Birthday Cake Oreo Milkshake: Happy 100th, Oreo!

Ever since my childhood, there has been one black and white cookie consistently present in my life: the Oreo. Its cream-filled center and crunchy chocolate cookies are indescribably enticing. I never could, and still cannot, eat just one.

Is it the plethora of ways to consume an Oreo that makes it so exciting? You can screw off the top cookie and enjoy two delicious halves. Perhaps you save the cream-covered cookie for last, or maybe you can’t wait that long. You can lick off the cream before eating the cookies plain. Some people like to peel off that sweet cream and stack it layer upon layer so you have a quadruple-stuffed Oreo. Or you can always go the classic route of dunking the cookies in milk until they reach the point of melt-in-your-mouth perfection.

Or maybe you’re too impatient for any of that, maybe you just like to stuff ‘em in your mouth, as many as you can handle at once.

It’s funny; I’ve never been one to like store-bought cookies. Once you enter the realm of homemade, you can never go back. You realize that the stuff you’ve been buying from the grocery store is actually cardboard studded with chalk to resemble chocolate chips. Oreos, however, have always been the exception. I will never, ever stop buying those babies. I don’t care how many homemade recipes there are to bake them at home; you cannot touch the magic of the original (or that iconic pattern imprinted on each cookie).

When I heard Oreo’s 100th birthday was approaching, I was thrilled. This is a cookie that has been around for a while, and it’s going to continue to be around for hundreds and hundreds of years to come. Now, when I heard they were releasing Limited Edition Birthday Cake Oreos in commemoration, I basically lost it. And by “lost it,” I mean I hopped in my car and headed out to buy some ASAP.

I knew I needed a special way to celebrate these crunchy-creamy cookies and their approaching big day. Cake, of course, was the first thing to come to my mind, an obvious choice when celebrating a birthday. But then I realized that there was something even more appropriate: a milkshake. Oreos have been dunked in milk since the dawn of time (or at least since their creation 100 years ago). Wouldn’t it then make sense to bring that classic combo together in a sweet, festive milkshake studded with the famous cookies?

Say “Happy Birthday” to my Birthday Cake Oreo Milkshake. It starts with a homemade base of creamy vanilla ice cream. Why do I make ice cream in the ice cream maker instead of using store-bought? Because when you make a standard ice-cream-in-blender milkshake, you wind up with runny, melted soup. Instead, we make the actual milkshake base in the ice cream maker so it’s super thick and luscious like a real milkshake should be.

There’s no secret trick to doing this; I merely noticed that when you make ice cream from scratch, it’s too soft straight from the ice cream maker to scoop. Hence why there’s always a 2-4 hour chilling time in the freezer afterwards. However, homemade ice cream fresh from the mixer is the perfect milkshake consistency.

Fold in some of those sweet, funfetti-studded Birthday Cake Oreos and some rainbow sprinkles for good measure, and you’ve got a festive, delicious shake, worthy of such a momentous occasion. The Birthday Cake Oreos lend their frosting-esque flavor while the sprinkles add a touch of whimsy. It is creamy, dreamy perfection, the pinnacle of what cookies and cream should be.

Happy 100th Birthday, Oreo. Here’s hoping there will be hundreds of more to come!

A Few Tips Before You Get Cooking:

1. Here’s a secret: you can make this into ice cream form instead of a milkshake. Just pop the finished cookies and cream mixture into the freezer for 2 hours so it can firm up before serving.
2. You can use regular Oreos instead, but you’ll lose that birthday cake flavor.
3. It really is worth it to make this milkshake from scratch, ice cream and all. As I mentioned before, making milkshakes in the blender is sure to give you a runny, soupy shake. The ice cream maker, however, gives you a super thick milkshake with that incomparable homemade taste. You can’t beat it.
4. Got leftovers? Store in an airtight container in the freezer. You can either eat it as ice cream, or let it melt to become milkshake-y again.
5. The vanilla ice cream base is insanely delicious, a perfect go-to recipe. It takes no time or effort to make, but it tastes incredible.

Birthday Cake Oreo Milkshake
By The Smart Cookie Cook

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ cups crushed Birthday Cake Oreo cookies
• ½ cup rainbow sprinkles
• Optional: whipped cream and additional sprinkles and cookies, for topping

For the ice cream base:
Adapted from Cuisinart

• 1 cup whole milk
• ¾ cup granulated sugar
• pinch salt
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Special Equipment: ice cream maker

Directions:

1. Make the ice cream base:  In a medium bowl, use a whisk to combine the milk, sugar and salt until the sugar is dissolved. Stir in the heavy cream and vanilla. Cover and refrigerate 1 to 2 hours, or overnight.
2. When ready to make the milkshakes, pour the mixture into the frozen freezer bowl of an ice cream maker and churn according to manufacturer’s directions, about 15 to 20 minutes. It should be soft and creamy like soft serve.
3. Pour the base into a large mixing bowl. Fold in the cookies and sprinkles, then pour into cups and serve. Top with whipped cream and additional cookies and sprinkles, if desired.