In Praise of Pumpkin, Part 3: Butter Pecan Pumpkin Shakes

As I drove down the road with my kids the other day, I passed a shake store that had written on it's marquee: Pumpkin Shakes. It instantly hit me, like when you pass that cute coat at Ross and you know you're going to look divine in it, that Pumpkin Shakes were going to be one of my new pumpkin recipes. Of course, in my mind, I was thinking vanilla ice cream, add some pumpkin, maybe some spices, and there you go. But when I got home, fate had taken the wheel. When I sent the 10 year old out to the big freezer in the garage for ice cream, she said there wasn't any vanilla but this one looked white, so maybe I could use it.
Breyer's Butter Pecan Ice Cream. A slow smile spread across my face. I instantly knew, like when you see those darling boots at TJ Maxx and you know they will match your new coat from Ross perfectly, that this would be the secret ingredient for the best fall shakes ever. These shakes turned out to be so delicious, I almost felt bad adding such a healthy ingredient to such a fattening food. But I got over that quickly. When you mix it up, the bits of pecan add just the right touch of crunch to the shake. It gives it a little texture while you're wolfing it down. We have had these shakes three times since I came up with them, and they cost me way less than buying them for everyone at the shake store. Plus, I can get them at 11:00 at night when the shake store is closed. Wait, I think maybe you weren't supposed to know that last part. Anyway, here's the instructions:

Gluten Free Butter Pecan Pumpkin Shakes

3 scoops Breyer's Butter Pecan Ice Cream

1/2 cup pumpkin pie mix

1/4 cup milk

Place all ingredients into a blender. Pulse on Puree a few times. Then hit Liquefy a couple of times. Serve in small or large cups, depending on how bad you want to share that day.

Tune in tomorrow for yet another pumpkin creation!

Happy eating!