Better with Bacon – Maple Bacon Milkshake

With the recent “heat-wave” in Michigan, I thought a nice cool treat would help us all get through August.

Presenting…The Maple Bacon Milkshake (no photo available – writer’s artistic rendition)

Ingredients:

• 2 slices bacon (about 2 ounces), cut into thin strips
• 6 tablespoons cold whole or low-fat milk (about 3 ounces)
• 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup, preferably grade B (about 1 ounce)
• Pinch of salt
• 8 medium scoops French vanilla ice cream (about 1 quart), softened until just melty at the edges.

I have ALL these ingredients in my fridge right now…I think a TEST KITCHEN is in order!

Directions:

1. Fry the bacon in a small skillet set over medium heat, stirring frequently, until rendered and crisp, about 5 minutes. With a slotted spoon, remove the cooked bacon to paper towels to drain, and nibble on it or reserve it for another use. Off the heat, briefly cool the fat in the skillet.

2. Place the milk, maple syrup, 1 tablespoon of cooled bacon fat (if there is any more, you can discard it), salt and ice cream in a blender and pulse several times to begin breaking up the ice cream.

3. With the blender motor off, use a flexible spatula to mash the mixture down onto the blender blades. Continue pulsing, stopping and mashing until the mixture is well blended, thick and moves easily in the blender jar, roughly 30 to 90 seconds. Pour into a chilled glass or glasses, and serve at once.

Makes about 3 1/2 cups

Nutritional analysis per 1/2 -cup serving: 219 calories, 13 grams fat, 22 grams carbohydrates, 6 grams protein, 41 milligrams cholesterol, 216 milligrams sodium, no dietary fiber, 50 percent of calories from fat.

–From “Thoroughly Modern Milkshakes” by Adam Ried (W.W. Norton, $24.95)

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