McFlurries are not milkshakes. Let me repeat. Mcdonald's McFlurries are not milkshakes! A fan favorite since 1998, the McDonald's McFlurry is one of the chain's most popular menu items falling shortly behind the Big Mac and Chicken McNuggets. A thick treat of soft serve vanilla ice cream blended with candy or cookies, the McFlurry is a cool and creamy treat that lends itself to creativity when made at home.
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Now, I love copycat recipes. We write about them a lot here at Wide Open Eats (our recent Chick-fil-A Peach milkshake is a summer must), so I've got an understanding of expectations, and one that threw me for a loop was the numerous published copycat recipes for Oreo McFlurries which all looked like cookies n' creme milkshakes.
Lyndsay Cordell
You see, the thing with Mcdonald's McFlurries is that they are not milkshakes, but rather ice cream with mix-ins. Instead of a blender blade, McDonald's employees use the characteristic hollow spoon to incorporate the mix-ins into the ice cream. Because of this, the Oreos are merely crushed into smaller pieces throughout the ice cream. Milkshakes on the other hand pulverize the Oreo cookies, which result in a speckled thick, and drinkable consistency.
To get the authenticity of a McFlurry there are two notable steps:
- Stirring in the Oreos
- Adding Cool Whip (or whipped topping) to the mixture
This brings me to my second point: Cool Whip. McDonald's uses soft serve ice cream in their McFlurries, which is lower in milk fat and produced at a higher temperature than ice cream you'll find in your supermarket. It also has more air incorporated during churning, which gives it that creamy texture.
To compensate for this, add Cool Whip to lighten the ice cream and blend the ice cream for about a minute to incorporate air into the mix. I like Cool Whip better than whipped cream because of its slightly artificial taste. We are trying to mimic McDonald's here after all.
Once you've got your base ready, stir in your mix-ins (in this case, Oreos) but I highly recommend experimenting with other candies, cookies, and even fruit. Around the world, McDonald's has sold McFlurries flavored with M&M's, pineapple, Stroopwafel, dulce de leche, matcha, Cadbury Creme Eggs, and even Durian, one of the smelliest fruits in the world. The sky's the limit.
