Stranger Things bonus recipe time! I always love when months have a 5th Thursday, because it means I get to make a bonus recipe. I really enjoy the freedom I have with these since, unlike my standard recipes, they don’t have to fit a particular course of the meal (for example, my first recipe of the month is always an appetizer, so I have to make sure whatever I make could feasibly be used that way). But bonus recipes can be anything—a cocktail, snack, extra dessert, etc. Anything goes!

Strangely enough, I’m not sure what inspired me to make an upside down milkshake. I’ve made a lot of cocktails for bonus recipes, so maybe I was trying to avoid more of the same. Or maybe I wanted something kid friendly since the main characters in Stranger Things are kids. Either way, as soon as I realized I got to make an extra recipe, the words “upside down milkshake” sprang right into my head.

Of course, since it’s a tribute to the Upside Down, it’s literally turned on it’s head—with the cherries and whipped cream at the bottom with the shake poured over the top. But what flavor to make? I wanted something dark and rich, and I love the way chocolate and blackberries go together. A cool unexpected side effect was the fun way the berries made clusters of dark circles on the side of the glass. It reminded me of the giant spores that float in the air of the Upside Down.

Drink up…before the Shadow Monster gets to it! 😉

 A

Stranger Things Chocolate Blackberry Upside Down Milkshake: An AWR Original Recipe

Owens: All right, tell me what’s going on with you. Tell me about this episode you had.
Will: Well, my friends were there and then they just weren’t, and I was back there again.
Owens: In the Upside Down? All right. So what happened next?
Will: I heard this noise, and so I went outside and it was worse.
Owens: How was it worse?
Will: There was this storm…

— Stranger Things

 

 

INGREDIENTS:

• 6 large scoops chocolate ice cream
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 pint blackberries
• chocolate syrup
• whipped topping
• cherries

 

Makes 2 milkshakes

 

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. 1. 1. Place 3-5 cherries in the bottom of a tall glass (you want enough that you can still see the cherries once you add the whipped topping). Scoop in a generous spoonful of whipped topping and lightly tamp it down to create a seal between the cherries and the shake. Place the glass in the freezer.
      2. Add the ice cream and milk to a blender and blend until smooth. Stir in the blackberries and blend for just a few seconds (enough to break them up a bit).
      3.  Drizzle the inside of the glass with chocolate syrup. Slowly pour the milkshake into the glass. If desired, add a few blackberries on top for garnish.
      4. Serve to a little girl with psychic powers after she saves the whole town (and probably the world).

         

    

   
    

   Check out our other ice cream recipes! 🙂

   

   Flying Cow Coconut Cookies ‘n Cream Milkshakes from Monty Python

   

   Raspberry Cordial Ice Cream from Anne of Green Gables

   

   Troi’s Triple Chocolate Sundae from Star Trek