Faux Hamburger Shake Recipe

Jamba Juice recently ran a viral ad campaign for a fictional smoothie, the Cheeseburger Chill. In what appears to be a jab at McDonald's recent foray into the fruit smoothie market, the ad, available on the Jamba Juice website and YouTube, showed a whole cheeseburger blended with ice to create a smoothie. The video's image of patrons eagerly stirring and drinking the thick brown concoction permeated my brain and made me want to avoid both restaurants. Eventually, the disgusting concept intrigued me and led to the creation of this fun hamburger shake recipe. (According to The Persuaders, there is a thin line between love and hate.)

Fun Hamburger Shake Recipe
Yield: 4 shakes
Ingredients
4 bendy straws
4 gummy candy hamburgers
10 ounces milk
3 tablespoons chocolate fudge ice cream topping
1 pint chocolate ice cream
Optional: strawberry jelly

Directions
Working with one piece at a time, carefully use a paring knife to cut a slit in the center of each layer of the gummy cheeseburger. Thread a drinking straw through the candy. Set aside. Repeat for the remaining candy burgers and straws.

Add the milk and ice cream topping to the blender. Put the lid on the blender and blend on high until combined. Add the chocolate ice cream. Put the lid on the blender and blend until smooth.

Pour the milk shake mixture into four glasses. If desired, top the shakes with a swirl of red jelly to simulate ketchup. Add burger straws and serve immediately.

Fun Hamburger Shake Recipe Tips
There are a couple of brands of gummy hamburgers on the market, but the SpongeBob Squarepants Crabby Patties candy is widely available and affordable. Each 2.54-ounce box contains eight candy burgers and is available at Walgreens for $1.29.

Adding the fudge ice cream topping intensifies the brown hue of this shake to make it more closely resemble a beef patty. If desired, substitute chocolate milk for regular milk or add chocolate syrup to achieve the same effect. Hershey's Special Dark syrup also works well.

Cheeseburger Smoothie Experiment
If you are curious to see an authentic cheeseburger smoothie, check out this article chronicling Eric Barton's visit with burger purveyor Guy Castellano. While the meaty beverage is far from appealing, it is not nearly as hideous as the smoothie in the Jamba Juice ad.