Seasonal Sip: A Milkshake for Grownups
This isn’t any old milkshake. For starters, it’s boozy — kissed with coffee liqueur made by Cardinal Spirits, the craft distillery in Bloomington, Indiana, using locally roasted beans from Louisville’s Good Folks Coffee Company.
Then, there’s the divine homemade extras: a cocoa-shortbread crumble to add crunch, and caramel sauce that you’ll be tempted to eat by the spoonful. This milkshake is as perfect for capping off a winter dinner party as it is for a cozy movie night — and it can even be an unexpected star on Valentine’s Day (put down that recipe for ho-hum chocolate lava cake). If you’re short on time, you can substitute store-bought cookies and caramel sauce, of course. But, trust us: Making it all from scratch is totally, completely worth it.
Photos and recipe by Shelly Westerhausen, a Bloomington, Indiana–based recipe developer and founder of the blog Vegetarian Ventures (vegetarianventures.com).
For a list of local stores that carry Cardinal Spirits and Good Folks Coffee, visit GoodFolksCoffee.com or CardinalSpirits.com.
Caramel & Coffee Liqueur Milkshake with Cocoa Shortbread Crumble
Serves 2
Cocoa Shortbread Crumble
½ cup all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon cornstarch
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup sugar
1 dash salt
¼ cup cocoa powder
1 dash coffee extract (optional)
3 tablespoons butter
For the crumble: Preheat oven to 300° and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine the flour, cornstarch, cocoa powder, sugar, and salt in a mixing bowl (with a paddle attachment) and mix until combined. Next, add in the vanilla extract, coffee extract (if using) and butter and beat until the dough has formed into small clusters. Transfer to your prepared baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool. They will harden as they cool.
Caramel Sauce
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
½ cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons butter
½ teaspoon salt
For the caramel: In a small saucepan, cook the sugar, corn syrup and ¼ cup water over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a boil. Once boiling, DO NOT STIR (this would make the caramel grainy) but do swirl the pan around occasionally. Cook for 8 minutes, or until it has formed a deep brown color. Remove from heat, immediately add in the cream, and stir. Next, add in the butter and salt and whisk until smooth. Set aside and let cool slightly before using.
Milkshake
¼ cup whole milk
3 tablespoons caramel sauce
3 cups vanilla ice cream
1 ounce Songbird coffee liqueur
To assemble: Combine the whole milk, 3 tablespoons caramel sauce, ice cream and coffee liqueur in a blender and blend on high speed until smooth. Place a tablespoon of the cookie crumble in each of 2 glasses and drizzle a little caramel around the inside of each glass. Divide the blended shake between the glasses and top with more caramel and shortbread crumble. Enjoy!
