Soak In Summertime Fun with This Boozy Milkshake Recipe (2024)

Published: Jun 14, 2023 by Nora · This post may contain affiliate links · 14 Comments

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This recipe is super quick and simple, and even though it tastes great all year long, there's something so perfect about enjoying it during the warmer months! This gorgeous white milkshake is the perfect addition to the dog days of summer!

Soak In Summertime Fun with This Boozy Milkshake Recipe (1)

There's a lot of times when being an adult just isn't that fun. You've got bills to pay, errands to run, and a seemingly never-ending list of responsibilities that need to be juggled.

For me, there's certain recipes that help transport me back in time to simpler days of playing outside with my friends or sitting by the pool under the warm summer sun.

This delicious milkshake recipe brings me back to those carefree days at first sip – but the wonderful boozy kick also reminds me that being an adult isn't all that bad, either!

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🥘 Ingredients
🔪 How To Make a Boozy Milkshake From Scratch
🍸 Substitutions
🍨 Variations
🍽 Equipment
🙋🏻 FAQ
📖 Recipe
🤎 You might also like
⛑️ Food Safety
💬 Comments

🥘 Ingredients

Soak In Summertime Fun with This Boozy Milkshake Recipe (2)

Whole Milk
Vanilla Ice Cream - Homemade or Store-Bought
Cointreau
Flavored Whipped Cream for Garnish

See the recipe card for quantities.

🔪 How To Make a Boozy Milkshake From Scratch

To start, add your milk, ice cream, and Cointreau to a blender and blend everything together until frothy. Pour the mixture into a serving glass and garnish with whipped cream.

Personally, I recommend my Orange Flavored Whipped Cream,which is a great compliment to the Cointreau you'll find in this milkshake recipe!

Soak In Summertime Fun with This Boozy Milkshake Recipe (3)

This particular recipe reminds me a little bit of an Orange Julius! If you're not a fan of the orange and vanilla combination, check out the variations section for more fun adult milkshake ideas!

Once assembled and topped with whipped cream, all there's left to do is grab a straw and enjoy this fun twist on a classic drink!

🍸 Substitutions

If you don't want to depart from the original recipe too much but don't have anyCointreau on hand, it can be substituted with Apricot Brandy.

🍨 Variations

For those of you whoweren't a fan of Orange Juliusgrowing up, there's still lots of boozy, adult milkshake options out there for you! If you've got something of a sweet tooth, how about swapping out the Cointreau for some vanilla vodka? It's the perfect compliment to my vodka-flavored whipped cream! It's also great with Irish cream!

If you're someone who prefers chocolate ice cream, you could try subbing that in with cream vodka. For the full "death by chocolate" effect, why not top it with some chocolate syrup and my divine chocolate-flavored whipped cream?

If you're more into strawberry milkshakes, I have a great recipe for one of those too! You could use strawberry ice cream or my strawberry simple syrup to give it that beautiful flavoring. All that's left to do is add in a splash of a fun, adult beverage! The strawberry flavored whipped cream is optional, but don't skip out on the fresh berry garnish!

There's lots of alcoholic milkshake variations out there, but there's are just a few of my favorites! If none of these are piquing your interest, try experimenting with your favorite ice cream placers and a complimentary alcoholic beverage!

🍽 Equipment

Measuring Tools
Blender
Milkshake Glass

Soak In Summertime Fun with This Boozy Milkshake Recipe (4)

🌡 Storage & Top Tips

This recipe makes the perfect serving size for one, and because of the combination of vanilla and Cointreau, I recommend enjoying this right away. Unless you're planning to freeze it into popsicle molds, I don't recommend storing leftovers in the fridge.

🙋🏻 FAQ

Did milkshakes used to be alcoholic?

When milkshakes were first invented roughly 150 years ago, they were actually an alcoholic whisky drink that more closely resembled the traditional egg nog. Today, though, they're most commonly made with milk, ice cream, and syrups for flavoring.
If you want to make an adult milkshake that pays homage to the original recipe, you could try subbing Irish Whiskey or even an Irish Cream Liqueur into this recipe instead of the Cointreau, and topping with Irish cream!

What makes a drink a milkshake?

A milkshake is made from milk, ice cream (and usually some syrup for flavoring), being blended together.

How to make a thick shake without ice cream?

If you don't want to use ice cream in your milkshake, you could use just ice and a little extra milk in your recipe, but unless you're lactose intolerant, I wouldn't recommend it. Besides, there's plenty of dairy-free ice cream options on the market today! If you're out of ice cream and don't feel like heading out to the store for replenishments, it's worth a shot, but otherwise, I wouldn't recommend this substitution.

If you make this recipe, let me know how you liked it by ★★★★★ star rating it and leaving a comment below. This would be awesome! You can also sign up for our Newsletter or follow me on Pinterest orInstagramand share your creation with me. Just tag me@combinegoodflavorsand hashtag#combinegoodflavors, so I don't miss it.

📖 Recipe

Boozy Cointreau Milkshake

Nora

Upgrade your milkshake game with this alcoholic twist! Learn how to make a tasty and refreshing Cointreau milkshake that will be the highlight of your summer.

4.98 from 37 votes

Equipment

Measuring Tools
Blender
Serving Glass

Ingredients

½ cups Whole Milk
1 scoop Vanilla ice cream
1 shot Cointreau
Flavored whipped cream for garnish

Instructions

Add ½ cups Whole Milk, 1 scoop Vanilla ice cream, and 1 shot Cointreau to a blender and blend until frothy.
½ cups Whole Milk, 1 scoop Vanilla ice cream, 1 shot Cointreau
Pour into a serving glass and garnish with Flavored whipped cream.
Flavored whipped cream
Serve with a straw.

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Keyword alcoholic, boozy milkshake, co*cktail with cointreau, Cointreau, Milkshake

Like this recipe?Mention @combinegoodflavors or tag #combinegoodflavors!

Nutrition values are estimates only, using online calculators. Please verify using your own data.

🤎 You might also like

Orange Cointreau Coffee
Red Halloween co*cktail
Boozy Orange Marmalade Truffles with Dark Chocolate
Boozy Marzipan Candy

⛑️ Food Safety

Cook to a minimum temperature of 165 °F (74 °C)
Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat
Wash hands after touching raw meat
Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
Never leave cooking food unattended
Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds
Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove

For further information, check Safe Food Handling - FDA.

FAQs

Soak In Summertime Fun with This Boozy Milkshake Recipe? ›

1 cup ice cream to 1/4 cup milk is a great ratio. Blend the shake. In a blender, combine the milk and ice cream and blend until smooth. Add any your mix-ins and blend them in to your desired consistency.

Tell Me More ›

What is the ratio of milk to ice cream in a milkshake? ›

Can you make a milkshake in a co*cktail shaker? ›

Since you don't have a blender, you can use a container that has a lid or a co*cktail shaker to shake your milkshake ingredients together. It's best to choose a container with a lid for shaking and storing any leftover milkshake. You can also use a large lidded jar such as a mason jar or blender bottle if you have one.

Tell Me More ›

What is the best ice cream for milkshakes? ›

The Best Ice Cream

In most cases, stick with vanilla ice cream to avoid a milkshake that's too sweet. Even if you're making a chocolate, strawberry, or some other flavor of shake, vanilla ice cream is like the blank canvas that allows you to get the flavor just right.

Explore More ›

How to thicken a milkshake? ›

The trick to a thicker milkshake is the ice cream to milk ratio. Use 2 cups of ice cream to 1/2 cup of milk. You will need a spoon to eat this milkshake, not a straw! If you prefer to use a straw and want a thinner milkshake just add in more milk or less ice cream.

Know More ›

What kind of milk is best for milkshakes? ›

Whole milk makes the creamiest milkshakes, but work with what you've got! From there, consider upgrading and customizing your milkshake with the following ingredients: 1 tablespoon flavor boosts: A spoonful of malted milk powder or powdered milk adds extra creaminess that takes milkshakes to the next level.

Find Out More ›

What is an old fashioned milkshake called? ›

Diners across the country are known for their classic, thick, ice cream milkshakes. In diner lingo, they're called white or black cows.

Learn More Now ›

Can I use a blender bottle instead of a co*cktail shaker? ›

Blender. Whether you actually turn it on or not is up to you (and whether you want blended ice in your recipe), but even turned off, the blender container can work. They're a good size, they're made to be totally leak-proof even when liquid is whizzing around at high speeds, and they should be easy to pour.

Does McDonald's use real ice cream in their milkshakes? ›

Great question. Our shakes contain milk from our reduced-fat soft serve, which makes them thick and creamy. Dairy regulations actually vary from state to state on what can officially be called a 'milkshake.

Read The Full Story ›

What is the best thickener for milkshakes? ›

Ice cream: Adding more ice cream is the simplest way to thicken a milkshake while maintaining or enhancing the flavor. Frozen bananas: Peel, chop, and freeze ripe bananas, then blend them into your milkshake for added thickness and a subtle banana flavor that complements many milkshake flavors.

Show Me More ›

What is America's favorite milkshake? ›

It might surprise you to learn the classic strawberry milkshake is the most popular milkshake flavor in ten of the 50 United States. It would seem as if the other states are split over their favorites.

Get More Info ›

What is the secret ingredient in milkshake? ›

What you do: Add a few scoops of ice cream to your blender, your desired flavorings and a splash of milk (go easy, you can always add in more later). Next add a tablespoon of milk powder, blend low and slow and ta-da—milkshake perfection.

Discover More Details ›

What thickens McDonald's milkshakes? ›

"Our shakes contain milk from our reduced-fat, soft serve, which makes them thick and creamy," a McDonald's spokesperson told Business Insider.

How are McDonald's milkshakes so thick? ›

Find Out More ›

What is the best ratio of milk to cream for ice cream? ›

Ice cream made just from milk tends to be kind of icy. I like a ratio of 2:1 cream:milk. You can usually get away with 2 cups of cream to 1 cup of milk without overflowing your ice cream machine.

What is the ratio for ice cream? ›

Basic ratio: 1 1/2 cups heavy cream, 1 1/2 cups whole milk, 3/4 cup granulated sugar, 3 tablespoons cornstarch, 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt.

View Details ›

What is the proportion of milk content in ice cream? ›

Ice cream commonly contains 10–12% milkfat and 10–15% milk solids-not-fat, so concentrated sources of these dairy components (i.e., cream, condensed skim milk, nonfat dry milk powder) are used to standardize mix composition. Each ingredient has a unique role in ice cream.

How much milk do you put in ice cream? ›

Ingredients you need to make your own Ice Cream

1 part milk (Whole or 2% work best)
2 parts heavy cream (optional)
a dash of vanilla.
1 part sugar.
4 cups crushed ice.
4 tbsp. salt.
2 quart-size plastic bags.
1 gallon-size plastic freezer bag.

More items...