Ingredients

1/3 cup milk. You can use 2%, whole milk, or a blend of milk and half-and-half.
1-1/2 cups ice cream (vanilla makes a good base for most shakes, or you can use a flavor like chocolate)
Delicious mix-ins! Think a swirl of chocolate syrup, peanut butter, a chopped banana or other fruit, a handful of chocolate or butterscotch chips (we could go on and on…)
A blender, of course. You can use a classic stand blender-or an immersion blender if you want to make it right in your glass.
Step 1: Combine the ingredients
Prep time: 5-9 minutes
Cook time (blending): 1 minute
Total time: 10 minutes

Steps

Send your ingredients straight to the blender. For best results, put in your milk first. That will get the blender mixing quickly. Be sure to let your ice cream soften before scooping. If it’s too hard, you might end up having to add more milk, which thins the shake.
1 teaspoon of vanilla or ½ cup of vanilla ice cream
Test Kitchen tip: For an ultra-rich shake, use whole milk or milk with a little half-and-half cream. But never use heavy cream. If you send that through the blender, it’ll create little bits of butter.
Step 2: Blend ’til smooth
It’s time to blend away. You’ll want to keep an eye on the consistency. This recipe creates a Goldilocks-style shake: not too firm and not too soft (runny). Of course, you can always customize it either way. Use less milk for a thicker, spoonable shake; more for a thinner, sippable one.
Step 3: Enjoy!
Pour your milkshake into a chilled glass to serve. It tastes great straight-up or topped with a tower of whipped cream. Feeling fancy? Layer on toppings like chocolate syrup, sugary cereal or rainbow sprinkles. Once you’ve mastered the classic garnishes, try these crazy takes!