This tastes like you’re drinking a sugar cookie.
Ok, that just sounds weird… but this is really good!
Ensure? No thanks!
If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you probably know I don’t really like being as skinny as I am. Although I create recipes that can be very low in calories, I usually take advantage of the higher-calorie options if making them for myself. To keep weight on, I pretty much have to eat 24/7, which works out perfectly since my job entails lots of taste testing! 
In high school, I often drank vegan “weight-gain shakes” called Power Dreams. However, two things happened: the company discontinued the shakes, and I bought a Magic Bullet. So now I make my own shakes! (I wrote more about my weight-gain efforts at the very bottom of this link.)
Big thanks to reader, Kate, for inspiring this milkshake.
A few months ago, she left a comment on my Cake Batter Milkshake recipe, suggesting I experiment with adding cream of tartar to my smoothies for a fun cake-like taste. Of course, as soon as she said it, I had to try it. Thank you, Kate!!
Sugar Cookie Milkshake
(serves 1)
- 2/3 cup milk of choice (try canned coconut milk for an ice-cream-like shake)
- 1 frozen, over-ripe banana or 1/2 cup of your favorite ice cream (see nutrition link below, for my many substitution options!)
- scant 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
- 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- optional: 1-2 tbsp raw cashew butter (I like to add this)
- optional: add cinnamon for a snickerdoodle shake!
- optional: 1 scoop protein powder, if desired
Blend everything together until very smooth. Don’t add ice; it will dilute the flavor. Feel free to crumble an actual sugar cookie into the shake as well! (My “healthy sugar cookie” recipe is linked at the end of this post.)
Also shown in the milkshake photos: Healthy Sugar Cookies.
What is your favorite milkshake flavor?
According to an online poll, the most-loved milkshake flavor is chocolate. Surprisingly, people chose strawberry over vanilla. My favorite was fourth: mint-chocolate-chip!
For those chocolate lovers, try Hot Fudge shakes. They are much more sweet than the chocolate. I actually prefer Root Beer shakes as my favorite, though. Make a root beer float, and blend. mmmm
Woah, what’s a hot fudge shake?! Sounds incredible!
Katie, I don’t believe that your calorie counts are accurate here. I just calculated this with 1 medium banana, unsweetened almond milk, and 1 tbs of cashew butter (without adding anything else) and it already comes to 255 calories. I have found the calories counts on some of your other recipes inaccurate as well. There are some very good, nutritionist-checked counters on other sites. I like http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-calculator.asp and the one on myfitnesspal.com
Thanks!
Her counts are accurate.
The cashew butter says it’s optional, so I don’t know why you’d include it in your calculations.
From,
An avid calorie counter
She probably included the cashew butter in her calculations because Katie herself wrote “if I’m making them for myself, I usually take advantage of the higher-calorie options” and “optional: 1-2 tbsp raw cashew butter (I like to add this).”
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a nutritional analysis that takes optional ingredients into account. It’s just standard practice not to, and especially in the case of Katie’s recipes she offers so many options and variations that she’d have to include 20 different nutritional analyses if she was going to include optional ingredients!
Also, I always double check blogger’s calorie counts (because I’m ocd like that), and I’ve never found a problem with CCK’s, so I don’t think it’s fair to say her recipe calculations are inaccurate.
Ok, I just checked this. I calculated with ONLY plain almond milk (unsweetened) and 2/3 of a cup (If I remember, that’s about 5.333 ounces) and 1 medium mashed banana, that is still 138.5 calories. So, regardless of with or without the cashew nut butter, it’s still inaccurate. Secondly, Lisa. I check her calorie counts every time. It’s not a matter of fairness- it’s just true. Her calories counts are often inaccurate, especially because I go out of my way to ALWAYS do the lowest possible calorie option of all of her recipes. So, Gosh, I’m sorry you guys felt the need to get all defensive here, but the reality is, they are sometimes inaccurate. I don’t think it’s responsible to present inaccurate calorie counts on a blog that is so nutrition focused. Sorry to be so blunt, but that is the truth. Instead of all freaking out, perhaps you should just try to make sure you are accurately counting calories.
*rolls eyes at Jessica*
Honey, you really need to get a life! And if this blog bothers you so much, just stop reading.
Also, for the record, I just plugged this into spark recipes with Silk almondmilk and got 122 calories. So score one for CCK ;).
Oh dear 🙁
Crazy debates like this are probably one of the reasons poor Katie was against adding calorie counts to her recipes in the first place!
Guys, do you realize you are getting upset over the possibility of whether it’s 120 calories or 130? Can’t you see how silly this arguement is?
Can’t we all just get along? ;).
Yeah, I checked it too. She was right. Lay off.
This website is crazy! It’s the Katie army or something. so weird.
I think people get defensive because this type of question about the accuracy of calorie counts comes up all the time, and it’s not necessarily helpful (even if well-intentioned). As others have pointed out, with so many choices of milk, optional ingredients, substitutions, etc, the nutritional info Katie provides should be treated only as a rough estimate of the healthiest possible version. I’ve seen different estimates just for how many calories are in a medium banana between different calculators, so it really is best to figure out the counts for your specific recipe variation if that is important to you and not worry about whether the info here matches exactly.
Ummm…. gee whiz… I kinda count calories, but I really don’t check CCK’s calorie count for anything. Mainly cuz its in my mouth and then I check it. Maybe once or twice I found it a little inaccurate. Like by one calorie lol. But I see it as a rough estimate. My sister adds a TON of sweetener to hers, so hers will be sky high in the calorie department.
But I guess you can say what you want to Jessica, free speech right people? 🙂
Also I am not in a CCK army or anything like that. that’s kinda freaky if you ask me.
Respectfully,
Sarah who is in favor of respectful free speech (that’s a mouthful)
I’m half-Costa Rican, and my mom makes a milkshake known as “horchata.” It’s milk, cinnamon, oatmeal, and some brown sugar all blended into pure yumminess! You should try it!!!
Looks so fantastic! Lately I’ve been loving a chocolate banana shake – frozen banana, cocoa powder, almond milk, and a few scoops of chocolate pudding! I will definitely try this kind!
I want! I’ve been in a baking/making food mood for about 2 weeks now, it’s insane!
Yum, dessert in a glass, yes please!!!
Katie, I just made this (with the banana, unsweetened original soymilk, and without the cashew butter), and it really does taste like a sugar cookie!! Crazy! Never would have thought to add baking soda and cream of tartar… I really liked it! It did have a slightly “tart” aftertaste, however… is that how yours tasted or did I maybe go a little heavy-handed on my 1/2 tsp of tartar?
Did you really put in 1/2 tsp cream of tartar, or did you mean to say 1/4 tsp? If you really put in 1/2 tsp, that’s definitely the problem! The recipe only calls for 1/4 tsp ;). But if you put in just 1/4 tsp and it was still strange… hmmm well then I will have to think more about what might’ve been the problem :-?.
Hahaha, you caught me!! I can’t believe I did that!! Shame on me for goofing up your recipe! Ok, now I know it will be perfect when I actually make it the right way, because it was still pretty dang delicious even with my recipe-reading-mishap…
Bahaha, yes, you definitely caught me! Can’t believe I did that! User error, right? Lol can’t wait to try it the real way now! I know it will be great because it was still pretty dang delicious even with me reading messup. Sorry!
yummy! I love the suggestion of a crumbled cookie on top. I love cookies!!!
My favorite milkshake is a date-yogurt-shake 🙂 but i’ll try this one…
Oh my gosh, peanut butter milkshakes all the way. There was a diner at Penn State that made them (they also had poodle skirted waitresses and jukeboxes in every booth). So good!
I worked in an ice cream parlor for several years, so I had plenty of time to experiment with making different shakes and malts (and everything else). My favorite, which I made again and again, is a cookies and cream shake, with a little extra chocolate syrup… I miss my shake… Fresh banana shakes are a close second.