Apple Cider Milkshake
October 6, 2018 by Nicole Collins
Isn't it funny how we associate certain foods with certain months?
We do this with colors too. But, not all of the months have a food or a color, yet some have both.
Let's go through the list. January doesn't really have anything connected to it. February would be chocolate and pink. March is green. I associate April as blue because of the rain. I'm not sure you could call that official, though. May and June don't have anything. July would be red, white, and blue. Nothing for August. September is apples. October is pumpkin, orange, and pink. (Shout out to my bday month of October for have 3 things, btw! Even though two of those things are orange...yuck.) November is turkey. December is peppermint.
What do you guys think? Do I have that list right? Is that how you associate colors and flavors with the months, too?
What I want to know is, who decided this? Who decided apples belong to September and pink belongs to February?
I guess from an “in season” produce standpoint, the apples and the pumpkins make sense. But, how come peppermint belongs to Christmas which by association makes it belong to December? Maybe peppermint should've been a St. Patrick's day flavor?
Though I'm pretty ok with beer and potatoes being the St. Patrick's day flavor. Anyone gonna fight that? #teamcarbs
I know this is a pretty random and deeply philosophical question for a Saturday morning, but I think it's at the top of my mind because I'm kinda breaking the “rules” today.
That's right folks. We're rebels without a cause today; because today, we're having apples in October.
I know! Insert “mouth open gasping” emoji right here →
You know how else we're breaking even more rules today? We're having a frozen dessert (which you could say belongs to the summer) in the fall! Yup, that's right.
Today, it's Apple Cider Milkshakes!
Though we typically associate milkshakes with the summer, this drink SCREAMS fall. The only way this drink could be any more fall is if we added pumpkin to it!
This is a super simple, 4 ingredient recipe. All we need is some vanilla ice cream, apple cider, milk, and apple pie spice. Everything gets run through a blender until it's nice and smooth, and it's all ready to go!
However, there are a few things to note about this recipe. 1. A lot of people will willy nilly substitute pumpkin pie spice for apple pie spice, and vice versa. That's fine by me, BUT the flavors are not the same. Apple pie spice is going to be a little heavier on the cinnamon flavor. But, the biggest difference is that apple pie spice doesn't have spicy ginger and cloves like pumpkin pie spice. The flavor would still be delicious if you substitute, but to match the apple flavors perfectly, stick with apple pie spice.
2. Apple juice and apple cider are not the same. Apple cider is typically unfiltered, so the apple flavor is going to be more concentrated and delicious. Cider is just a purer flavor. I'll take apple cider any day over apple juice, so make sure you stick with cider in this milkshake if it's available to you in your neighborhood.
3. Lowfat vs full fat. Both ice cream and milk come in varieties that have different levels of fat content. You can use any combo you like. But, keep in mind a full fat ice cream with whole or 2% milk is going to yield a much creamier milkshake that a fat free and skim milk combo. The taste will be incredible either way! I actually pretend I can have a healthy milkshake by using the low fat/no fat options all of the time.
The last thing we need to talk about is the garnish. To top our milkshake, we're going to use a generous dollop of whipped cream, some adorable straws (the ones I have are reusable!), and some mini cinnamon crunch donuts. WHAT! Yeah, soak that in for a sec...
Now, the garnishes are totally optional; but really, why not at this point? On top of making these milkshakes totally adorable, it really just brings home that creamy apple cinnamon flavor. The warm spices from the cider and the apple pie spice mixed with the cold ice cream topped with a soft donut dipper equals a big “YES PLEASE!” in my book. You won't know what month you're supposed to be in, but you'll sure be glad you're anywhere this milkshake is! And let's be honest...who can really turn down donut?
Alrighty everyone! I hope your weekend is full of apple, pumpkins, and milkshakes this weekend. So, enjoy. And, let's drink!
Apple Cider Milkshake
Serves: 1 big or 2 small milkshakes Print
Ingredients:
2 cups vanilla ice cream
¾ cup apple cider
¼ cup milk (I used 2%)
½ tsp apple pie spice
whipped cream, for garnish (optional)
cinnamon crunch donuts, for garnish (optional)
Directions:
Add ice cream, apple cider, milk, and apple pie spice to a blender. Blend until smooth. Top with whipped cream and cinnamon crunch donuts, if desired. Serve immediately.
Recipe notes:
*To keep your milkshake nice and creamy, use full fat ice cream and whole or 2% milk. The milkshake will taste just as yummy if you use low fat ice cream and fat free milk. It'll just be a little thinner.
*Apple cider and apple juice are not the same. Apple cider is typically unfiltered which makes the apple flavor a little more pure. I did not test this with juice, so stick with cider if it's available in your area.
*Cinnamon sugar donuts or even a little hunk of apple cider donut would also be a nice garnish for this.
*These are the set of pretty straws I have.
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