Green Shakes

3 cups vanilla bean ice cream

1 1/2 cup whole milk

1 1/2 teaspoon mint extract

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

9 drops green food coloring

whipped cream, cherries, and fresh mint sprigs, for garnish

Combine the ice cream, milk, extracts, and food coloring in the base of a blender. Blend until thick and creamy, about 30 seconds. Pour the mixture into 2 tall glasses and top if desired with whipped cream, cherries, and mint.