Create a Dessert Bar with Easy Clean-up Mason Jar Milkshakes

Mason jars aren't just for canning. Use them to make milkshakes! - SahmReviews.com

Disclosure

I have to laugh every time Miss M has some kind of accomplishment.

Finished her Honor Band evaluation: “Can we get Whitey’s?”
Parent/Teacher Conferences completed: “Can we get Whitey’s?”
Can’t decide what we want for dinner: “Can we get Whitey’s?”

For the uninitiated, Whitey’s Ice Cream is a Quad City landmark known for their ice cream and specialty shakes and malts. They’re delicious and definitely something we treat ourselves to on occasion. Unfortunately, not as often as Miss M would like.

So we improvise and make shakes at home! It’s less expensive, but still offers us the ability to customize each person’s shake. We’ve discovered a few tricks that allow everyone to create the flavor of their choice without needing to clean and re-clean the blender pitcher between uses. As a matter of fact, we don’t use the blender pitcher at all!

Ditch your blender pitcher and create individualized mason jar milkshakes. - SahmReviews.com #BountyatWalmart

What you’ll need:

  • Ice Cream (Varieties encouraged!)
  • Milk
  • Chocolate Syrup
  • Whipped Cream
  • Peanut butter, candy bars, cookies, cookie dough, brownies or other mix-ins of choice
  • 1 pint-size mason jar for each guest (or go big with quart-sized!)
  • Standard blender
  • Spoons and straws
Make milkshakes in a mason jar. Cleanup is a snap! - SahmReviews.com #BountyatWalmart

I’m not one of those people who insists on putting foods in mason jars just because it looks fun in photos. In this particular situation, the mason jars are purely for function, the look is a bonus. Most people don’t realize that a standard blender ring with blade is the same size as a narrow-mouth jar. So instead of making a bulk-sized pitcher of milkshakes that everyone has to share, let everyone create one for their own tastes.

Everyone can create their own so the process should go much quicker than one adult doing it all. Start by adding ice cream to the mason jar. We filled each jar between half and 3/4 full. The more mix-ins you’ll want, the less ice cream you can add. There simply isn’t room for all of it. These jars offer built-in portion control. Sort of. Other than gravity, there aren’t rules about how high the whipped cream garnish can go. (Or ditch the portion control and use quart jars.)

Mason jar milkshakes: Everyone can make their own flavors and cleanup is a snap! - SahmReviews.com #BountyatWalmart

Add peanut butter or other mix-ins then fill about 1/2 way with milk. Attach the blender blade, o-ring and cap. Secure tightly then invert and place on the blender base as normal.

You’ll use whatever blender settings you normally would and stop it based on the consistency you prefer. These are smaller portions so you may need to cut the blend time down from what you normally use.

Mason jar milkshakes: Everyone can make their own flavors and cleanup is a snap! - SahmReviews.com #BountyatWalmart

Flip over, remove the blade attachment, garnish and serve. Repeat the process with each additional individual pint jar.

Mason jar milkshakes: Everyone can make their own flavors and cleanup is a snap! - SahmReviews.com #BountyatWalmart

While the jars will all fit nicely alongside the glasses in your dishwasher, there is a downside to this mason jar process. It’s definitely messier. When switching between jars, expect to have a bit of melted ice cream end up on the counter top. Thankfully, we have a quicker solution for that, too. Have paper towels on hand to put underneath each jar before opening.

Mason jar milkshakes: Everyone can make their own flavors and cleanup is a snap! - SahmReviews.com #TeenBeach2Event #InsideOutEvent

Or do like we did and just clean it up. It was a minor inconvenience considering the benefits of 1) not cross contaminating flavors (or allergens) in a regular blender, 2) not needing to clean a traditional blender and 3) having cute kitschy “glasses” to drink out of.

Mason jar milkshakes: Everyone can make their own flavors and cleanup is a snap! - SahmReviews.com #BountyatWalmart

Now that you see how simple this is, are your taste buds watering for a milkshake? Grab some pint mason jars, pick up some ice cream and mixings of your choice, invite some friends over and have a milkshake party.

What’s your favorite milkshake flavor combination?

88 thoughts on “Create a Dessert Bar with Easy Clean-up Mason Jar Milkshakes

  1. We don’t have Whitey’s around here, but we do have Breyer’s! I like the idea of the individual milkshakes, it makes it fun for everyone to make their own. And who cares about messy! It will all clean up.

  2. This looks like the perfect summer dessert! I never thought of using a mason jar right on a blender, but it looks like a great way to save on cleanup.

  3. Oh my, what a great idea! 🙂 Mason jars- not just for canning! I also make individual salad servings in mason jars; add all the heavy ingredients first, and the greens on top. Tighten the lid and it stays fresh for up to a week!

  4. Using mason jars on the blender, smart. I never thought of adding anything other than syrup and ice cream for a chocolate milkshake, definitely trying this 🙂

  5. YUMM!!! I can hardly wait to try this!! Our summer is long and hot and ice cream is a great way to “forget” the temperatures for a while!!

  6. I didn’t know that the blender blades fit on mason jars! I just got far too excited over that! LOL We love shakes here, but hate the mess this would be PERFECT since there is not second thing to clean. LOVE IT!

  7. Great idea – I actually love drinking out of a mason jar – seems to keep the beverage colder longer – maybe because the glass is thicker than most regular drinking glasses.

  8. Really? Is that possible? Those mason jars can be used in my blender??? YAY! I’m in heaven! Love my mason jars… 🙂 I will use it for my protein drinks! Thanks so much, you are queen for the day! Tee-hee…

  9. I love my mason jars!! So classic and pretty (and without plastic there’s no staining or odors win/win) – these shakes look delicious! I’ll have to give them a try!

  10. I never thought to make a shake like this. I’m definitely going to have to see if my blender blades or magic bullet blades fit on a mason jar. GREAT idea!

  11. I think my 14 year old daughter will love me for the rest of eternity if I attempt this with her! Thanks for the inspiration!

  12. What a great idea! I never realized that you could use a mason jar on a blender! I’m definitely going to have to try this out!

  13. What a great idea! I love this. I really like that you make the milkshake right in the mason jar and I also like using the mason jars with handles. I will be looking for those now!

  14. I have the mason jars and the Magic Bullet so it will be off to the store here in awhile to get the ingredients to make this for my granddaughter for her snack after dinner. This looks so yummy!

  15. Those look great…love the mason jar idea. I make milkshakes all the time and always keep a jar of maraschino cherries around to top them off because looks are half the fun….

    1. I don’t have a Ninja but use it with my regular blender base. Does it work with your Ninja? The cleanup is fantastic because you can make multiple ones without having to wash the container after each. And we always have extra mason jars around!

  16. Now I have a big craving for one and love the trick of how you blend it. I have a magic bullet and going to try this out after I get to the store lol.

  17. I agree with the previous comment. Now that you have me craving ice cream…. I LOVE ice cream and even more in a malt. Yummy. Mason jars are so nice. We are big canners so we have Mason Jars around all the time. I use for storage and now…for malts 🙂

  18. I made this for my wife, but substituted the whipped cream for some homemade marshmallow sauce and some crushed up graham crackers to make a smores milkshake

  19. The milkshakes look so heavenly! I thank you for sharing the photos with the fixings. It is so appreciated as this looks so delicious.

  20. You are really clever! We love mason jars. We use them as drinking cups and ice cream holders like your above treat. We have Hershey’s syrup in our fridge and Bounty with Dawn in our cabinet. It’s convenient and serves as a couple of functions. The price is reasonable too. Well it’s too late to make this drink right now, but I am going to wow the grandkids with making these next weekend. Thanks for sharing!

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