There’s a vegan restaurant that we love in Chicago called The Chicago Diner. Jack and I make it a point to stop there nearly every time we’re in town. The food is really good, but the thing to get there are the milkshakes – the peanut butter chocolate chip cookie dough milkshake to be exact. And yes, it’s as decadent as it sounds. A few weeks ago, we ate lunch there and I tried to not order one. Then Jack’s shake came to the table and I said, “I’ll just have one little sip… ok, well maybe just one more…” and before I had stolen nearly his entire shake, I decided I should re-create them for the blog.
Instead of making regular cookie dough to blend into my milkshake, I made a new version of these No-Bake Almond Oatmeal Cookie balls to use instead. So this recipe has 2 parts:
1. No-bake Peanut Butter Oat Cookie Bites, which are a delicious healthy snack on their own.
2. The milkshakes, which are made by blending a few of the cookie balls with almond milk and ice cream.
Although my original cookie dough ball recipe was a delicious one, I’ve improved it here – these new cookie balls not only have a shorter ingredient list but they’re naturally sweetened with dates and they contain no added oil. They’re also much quicker to make.
To help me re-create this recipe, I used my new kitchen helper, Google Home. I wanted to keep the same overall ratio of dry-to-liquid ingredients, so it was helpful (when my hands were messy with peanut butter dough) to call out questions like “hey Google, how many tablespoons are in 1/3 cup,” or “hey Google, what’s 1 cup, plus 1/2 cup, plus 2 tablespoons, minus 1/4 cup.”
Google Home is also very useful for setting multiple kitchen timers and adding items to your grocery shopping list. Fun tip – you can also call out “play cooking music,” or “play baking beats,” which are some fun playlists to listen to in the kitchen. ?
So here you have it – my “healthy-ish” yet still pretty darn decadent version of the Chicago Diner milkshake. If you want to make these a little less indulgent, you can use a frozen banana in place of the ice cream and make smoothies.
Pop the extra cookie ball bites in the fridge or freezer for later.
Vegan PB Cookie Dough Milkshakes
- 1½ cups whole rolled oats
- ¼ cup chopped walnuts
- 8 soft Medjool dates, pitted
- 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ cup creamy natural peanut butter
- 3 tablespoons warm water
- ⅓ cup chocolate chips
- 6 peanut butter oat cookie dough balls + 2 for garnish
- 1 cup almond milk
- Big handful of ice
- 2 big scoops of vanilla ice cream*
- Chocolate sauce, optional*
- Whip cream, optional*
- Chocolate chips, optional*
- Make the Peanut butter oat cookie dough balls: In a food processor, pulse together the oats, walnuts, dates, flaxseed, vanilla and sea salt until well combined. Add the peanut butter and warm water and pulse until the mixture sticks together when you pinch it between your fingers. Transfer the dough to a bowl and stir in the chocolate chips. Scoop 1 tablespoon of the mixture for each dough ball and use your hands to roll them into balls.
- To make the milkshakes, combine 6 cookie dough balls with the almond milk and blend on high speed until smooth. Add a handful of ice and blend until combined. Add the ice cream and pulse 2 times just to combine. Don’t melt the ice cream. Pour into two glasses and garnish each with a cookie dough ball and with desired toppings.
- The remaining cookie dough balls can be stored in the fridge or freezer.
- Makes 2 milkshakes.
To make these gluten free, be sure to use Certified Gluten Free Oats.
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