Faux-Butterfinger Milkshake

It has been so long since I have turned on my oven! For a week I was in Tennessee, and then I spent a 4-day weekend in the Midwest. Despite it being the coldest week yet this winter, the only things I can think about are ice cream and milkshakes. While I was in Chicago I drank the two best milkshakes of my life. One was the chocolate chip cookie dough peanut butter milkshake from the Chicago Diner and the other was a strawberry milkshake from Pick Me Up Café.
While I was in Tennessee I also finally found Chick-O-Sticks again! Chick-O-Sticks are a delicious gluten free candy made from coconut and peanut butter. They are the closest thing to a vegan Butterfinger that I have ever found. Toy Joy in Austin makes a Chick-O-Stick milkshake that I had the pleasure of trying last fall. Ever since I have tried it, I knew I wanted to create my own version. There’s was a little thing because it is made from soft serve ice cream and lacks the hint of chocolate that really brings out the ‘Butterfinger’ness I desired.


Chick-O-Stick Milkshakes
Makes 2 large glasses

1 pint vanilla ice cream
1/3-1/2 cup vanilla almond milk
2 large Chick-O-Sticks or 20 individually wrapped bite size pieces
4 tsps chocolate syrup

Pour chocolate syrup in glass and set aside. Grind candy to a fine powder. Add to ice cream and milk and blend until desired consistency. Serve immediately.


I used Tempt ice cream because I had never tried a hemp-based ice cream before, but I was not a fan. If I were going to try this again, I would have used coconut or almond. Normally when I am making a chocolate syrup to drizzle, I melt chocolate with coconut oil. Unless you want a crunch, I would recommend using shortening, as coconut oil will produce a ‘magic shell’ like gets poured on top of sundaes. You don’t have to worry about that if you happen to have a store bought chocolate syrup around. Alternatively, you could also just throw a handful of chocolate chips in the blender with the milkshake. If you washed your glass right before you decided to make the milkshake, I also suggest making sure it is very dry because any remaining water will mix with the chocolate. Note the discoloration of the chocolate at the bottom of my glass (whoops!).
What’s your favorite flavor for a milkshake? I highly suggest checking out the restaurants/cafes mentioned above if you are in those areas!

*If you live in the DC area and like vegan snacks and punk music, you should check out Venomous Fest this Saturday. My friend Sheena and I will be having a vegan bake sale. There will be tons of cupcakes, cookies, donuts, rice krispie treats, and even a few savory snacks.