I mean, do I even need to describe this one? Did you READ the title? Booze. Brown butter. Ice cream. And yes, I do realize that it is February. But just look at how awesome this would be as a shared shake for your Valentine! Or have some friends over and have a boozy shake night with a funny movie. Or take inspiration from me, who despite doubling the recipe and adding two straws for the sake of the photo, continued on to drink that whole thing as a dinner one night.

This recipe is another collaboration with Marie Teckmyer, who crafted her own version of a boozy shake. Make both and let us know whose is better! Or just love us both equally and spare me the stress of a competition. That works too.

We are both using local ingredients in our shakes. I used an awesome cocktail mix called Summer Crop by Molly’s Crafted, a local small batch mixer company here in Cleveland. As you might expect from the name, it’s like summer in a bottle, and I’ll take my summer any way I can find it right now. I’m also using the delicious ice cream from Mitchell’s, another local favorite. None of these companies are sponsoring this post, they just make great products. If you don’t live in the Cleveland area, you probably have your own great local brands you could support.

Okay, I’ll stop distracting you from shake-making. Carry on.

You will need:

• 3 Tbsp butter
• 1 Tbsp nonfat dry milk powder
• Half a pint of good vanilla ice cream
• 1.5 ounces Cognac brandy
• 3 ounces Molly’s Crafted Summer Crop
• Chocolate, whipped cream, cookies, etc. for garnishing

To make the brown butter:

Begin melting the butter in a pot over medium heat. Sprinkle the dry milk powder over it with a spoon so that it doesn’t just form one giant clump, then whisk it through juuuust to make sure. Let that cook for a few minutes until you notice the milk solids turning brown. Those solids are where most of that toasty flavor come from in brown butter, which is why we’re using only those.

As soon as they look brown, like in this thoughtfully provided photo,

remove the pot from the heat. Pour the whole affair through a fine sieve or cheesecloth to strain out that beautiful brown deliciousness. Reserve the clarified butter part for another use. You can see me demonstrating what the separated results should look like in this second convenient visual aid.

I will say that if you don’t have milk powder, there will still be some milk solids in your butter, but to be honest, it probably won’t yield enough to really make a difference to your shake unless you’re making a whole stick of brown butter. You can omit the brown butter part entirely if you must, but only if you want a lot less sunshine in your life.

To make the shake:

Firstly, make sure you plan your garnishes ahead of time. If you’re just doing some whipped cream and chocolate shavings or something, you’re good to go. I, however, prefer shakes with as many garnishes shoved in as possible. I mean, you’re making a boozy butter milkshake, let’s not pretend this is the time for calorie restraint. Things like chocolate rims on the glass, that double-helix I piped inside of mine, etc. need to be done ahead, since you don’t want to be flipping glasses upside down once they’re full of shake.

Alright, so you’ve got that out of the way. Make sure your ice cream has softened on the counter for 5-10 minutes. Note that I called for GOOD vanilla ice cream. I used Mitchell’s Vanilla Bean, so I’d definitely recommend that if you live in the Cleveland area. If not, just get something with actual visible flecks of vanilla in it. None of that yellowish vanilla ice cream that comes in the giant tubs for middle school ice cream socials. Your brandy deserves better.

Okay, and now for the actual shake-making, which is ridiculously easy. Are you ready? Throw your softened ice cream, brown butter solids, brandy and Summer Crop into the bowl of a blender or large food processor. Blend just until smooth and clump-free but not too thin. And you’re done. Pour it into a glass immediately and add any remaining garnishes.

This recipe can easily be expanded for parties. Although personally if I were making this for a party, I’d probably serve them in smaller quantities as little shooters or something.

If you make this shake, be sure to tag me on Instagram @nhubble or use the hashtag #followthatfork so I can see your spin on it!