All Roads Lead to the Kitchen: Malted Milkshakes

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Malted Milkshakes {#IceCreamWeek} | www.girlichef.com

Chocolate Malts have been my favorite milkshake since the beginning of (my) time. To this day, one of my favorite meals consists of 50's-style diner food. As in, those super-thin, super-wide double cheeseburgers stacked on a buttery bun in a basket with shoestring fries, and alongside, a chocolate malt taller than the metal napkin dispenser sitting next to it on the table.

The absolute best places to get a meal like this are the old 50's diner-style restaurants, complete with red leather booths, black and white checkered floors, and mini-jukeboxes at your table.

We used to have a couple of them in the area when I was in high school. One particular high school boyfriend-slash-best-friend and I used to ALWAYS drive to one the next town over. I'm pretty sure it was called Sh-booms (Shabooms? I don't remember). I have no idea what happened to it. It must have disappeared sometime when I was away for college, because I don't remember seeing it since we went so many years ago. I would order the exact same thing every single time we went (see above).

There was another one in the area (actually I think they had at least two locations) called Alley-Oops. Same diner-style, complete with personal jukeboxes filled with hits from the 50's. I remember the one in South Bend closing when they tore the mall down, since it was built off the side of the mall. Actually, the one a couple of towns over was built on their mall, as well. I think I took my oldest to eat a few times when he was still pretty tiny. And yes, I ordered the same thing every time. I don't think that one is around anymore either.

Sigh. The disappearance of Americana...

I'll admit, I order the equivalent at Steak 'n Shake. But it's not quite the same. I mean yes, it's good. Particularly the chocolate malts. I think it's just the ambiance that I'm missing.

So yes, I adore a good chocolate malt (and I even like a not-so-good one). Fortunately, so does my whole family. They tend to get other kinds when we go out, while I'm happily sucking on the straw stuck into my chocolate malt - but they are more than happy to clean out the blender when I make a big batch at home!

Warning: These malts may be addictive! And also, they may be fattening. Maybe.

Malted Milkshakes

by Heather Schmitt-Gonzalez

Prep Time: 30 minutes (mostly unattended)

Cook Time: n/a

Keywords: beverage dessert low-sodium nut-free soy-free vegetarian dairy milk frozen ice-cream American summer

Ingredients (serves 4)

1 cup whole milk, divided
3 heaping tablespoons Malted Milk powder
3 heaping tablespoons Chocolate Malted Milk powder
1 quart vanilla ice cream, divided
malted milk balls, to garnish

Instructions

Place 1/2 cup of the milk into a blender with 3 tablespoons of malt powder; blend until powder is dissolved. Add 1 cup of the ice cream and blend until smooth. Add another cup, a little at a time, until it is smooth.

Pour two glasses halfway full with the vanilla malt, and pour the rest into a glass measuring cup. Place them all into the freezer for 10 minutes.

After 10 minutes, add the remaining 1/2 cup milk to the blender, along with the chocolate malt powder; blend until malt is dissolved. Add 1 cup of the ice cream and blend until smooth. Add the last cup, a little at a time, until it is smooth.

If you like, crush a few malted milk balls over the first layer of vanilla malt in the frozen glasses. Top off the 2 glasses with chocolate malt. Fill 2 empty glasses halfway with the remaining chocolate malt. Freeze everything for 10 minutes. Stir the vanilla malt that is left in the glass measuring cup, and then top off the 2 glasses that are halfway full with the chocolate malt (adding crushed malt balls in between, if you wish).

Serve garnished with a few more cut/crushed malted milk balls and enjoy immediately!

note:

Obviously, you don't have to make these two-toned if you don't want to. Make all vanilla or all chocolate (or go any flavor, using the plain malted milk powder).

adapted from Martha Stewart