This chocolate covered cherry shake recipe will fill you with holiday joy and help you indulge in the flavors of the season while avoiding the extra pounds. If you’ve enjoyed the frozen eggnog recipe, or the thin mint chocolate chip shake, then this is another delicious sugar free and low carb milkshake to keep you on plan in during the holiday season. But believe me…I’ll be enjoying these year round!
Chocolate covered cherries have been a favorite holiday treat for me since I was a little girl…something about the crisp chocolate shell with the creamy filling and that gorgeous red maraschino cherry just felt like the BIGGEST treat! Now that I’ve been sugar free for nearly a year, I’m staying away from the real thing…they’ve lost their luster, and are <gaggingly> too sweet.
But I can still enjoy all of the delicious flavors of a chocolate covered cherry in this amazing protein packed shake. To get the real flavor of cherries, I am loving the Frontier Natural Cherry Flavor
Here’s a pinnable and a printable for you…
- ½ c, 1% or 2% cottage cheese (Daisy brand is my favorite)
- 1½-2 cups ice
- 1⅓ c. unsweetened plain almond milk
- ¼ c. half & half
- 1-1½ tsp. cherry extract
- ½-1 tsp. almond extract
- 2-3 frozen strawberries or 5-6 frozen raspberries (for color)
- 1 T erythritol, Truvia, or xylitol + stevia to sweeten to taste
- ½-1 scoop protein powder (optional, and adjust sweetener as necessary)
- 1 oz. square 85% dark chocolate -or- skinny chocolate drizzled in to harden
- Add all ingredients except chocolate to the blender, and blend until smooth & creamy.
- Taste and adjust flavors & sweetness.
- Add chocolate & pulse until ground into straw-sized chunks.
- Enjoy!
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Gwen’s Nest
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What a great shake recipe Gwen! Thanks for sharing! This is my first week in the link up and I left links on my post for readers to visit your site:) I hope you have a Merry Christmas, and I’m looking forward to being a part of the link up each week!!:)
Thank you, Heather! 🙂 So happy for you to join us. Merry Christmas!
You have the most delicious-looking pictures! Do you how I could make it into a strawberry shake? I love strawberries better than cherries, although this makes me want to try it with cherries!
Oh! Strawberries does sound good! I’d use less ice, and drop in about 4-5 frozen strawberries, and just omit the extracts. 🙂
I have tried numerous recipes and have liked them. I have to make triple batches because my mom and sister are THMing with me. I wanted to try the Cherry shake but I did not have cherry extract nor did I have 1/2 and 1/2. So, instead, I used orange extract and made 1/2 and 1/2 with heavy cream and water. It tastes like an Orange Julius. Very yummy. Thank you for sharing your recipes with us!
Loved this recipe from the first time I tried it! Thank you so much.
Since we have a cherry tree in our garden, and lots of cherries in the freezer, I love turning this in an E. (Cold Shake or warm oatmeal!)
Oh, yummmm! Lucky you with a cherry tree. 🙂
This chocolate covered cherry shake is my new favorite thing! Wow!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you! Glad to see you up and blogging again. I hope that means you are feeling better. Back on THM, mostly for my hubby. He’s trying to get healthy again after being trampled by one of our cows! 🙂 Thanks for helping make THM yummy!
I *am* feeling much better! Cow trampling sounds seriously unpleasant…hope he feels well again soon. 🙂 This shake is my Valentines Day success plan!
The other day I joined Gwen’s Nest, at least tried to, but it seems I cannot access things, wondering why.
I read in THM beginnings that Gwen’s nest has some ideas on how to easier to understand THM, and would like to find that.
I am not real smart on the computer, so could you give me some idea what Gwen’s nest is all about and how I can find this easy to understand information.
Thanks
Lois
Hi Lois!
This is my personal blog, and I think what you’ve probably done is to sign up for the newsletter that comes out each Wednesday. You’ll get access to a special “just for subscribers” area here on my site at the bottom of each email. I like to do special things and share extra goodies with my subscribers. 🙂
I think you’re wanting to find the THM Quick Start Guide? <-- Click the words to open it. If you have any problems, just send me an email here or leave a comment and I'll help you get it sorted out. You can also find lots of other THM stuff on the menu bar at the top- recipes, tips, and more! Gwen
I tried this shake as I love cherries and chocolate and for some reason I could not finish it. The taste was so strong. I’m thinking maybe the almond or cherry flavouring? What brand do you use?
I like frontier brand. I’m so sorry you didn’t care for it…I bet it was the flavoring brand. Definitely adjust to taste.
One way to “save” a recipe if you get too much flavor is to take out about 1/3 to 1/2 of it, and add a bit more of your other ingredients back. I freeze the half I take out in an ice cube tray and use it as starter cubes for my next batch. We had to freeze a whole batch of mint chip milkshake the time my daughter confused the essential oil for extract and added a teaspoon. 🙂
Which almond flavouring do you use?
I like Frontier brand.
I do not like cottage cheese, do you taste that much in this? Do you feel the texture of it as you drink?
Try it once…you will be amazed! It’s smooth and creamy like ice cream. Promise. 🙂
Why can’t we use frozen cherries? Are they too high in sugar?
Yep…with the other fat sources, it would put you into crossover mode. But you should be able to use a few if you want to go into a crossover! 🙂
What if we only use 2 cherries, would that still be crossover?
Eek! I can’t get this detailed…it makes me obsess over numbers. You can look up the numbers if you want, but I try to just stick to food type and “garnish” amounts of opposite types to stay out of crossover range.
I wonder about Tart frozen cherries…? (Vs sweeter black cherries) or can we adjust the cream factor somehow? I thought half-n-half was more reasonable but maybe still too much?
I would definitely tinker and make it to taste. I bet tart would be an exciting alternative! You might need to add additional sweetner, and taste test to see if it will work with the chocolate coating.
I made this for me and was surprised that my husband wanted some as well when I told him what I was making! So happy it was a shareable quantity 🙂 He liked it! It’s very delicious!
I didn’t have cherries, so I used strawberries and strawberry extract and it turned out amazing! And huge–my husband couldn’t believe it! We shared one serving in 2 quart Mason jars and he kept asking, “you’re sure this is on plan?” Thank you for the awesome recipe!