Make Your Own Shamrock Shakes - Even Better Than the Real Thing!

I didn't believe it when I read the claim...a copycat recipe for Shamrock Shakes?  I could believe a tasty mint shake, but one that tastes like THE Shamrock Shake?  Is it possible to re-create it right in our kitchens?  In a word:  Yes!  Here's how you do it:

McDonald's Shamrock Shake Copycat Recipe

Recipe by Naptimechef

3 cups good quality vanilla ice cream

1 3/4 cups 1% milk

1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract

green food coloring

Put all of the ingredients into a blender and blend.  That's it.  Seriously.

 Here are my notes:

• I used 2% milk and it turned out fine.  I also used French Vanilla ice cream, which may alter the taste just a bit.  Next time I'll use plain old vanilla just for comparison.
• I have a blender, but I don't really blend things, so I didn't know which setting to put it on.  I used a little of each!  None of them seemed to combine all of the ice cream and milk, so I used a spoon to push the ice cream down (after turning the blender OFF, of course) and mix it up a bit.
• I wanted my shake a little thicker, so I used almost all of a 1.5 gallon carton of ice cream.
• This makes about 3 full beer mugs of shake.  You can easily make it for one or two people by playing around with the measurements.  It's certainly not an exact science, as some like their shakes thick, and some like them thin.
• A little mint extract goes a long way.  If I had added one drop more than 1/2 teaspoon, it would have been too strong.  Again, though, it's a preference thing.
• The dye did not mix up in the blender, I had to mix it by hand, after the ice cream and milk were blended.  I started with two drops of liquid green dye and ended up using quite a bit more until I reached the pale, green color I wanted.
• To store the leftovers I poured the shake back into the ice cream container and put it in the freezer.  When I am ready to serve more, I'll blend it back up and hope it tastes good.  :)
• It's delicious and I loved it.  You should make it, too!!

Sláinte!!