Who’s in for a mikshake swim?

roasted strawberry milkshakes with chocolate pistachio brittle I howsweeteats.com

This trash concoction in a glass came from one thing: expiring strawberries. I had lots in the fridge and knew I had to do something.

Granola and yogurt? No. That’s boring.

I didn’t want to make a cake or a cupcake or a cheesecake or a pie or whatever. I didn’t want to coat them in chocolate (though I sort of did want to do that) and eat them for lunch. I almost made that 90s fruit pizza but that would have been slightly ridiculous since the only ingredient I had on hand? The strawberries.

So.

Roasting them was the plan. I love love love love roasted strawberries. Ooomph. They are so good.

And I needed a high maintenance milkshake.

roasted strawberry milkshakes with chocolate pistachio brittle I howsweeteats.com

I didn’t actually blend my strawberries in with the ice cream. Milkshake rebellion. I wanted the syrupy sauce to be swirled in the shake and I wanted chunks of strawberries too. Which, yes, required a spoon to get every last bit but I mean, we’re already putting chunks of sugared pistachio on a DRINK. So why stop there? Let’s make it more difficult.

That’s it!

So much going on in this shake, that way you BURN calories when you consume it. Brilliant.

roasted strawberry milkshakes with chocolate pistachio brittle I howsweeteats.com

P.S. let’s put these in and on everything.

roasted strawberry milkshakes with chocolate pistachio brittle I howsweeteats.com

Ooooo do you know what I topped this baby with?

I’m almost embarrassed to tell you.

Actually I’m very embarrassed to tell you.roasted strawberry milkshakes with chocolate pistachio brittle I howsweeteats.com

Um. Leftover cream cheese frosting.

YEP. I hate myself.

IT WAS SO FLIPPING FAB.

I had some leftover frosting from the nutella swirl carrot cake and boom – it went right on top. I don’t regret it.

You obviously don’t need to do that (but you should) because who has leftover frosting? You can totally use whipped cream or maybe even coconut cream (yes! do that!) – or not use anything at all and just eat pistachio brittle on the side.

Because I know when I have dessert the first thought in my brain is to add a milkshake to the side.

roasted strawberry milkshakes with chocolate pistachio brittle I howsweeteats.com

This is one of those recipes that I look at from a distance and wonder if I would truly make myself, if I was a reader of this blog. I mean, it’s quite high maintenance to make a pan of pistachio brittle covered in chocolate ganache only to break it up and stick it on top of a milkshake, which means you ultimately have to eat it with your hands.

That’s just, like, a lot of work. You know?

But I have these moments. The ones where I want to make something really pretty or really delicious or really high maintenance, even if it’s in a single or double serving, JUST BECAUSE. I equate the idea to that of decorating for a one-day holiday or making the bed only to just get in it again twelve hours later. I like to do it to celebrate life, to make a moment special, to make time really count.

A la Kristen Wiig in Bridesmaids, when she makes her own cupcake with crazy fondant topping and the… eats it.

I’ve found it to be even more true now that I have Max. One, because I rarely have time to myself ever and if I do, I want it to be… awesome? Pretty? Fun? Memorable? Like if I have an hour, I want to make something fancy for myself to eat even if it’s a trashed up BLT.

Let’s be real: that’s fancy in my book.

roasted strawberry milkshakes with chocolate pistachio brittle I howsweeteats.com

The other reason is that I really want moments to be special for Max. Not that selfishly making a milkshake for myself has anything to do with that, but hear me out. This is something I’ve thought a ton about since he was born. We’ve had lots of one-day holidays since December and time passes slower when you’re a little kid. I want to live up each day and celebrate every little thing.

Like making a totally whacked out milkshake that requires a lot more than tossing ice cream into a blender and sucking it through a straw. I’M PRACTICING OKAY?

Other than the long rambly rant that is most likely a product of my own nostalgia, this is kind of a two part recipe. A two for one, if you will. Don’t want the shake? Just make the brittle! You can make it ahead of time. Make it with the chocolate or without. You can make it for the weekend and who knows? Maybe come Sunday night you’ll have a few brittle shards left that would just fit perfectly on top of a milkshake.

I KNOW RIGHT.

Or just make a roasted strawberry milkshake. Lots of vanilla bean. Make shooters! Spike them. Rum rum rum. Maybe some sort of liqueur. We should do all of that.

Alright I’m gonna stop.

roasted strawberry milkshakes with chocolate pistachio brittle I howsweeteats.com

Roasted Strawberry Milkshakes with Chocolate Pistachio Brittle

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Ingredients

Instructions 

  • shakes
  • Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Toss the strawberries with the oil, sugar and salt. Spread them on the parchment and roast until they are caramely and syrupy – about 20 minutes – stirring once or twice during cook time. While the oven is heat and strawberries roast, make the pistachio brittle below.
  • To make the shakes, blend the ice cream, milk and vanilla extract together. You can add in the roasted strawberries but I prefer to layer them on the bottom, middle and top of the shake and then stir. This means you need a spoon to eat it, so do what you prefer! Top the shake with whipped cream or leftover frosting. Sprinkle on extra pistachios and throw the brittle pieces on top. Add any extra strawberries that didn’t make it into the shake! DEVOUR.

chocolate pistachio brittle

  • Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spray it with nonstick spray. Set aside.
  • Place the sugar, corn syrup and water in a saucepan and heat over medium heat, whisking constantly until the sugar dissolves. Attach a candy thermometer to the pot and boil until the mixture reaches 190 degrees F, about 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in 2/3 of the pistachios, the butter and the vanilla extract. Continue to stir even though the mixture may thicken – it will even out as it heats. Cook, stirring often, until the mixture is at 300 degrees F, about another 3 minutes. Sprinkle the baking soda into the mixture and stir well (it will bubble!) and turn off the heat. Immediately pour the mixture onto the greased parchment and spread it into a thin layer. Let cool completely.
  • Once it’s cool, heat the heavy cream over low heat until it bubbles. Place the chopped chocolate in a bowl and pour the cream over top. Let sit for 30 seconds then stir until you have a smooth chocolate ganache. Spread it over top of the brittle with a spatula until it’s even. Sprinkle the remaining pistachios on top. Let it sit until the chocolate firms up slightly. It will never be super hard, so if you want to speed things up, you can place the pan in the fridge. Break it into pieces and top the milkshakes with it.

Notes

[brittle adapted from bon appetit]
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I appreciate you so much!

roasted strawberry milkshakes with chocolate pistachio brittle I howsweeteats.com

I will gladly add another straw.