March is quickly approaching. The months after February tend to be tougher for me as there aren’t any holidays off from work in March or April. Towards the end of May is when I get to have another long weekend. While there aren’t days off from now until May, there are still some wonderful holidays to celebrate in between. Earlier this week, I started brainstorming ideas for a St. Patrick’s Day celebration in March. I always see advertisements for Shamrock shakes around this time of the year. I’ve only had a Shamrock shake once many years ago, so I don’t have a very good memory of all of the flavors within the shake. Instead of picking up a shake from a fast food restaurant, I decided to make my own. I wanted to create a version of a green milkshake without using food coloring. I thought about which ingredients will give food a nice green color and realized matcha powder could do the trick. I use matcha a lot in baking and thought it would be a good addition to a milkshake. I started brainstorming different flavor combinations and decided to make a minty matcha chocolate milkshake using mint extract, matcha powder, and chocolate syrup. I added all of these ingredients along with some vanilla ice cream, whole milk, and ice cubes into a blender. I then used the pulse setting to blend everything together. The end result was a lightly tinted green milkshake. The milkshake was absolutely (sham)rocking good! Kevin was skeptical at first when I described the milkshake to him, but when he tasted it, he absolutely loved the flavors in the milkshake. It was so good, he drank the entire milkshake in one sitting, something he never does with cold drinks. I also drank the entire milkshake in one sitting, but I tend to do this with all of my milkshakes. This milkshake turned out so good, I’m excited to share this delicious creation below.
Minty Matcha Chocolate Milkshakes:
· 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
· 6-8 ounces vanilla ice cream
· 2 teaspoons matcha powder
· 1 tablespoon chocolate syrup
· 1 cup whole milk
· ½ cup ice cubes
Directions:
1) In a blender, add the peppermint extract, vanilla ice cream, matcha powder, chocolate syrup, whole milk, and ice cubes. Blend all of the ingredients in the blender using the pulse setting for 1-2 minutes, until all of the ingredients are blended together.
2) Pour the milkshake into two glasses. As an optional step, top with some chocolate syrup and chocolate chips.
Takeaways: My minty matcha chocolate milkshakes had a light green tint and a hint of matcha flavor. If you want a darker green milkshake with a more intense matcha flavor, you can double the amount of matcha in your milkshake.