Palm Springs Date Shake

 

For years, I've been meaning to try a Palm Springs Date shake recipe; I always heard great things, but since I live in the midwest and not the west coast, I've unfortunately never tried an authentic PS date shake.

The first time I tried making it, it didn't work out well - the dates didn't blend into crystallized pieces like I'd read from descriptions and I was stuck trying to suck what was essentially a vanilla milkshake with stale chunks of dates floating around.  Not impressed.

But after seeing several variations of this shake, it made more sense to soak the dates in hot water before blending.  MUCH better result.

This one I made is an amalgamation of an old Bon Appetit recipe and one of my favorite food bloggers, What's Gaby Cooking. 

PALM SPRINGS DATE SHAKE

makes 2 small or 1 large serving

INGREDIENTS:

• ¼ cup of walnuts
• ½ cup pitted Medjool dates
• pinch of ground cinnamon
• pinch of kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon honey
• 1 cup vanilla ice cream
• ¾ cup ice

DIRECTIONS:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Toast the walnuts on a small rimmed baking sheet for 8-10 minutes. Let cool.
2. While walnuts are in the oven, place dates in a small bowl and pour 1/2 cup of hot water to cover; soak 10 minutes to soften.   Blend the walnuts and dates with their cooking liquid, cinnamon, kosher salt and honey in a blender until a paste forms.
3. Add vanilla ice cream and ice and blend until very smooth.  Serve for yourself or divide into 2 small glasses if you have less of a sweet tooth!