Just because we came up with a delicious 3-minute Gingerbread Shake that literally tastes like Christmas in glass, doesn’t mean that you should skip the whole holiday baking bonanza and just drink this shake everyday for the next three weeks. It really doesn’t. Don’t even start thinking about it. Actually, it is perhaps better if you forgot about this shake already.
Damn, now you are thinking about trying it? No no, you shouldn’t. It doesn’t taste like Christmas at all. And it’s definitely not Santa approved. He prefers that you save the spices for the gingerbread cookie dough that needs to sit in the fridge for 24 hours, sticks to the rolling pin and makes your kitchen look like a war zone.
Move on with your life. The 3-minute gingerbread shake was never here. Go ahead and bake cookies instead.
Still reading? Well if you made it this far we might as well tell you that the shake is inspired by a date shake that we tried in Marrakech (Elsa was obsessed with it), but we gave our version a Christmas spin. It is a shake rather than a smoothie, but if you prefer it a bit thicker and more nourishing, you can always add a banana.
Side note. We haven’t received any snow yet, so we used powdered sugar to style these photos. We had a box of sugar that has been in our pantry for ages. I’m glad it finally proved itself useful.
Gingerbread Spiced Shake
Makes around 5 cups / 1 1/4 liter
We have written instructions on how to make the almond milk yourself, but you can also use store bought. In that case, you should skip the first step in the instructions. The ice is important because it makes the shake frothy, so you don’t want to skip that!
1 cup raw almonds + 4 cups water OR 4 cups unsweetened almond milk
1 pinch coarse sea salt
8 fresh dates or soaked dried dates, pitted
1 tsp ground cinnamon + more for serving
1 tsp ground cardamom
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground clove
4-6 ice cubes
1. Soak the almonds overnight (8-12 hours), peel off the skin if you prefer. Place peeled almonds and water in a high-speed blender and mix until smooth.
2. Add sea salt, dates, spices and ice cubes and mix again. Pour immediately in glasses, dust with ground cinnamon and serve.
Tip: Skip the ice cubes and gently heat the blended mixture in a sauce pan, and you have yourself a warming christmas drink.
Ps. For your information, we have actually managed to drink this shake and come up with a few new Christmas recipes at the same time. So stay tuned.
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