When you say “slushy,” most people tend to think of summer; while summer is certainly a great time to have a slushy, anyone who invests their money into a slushy machine is going to want to use it for the whole year, rather than the fraction of the year where such a cool treat helps counter sweltering temperatures. It is with this desire that I have provided a single, satisfying slushy for all four seasons.
Spring Recipe: The Mock Mimosa
Spring is the season when the animals come out of hiding with their young and the flowers are finally able to bloom into color. It is a season of life and greenery, much like what you might find in a greenhouse. To take inspiration from this season of growth, I have chosen to concoct a mock-up of a Mimosa in slushy form. While a regular Mimosa slushy is an incredibly easy recipe to follow, being nothing more than a ratio of orange juice and champagne, and you can certainly consider that an option if you like your alcohol, this is intended to serve as a non-alcoholic option for anyone looking to use their slushy machine.
Ingredients
- Frozen orange juice, 3 cylinders.
- Ginger ale, 6 liters.
When it comes to choosing ginger ale, you do not want a mild variety like Canada Dry; mild ginger ale will barely affect the palette and you will be left with watered-down orange juice. Some examples of strong ginger ales include Vernors and Ale-8-One. Alternatively, you might try a completely different clear soda to blend this, in which case you have plenty of options.
If the end product still does not satisfy, consider making slushies out of just your orange juice and then mixing it with your ginger ale or champagne, for those interested in alcohol, within individual glasses.
Summer Recipe: The Georgian Crowd-Pleaser
The moment I discovered this recipe is the point where I stopped investigating. Whether you grew up in the American South or have had certain elements romanticized for you, this will make you feel right at home with the sweet tea and moon pie crowd.
Ingredients
- Tea, Southern-style sweetened, 1.5 gallons
- “Jumex” brand peach nectar, 6 cans
- Lemonade concentrate, frozen, 1 container
- Ginger ale, 2 liters
- Peach soda, 2 liters
- Peppermint extract, just a few drops
Now there may be some people who find that the peach makes this too sweet, but Georgia is known for its peaches and I think it hits the Goldilocks zone for sweetness. That nectar gives the perfect follow-up hit of sweetness and this slushy is honestly my favorite of the four on this list. If your tastes run toward the more adult, consider adding some bourbon to keep things in the appropriate American region even if it would not be the state.
Fall Recipe: Butterbeer
Since fall is when you can get pumpkin spice anywhere and everywhere, consider this flavorful alternate libation.
Ingredients
- Ice cream, vanilla, softened, 3 qt (about 2 containers)
- Butterscotch syrup, 2/3 squeeze bottle
- Cream soda, 24 cans or around 4.25 2-liter bottles
- Whipped cream and the lingering 1/3 of the squeeze bottle for topping
This is the simplest functional butterbeer slushy recipe I have found. While I think it is a bit lacking in sweetness, my friends say it is sweet enough. If you happen to have butter or rum extract within your cupboard, or even actual rum, consider adding a few drops to the mixture. A friend who went to the “Wizarding World of Harry Potter” remarked that this is pretty similar to the butterbeer she had there.
Winter Recipe: Icy Hot Chocolate
When I think of winter gatherings, hot chocolate seems like a natural drink. Considering hot chocolate is just water, or milk, mixed with chocolate powder, I decided to make a slushy version.
Ingredients
- Milk, whole, 2 gallons
- “Nesquik,” one 39-serving container
- Ice cream, chocolate, 1.5 qt
- Marshmallow fluff, 1 13-oz tub
- Syrup, chocolate, 1/2 bottle
- Whipped cream and more syrup for topping.
- Optional: Candy cane, inserted into each finished drink
Directions
While the other recipes boil down to pour everything into the machine and freeze it for a bit, this recipe is a bit fancier.
- Add one gallon of milk into your machine with the auger turned on, followed by half of the Nesquik powder, the other gallon of milk, and the rest of the Nesquik.
- As the auger mixes things up, microwave the marshmallow cream until it reaches a liquified state and add it to the auger. Stir the mixture
- Add the ice cream and chocolate syrup and ensure that the auger is set to “chill” instead of “ice” for roughly 30 minutes.
- Freeze once you confirm everything is incorporated well.
Anyone familiar with slushy-making knows that sugar and alcohol will reduce the freezing temperature of liquids and yield slush instead of ice. Another element that lowers freezing temperature, which I failed to consider on my first go, is the fat content in dairy ingredients; thus, my first attempt took longer to freeze than usual yet was still more liquid than I desired. Anyone planning to add booze to this should swap whole milk for either skim or 2% milk.
In terms of flavor, the levels of sweetness, chocolate, and creaminess are perfect. My last batch, for an office party, only lasted an hour before the machine emptied. Many people praised it as reminding them of Nesquik or melted ice cream.
Last Call
While this article only provides four recipes, I hope it inspires you to come up with some unique slushies of your own making for each season; maybe apple cider for fall, strawberry lemonade in the summer, etc. I hope that you will give these four slushies a try and feel free to improvise upon the ingredients.
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