Dairy Good Life: #MilkshakeWeek: Turtle Pecan Milkshake

Right after school got out this spring, I told Glen and the kids that I wouldn't be baking for the summer. Instead, we'd be satisfying our sweet tooths (teeth?) with fresh fruit and ice cream.

The fresh fruit idea has been going over pretty well. Mostly, we've eaten a lot of watermelon. I caved and made some juice popsicles, too.

The ice cream idea has gone over very well. But I knew it would. We all love ice cream.

We've been enjoying lots of ice cream cones, milkshakes, and sundaes. I got an ice cream maker and have been playing around with recipes for homemade ice cream, too.

We also got a gift basket from the Dairy Star filled with goodies for enjoying ice cream – cones, maraschino cherries, candies and cookies to crumble on top of sundaes, and chocolate topping. The chocolate topping was Smucker's Magic Shell. If you've never tried it, Magic Shell is an ice cream topping that hardens on the ice cream right after you pour it on.

Although I had seen a recipe for Homemade Magic Shell on another blog, I hadn't tried any kind of Magic Shell before I got the bottles in the gift basket. I wasn't sure what to expect. Dan and Monika think it's the best thing ever. I like it quite a bit, too. I like the chocolate fudge flavor better than the plain chocolate. It reminds me of the chocolate topping Dairy Queen uses to make my favorite Blizzard – Turtle Pecan Cluster. Plus, for a packaged product, there are relatively few ingredients.

One night after I topped Dan and Monika's sundaes with sprinkles and the Magic Shell, I had one of those light bulb moments: I could make my own milkshake version of a Turtle Pecan Cluster Blizzard using the Magic Shell.

I always have pecans on hand. And I had some homemade caramel sauce in the fridge. I put some vanilla ice cream and milk into a blender cup. (I use a personal size blender to make shakes and smoothies.) Then I added the pecans, caramel and Magic Shell, and blended it up. Voilá! It tasted just like a Turtle Pecan Cluster Blizzard. I should note, though, that since this is a milkshake, it's not thick like a Blizzard. Think of it as a lighter, more refreshing version of a Blizzard.

And the best part? There were little bits of pecans and chocolate left in the bottom of the glass to scoop up with a spoon. Yum!

I asked Glen to give it a try, to make sure I wasn't the only one who thought it was divine. He's requested it several times since. He also wanted me to tell you to hold the straw off the bottom of the glass when you're sipping this, so that you don't get a bit of pecan or chocolate stuck in your straw. ☺

I'm super excited to share the recipe with you as part of #MilkshakeWeek. What's #MilkshakeWeek? See below for the answer and more great milkshake recipes.

Turtle Pecan Milkshake

Makes 1-2 servings

Ingredients:

3/4 cup vanilla ice cream (about 3 scoops)
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons pecan pieces
1 tablespoon caramel sauce
1 tablespoon magic shell chocolate topping

Directions:

Add ice cream and milk to blender, then add pecans, caramel, and chocolate topping. Pour the chocolate topping into the center of the blender, otherwise it will really stick to the sides. Let the topping sit for a few seconds to harden a little before blending.

Blend until well combined.

Pour milkshake into glasses and serve with straws and spoons to scoop up the yummy bits that settle to the bottom.

My blogging friend, Julie from The Little Kitchen, decided she wanted to devote an entire week to sharing milkshake recipes. Julie and her friend, Lindsay from Love & Olive Oil, decided it would be fun to invite a bunch of other bloggers to share their milkshake recipes. And, thus, #MilkshakeWeek was born.

In addition to some cool giveaways (which can be found here and here), #MilkshakeWeek is also calling attention to The Great American Milk Drive. The Great American Milk Drive is a national campaign to encourage donations of milk to food shelves, so that hungry families can have milk. Did you know that milk is one of the most requested products at food shelves, but it is rarely donated? Your monetary donation will be used by Feeding America to purchase and distribute fluid milk to food shelves in your area. You can also make a donation by texting “MILK” to 27722. As a dairy farmer, I think this campaign is sweeter than any milkshake.

Here are some of the other #MilkshakeWeek recipes: