Drinks
Welcome. You just found copycat recipes for all of your favorite famous foods! Bestselling author and TV host, Todd Wilbur shows you how to easily duplicate the taste of iconic dishes and treats at home. See if Todd has hacked your favorite drinks here. New recipes added every week.
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Cheddar's Painkiller
Read moreThe most popular and notorious cocktail at this 157-unit casual chain is the pumped-up piña colada-style drink served in a heavy 18-ounce schooner with a rim of toasted coconut. The menu warns customers that they are allowed only two of these cocktails since each is made with a supersized 2-ounce shot of Pusser's rum.
Pusser's Rum is the best choice here if you want a perfect clone of Cheddar's Painkiller, but you can certainly make this drink with your choice of any good gold rum. But watch out. At home, there's no 2-drink limit. And these are so good that you might forget how many you’ve downed!
Now, how about some Cheddar's incredible Santa Fe Spinach Dip?
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Harry Potter Butterbeer
Read moreThe imaginary drink from J.K. Rowling's books became a reality when the first Wizarding World of Harry Potter appeared in 2010. Since then, many hacks for the beverage have emerged online. The only problem is, if Rowling's reported requirements for the drink are true, then almost all of those copycats recipes got something very wrong.
Learn more and get my recipe for free on my Food Hacker Blog here.
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Starbucks Pink Drink
Read moreMany new food product ideas emerge from corporate test kitchens, but Starbucks’ Pink Drink was born on social media. That’s where customers learned to request coconut milk in their order of the chain’s strawberry-acai refreshers drink, and when they gave it a good shake it turned pink. That was in 2016. When high demand persisted for the “secret menu” item, Starbucks added the Pink Drink to its permanent menu one year later, in 2017.
You'll have no trouble creating my Starbucks Pink Drink copycat recipe as long as you procure a bottle of the strawberry acai flavor of Dr. Smoothie Refreshers. This lightly caffeinated concentrated drink mix can be found online in 46-ounce bottles and will be enough to make 11 (16-ounce) Pink Drink clones. You’ll also need coconut milk, preferably one that isn’t too thick or chunky (Goya brand is good), and freeze-dried strawberries.
Finish the drink by shaking everything together in a shaker with ice, then pour the pink goodness into a 16-ounce glass and consume with glee.
Find more of my Starbucks copycat recipes here.
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Grey Goose Honey Deuce
Read moreThis quenching combination of Grey Goose vodka, fresh lemonade, and Chambord raspberry liqueur was invented in 2007 by Grey Goose ambassador and restauranteur Nick Mautone for the vodka sponsorship deal struck with the U.S. Open Tennis Championships. Nick came up with a drink made with the refreshing flavor of raspberry lemonade, and the cocktail stick with three frozen honeydew melon balls resembling tennis balls was his perfectly inspired garnish.
The popularity of the summer concoction at the U.S. Open peaked in 2023 when 460,275 Honey Deuces were sold in commemorative cups for $22 each. Sales of the drink that year reached over $10 million, and at the 2024 tournament, with an upped $23 price tag, sales are expected to be even higher.
I designed my custom version of the Grey Goose Honey Deuce recipe for a 16-ounce glass, so I retooled the recipe shared by Grey Goose, which is measured to fit in a 12-ounce highball glass. Also, their recipe doesn’t mention how to make good lemonade, so I devised an easy formula that will give you 16 ounces of lemonade, which will be enough for four cocktails.
Before making your drinks, use a melon baller to make honeydew melon balls. Pierce three on a cocktail stick for each drink you plan to make and freeze them for about an hour. Your serve.
Find more of my famous drink copycat recipes here.
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McDonald's Chocolate, Vanilla, and Strawberry Shakes
Read moreCheck out my McDonald's Shakes recipes below and see how simple it is to re-create any of the three flavors of McDonald's thick shakes from scratch. Just three ingredients for each clone. Really. And the secret ingredient for the chocolate and strawberry flavors is Nesquik mix. Throw everything in a blender and press a button. And if you want your shake thicker, just put it in the freezer for a while. Ah, creamy, frosty goodness.
Now, how about a Big Mac and homemade McDonald's french fries?
Source: Top Secret Recipes: Sodas, Smoothies, Spirits & Shakes by Todd Wilbur.
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Mr and Mrs T Rich and Spicy Bloody Mary Mix
Read moreCopy the famous and very popular Bloody Mary Mix from that couple with only a letter as a last name. It's a simple-to-make blend of tomato juice and spices with some prepared horseradish and canned jalapeño juice thrown in for a "spicier, zestier" drink.
Make my Mr and Mrs T Rich and Spicy Bloody Mary Mix copycat recipe and serve with vodka over ice, for a delicious cocktail, or sip it straight.
Click here to see if I copied more of your favorite drinks.
Source: Top Secret Recipes: Sodas, Smoothies, Spirits & Shakes by Todd Wilbur.
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General Foods International Coffees
Read moreWith just a few simple ingredients, you can re-create the European-style coffees that come in rectangular tins at a fraction of the cost. Use my General Foods International Coffee recipes for perfect home clones of Cafe Vienna, French Vanilla Cafe, and Suisse Mocha.
Since these famous instant coffee blends are created by Maxwell House, it's best to use Maxwell House instant coffee, although I've tried them with Folger's and Taster's Choice, and the recipes still work out fine. You'll also need a coffee bean grinder to grind the instant coffee into powder. When you're finished making the mix, you can store it for as long as you like in a sealed container, until you're ready for a hot coffee drink. When that time comes, measure some of the mix into a cup and add boiling water. Stir well and enjoy while watching shows about Europe on the Travel Channel to enhance the experience.
Find more recipes for your favorite famous drinks here.
Source: Top Secret Recipes: Sodas, Smoothies, Spirits & Shakes by Todd Wilbur.
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Procter and Gamble Sunny Delight
Read moreIf you love the taste of Sunny D but wish it were made with more than just 5 percent real fruit juice, this is the recipe for you. Rustle up some frozen juice concentrates and let them thaw out before measuring. Since tangerine juice concentrate is tough to find on its own, I designed my Sunny Delight copycat recipe with the orange/tangerine blend concentrate from Minute Maid.
You can find more of my copycat recipes for famous drinks here.
Source: Top Secret Recipes: Sodas, Smoothies, Spirits & Shakes by Todd Wilbur.
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Budweiser Chelada
Read moreIf you've never had a Chelada, the idea of mixing beer with Clamato juice may make your stomach turn. This odd combination of beverages has origins in Mexico that date back to the 1940s, when beer was mixed with lime, salt, and hot sauce or salsa.
In early 2008, Anheuser-Busch (Budweiser) and Cadbury-Schweppes (Clamato) teamed up to produce the first canned Chelada beverage, which they dubbed "The Red One," and after a successful launch in select western states, the product is now exploding across the country. Many swear by the drink as a remarkable hangover cure, and after some extensive personal experimentation, I must concur. Try my easy Budweiser Chelada recipe below and see for yourself.
Click here for more famous drink recipes.
Source: Top Secret Recipes Unlocked by Todd Wilbur.
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Applebee's Summer Squeeze
Read moreFor this drink, you'll make the lemonade from scratch to re-create that familiar Applebee’s barstool experience. Okay, so maybe it’s just familiar to me, and I probably shouldn’t go around announcing it. My Applebee's Summer Squeeze recipe below makes two drinks.
Click here for more Applebee's copycat recipes.
Source: Top Secret Recipes: Sodas, Smoothies, Spirits and Shakes by Todd Wilbur.
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Applebee's Red Apple Sangria
Read moreMenu Description: "Drink in the passions of Spain! A delightful mix of Sutter Home Cabernet Sauvignon, Shakka Apple Liqueur, Dole pineapple juice, Ocean Spray cranberry juice, and grenadine. Garnished with maraschino cherry, orange, lime and fresh apple."
The menu description for this quenching Applebee's red apple sangria specifies brand names that the restaurant uses to create this drink. For the best clone, I suggest you use the same brands. However, if you must substitute with other brands, I don't suspect anyone will care. I certainly won't, and I promise not to tell anyone your secret. If you can't find Shakka brand apple liqueur, use any sour apple flavored liqueur. If you don't have Sierra Mist lemon-lime soda, you can use Sprite or 7-Up.Source: Top Secret Restaurant Recipes 3 by Todd Wilbur.
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Jack in the Box Pumpkin Pie Shake
Read moreThere's no need for artificial coloring or flavoring when recreating this chains delicious "limited-time only" holiday milkshake. Real canned pumpkin and pumpkin pie spices will do the trick in this Top Secret version. For the spices, rather than gathering up four costly bottles to use only a small amount from each, toss some pumpkin pie spice into your basket. Its a handy blend of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice that will be near the other spices in your market - McCormick makes a small size that's cheap. Combine everything below in a blender until smooth, and in a flash youve whipped up two servings of a delicious duplicate that can now be enjoyed any time of the year.
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Joe's Crab Shack Joes Makin' Me Java
Read moreWith over 120 restaurants in 28 states, Joe's Crab Shack is one of the country's largest seafood restaurants. The chain is famous for its BBQ crab and hourly server line dances, but Joe's also has an impressive cocktail menu. When the weather's frigid, this coffee drink with a kick is a great way to warm up the innards.
Find more of your favorite recipes from Joe's Crab Shack over here.
Source: Top Secret Recipes: Sodas, Smoothies, Spirits & Shakes by Todd Wilbur.
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Cheesecake Factory Caribbean Cooler
Read moreThis recipe clones a delicious smoothie-type cocktail using strawberry puree that you make from a thawed box of the frozen sliced strawberries. One ounce of puree goes into the glass first before you add the drink creating the cool layering effect.
Source: Top Secret Recipes: Sodas, Smoothies, Spirits & Shakes by Todd Wilbur.
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Z'Tejas Southwestern Grill Z' Big Stick Margarita
Read moreIn the southwestern cities where Z'Tejas serves these incredible margaritas, they are truly legendary. The secret mixture is made fresh every day in a freezing dispenser machine with a dirt-cheap brand of tequila and custom-made sweet-and-sour mix. Perhaps that's the beauty of the drink. It's one of the most potent margaritas around, but with the addition of sweet liqueurs, its strength is well hidden. Even though the chain uses a special machine to make this one, preparing your own clone doesn't require any special equipment. It does take patience, however. Most good things do. But before long you'll be enjoying either a clone of Z' Big Stick with three layers of liqueurs, or a copy of the Famous Chambord Raspberry Margarita, the drink that earns "Best Margarita in Town" awards for the chain on a regular basis.
You can, of course, drink the basic margarita base without the liqueurs, but the added liqueurs give the drink its charm. To create the margarita, you must mix all the ingredients in a pitcher and put it in the freezer for at least 4 hours, even overnight if you can. The cocktail won't freeze solid since there's tequila in there. When it's frozen, you take it out, and give it a little stir until it's the perfect slushy consistency.
This recipe clones the tall, 14-ounce drink served in a pilsner glass with layers of Chambord, Midori, and blue curacao. The restaurant limits customers to just two of these drinks per visit. Try it and you'll find out why.
Source: Top Secret Recipes: Sodas, Smoothies, Spirits & Shakes by Todd Wilbur.
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Starbucks Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew
Read moreAmerica’s biggest coffee-house chain has come up with another way to sell us a seasonal pumpkin drink, and this one is pretty damn good. Cold brew coffee is mixed with vanilla syrup and ice, then a pumpkin spice flavored cream is layered on top. If it's in a clear glass, you'll see the creamy topping slowly sinking to the bottom like a lava lamp, and the color of the drink will change to a light autumn brown.
To make our own Starbucks pumpkin cream cold brew drink at home, we'll start by making the secret pumpkin spice syrup from my Pumpkin Spice Latte recipe posted here, but this time I’m adding an extra tablespoon of pumpkin. You’ll have plenty of this syrup left over to make several more drinks.
The rest of my Starbucks pumpkin cream cold brew recipe is easy: Grab your favorite cold brew coffee and mix it with some vanilla syrup (like this one from Torani). The cream topping is made by mixing cream with 2% milk in a blender, just until thick. After adding the pumpkin syrup, you pour the topping over your coffee and top it off with pumpkin spice.
You've just hacked Starbucks pumpkin cream cold brew. Now, how about making some of their famous pastries?
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Jamba Juice Pumpkin Smash Smoothie
Read moreThe base formula for Jamba Juice’s seasonal smoothie consists of 2% milk, a couple scoops of sweetened frozen yogurt, and ice. The final addition is a scoop of a secret blend containing all the great flavor that makes this smoothie taste like you’re drinking pumpkin pie.
Real canned pumpkin purée, plus sugar, spices, and a little food coloring will bring your homemade Jamba Juice Pumpkin smash smoothie to life with the taste and appearance of the original that you can now make any time you want.
Frozen vanilla yogurt is not as easy to find in the freezer section as it was 10 years ago, so reduced-fat ice cream and regular vanilla yogurt will substitute nicely here.
Think of all the famous drinks you can make at home? Click here to see if I hacked your favorites.
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Milo's Famous Sweet Tea
Read moreMilo Carlton opened the first Milo’s Hamburger Shop in Brirmingham, Alabama in 1946 serving hamburgers, pies and freshly brewed iced tea which customers would sweeten from a bowl of sugar on each table. But because of a sugar ration caused by the war, Milo was forced to do something no one had tried before: he took all the sugar bowls off of the tables and pre-sweetened the tea. When customers realized the tea was better than they could make themselves Milo’s Famous Sweet Tea became as popular as the food.
In the late 80’s, Milo’s began selling the Famous Sweet Tea in gallon jugs in grocery stores in the Birmingham area, and it has been a growing successful product ever since, recently becoming a national brand.
To duplicate Milo's famous sweet tea, you absolutely must start with Southern tea bags, and that means Luzianne. This New Orleans tea company crafts its tea blend especially for iced tea. You will get the best clone of Southern-style sweet tea with this brand. If you can’t find Luzianne, you can still make great tea with Lipton Iced Tea Bags.
Try my Milo's famous sweet tea copycat recipe below, and check out more of my recipes for famous drinks here.
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Chick-fil-A Frosted Lemonade
Read moreChick-fil-A’s popular Frosted Lemonade is a delicious, blended combination of lemonade and the chain’s trademarked Icedream soft serve product. Just like Dairy Queen’s famous soft serve, Icedream looks and tastes like ice cream, but it contains considerably less butterfat since it’s made with milk, rather than cream.
For my Chick-fil-A Frosted Lemonade recipe though, cream-less ice cream is not a necessity. Regular ice cream works just fine here, although light ice cream, which is usually made with a milk base (Blue Bell Vanilla Light Ice Cream is one example), also makes a great clone.
Give the fresh lemonade you make here a little time to chill in your freezer before adding it to your blender with the other ingredients. In a matter of seconds, when all the ice is crushed, you’ll have two frosty 16-ounce drinks that taste just like the real deal, but at a mere fraction of the cost.
Try more of my Chick-fil-A copycat recipes like their famous chicken sandwich here.
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Outback Steakhouse Bestselling Cocktails
Read moreSince cocktails are amongst the biggest moneymakers at most restaurants, chains like Outback are constantly fiddling with creative new drink formulas, hoping one will break out as the next Wallaby Darned, the chain’s most famous bestselling cocktail (cloned here).
Most of the chain's new drinks are usually quite delicious, but apparently not delicious enough, since the next seasonal batch of new drink recipes will often replace them. But these two cocktails are a couple of standout exceptions that have been on the menu for some time. They’re both fruity and smooth and refreshing and they each feature rum.
Use my Aussie Rum Punch recipe here to make a drink just like the original with white rum and Malibu rum, plus mango, cranberry, and lime juices, and finished with a splash of Sprite. The Castaway Cocktail recipe is made with Absolut Mandarin vodka, two kinds of rum, plus pineapple, blood orange, and lemon juices.
Instead of using flavored syrups as they do in the restaurant, these recipes are made with real fruit juices, so even though they might look different than the drinks at the chain, they’ll taste just as good. And perhaps even a little better.
See if I cloned more of your Outback Steakhouse favorites here.
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Z'Tejas Southwestern Grill Famous Chambord Raspberry Margarita
Read moreAt only 10 1/2 ounces per serving you might think this drink a bit wee. But I assure you, one of these packs a wallop, and two will get you speaking in haiku. This delicious raspberry margarita, along with an incredible southwestern cuisine, is making this small chain a big success story.
Source: Top Secret Recipes: Sodas, Smoothies, Spirits & Shakes by Todd Wilbur.
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Orange Julius Banana Julius
Read moreThis flavor variation from the Orange Julius company may be called Banana Julius, but they also add a little orange juice to the mix. Make sure your bananas are ripe for this clone, so you get a nice sweet drink with the perfect thickness just like the original Orange Julius Banana Julius.
Click here for my recipe for the classic Orange Juliius.
Source: Top Secret Recipes Unlocked by Todd Wilbur.
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A & W Root Beer
Read moreIn 1919, when Roy Allen and Frank Wright started selling their new root beer beverage to a thirsty America, national Prohibition was taking its grip on the country. Their timing couldn't have been better. No longer able to legally drink real beer, thirsty patriots had to settle for this sweet, foamy concoction derived from roots, herbs, and berries. Roy and Frank had thirteen years of Prohibition to make their mark and their fortune from this refreshing drink. By 1933, when Prohibition came to a screeching halt, Roy and Frank had 171 stands in various shapes and sizes, each with the familiar A&W logo on them, all across the country. These drive-up stands with their tray boys and tray girls bringing cold drinks out to the cars were an inspiration for many other roadside stands and diners, and the prelude to the popular fast food drive-thrus of today. You can still get a foamy mug of A&W root beer at outlets across the country, or just enjoy some from a 12-ounce can.
But if it's some home cloning you'd like to get into, check out my improved A&W root beer recipe that was first printed in More Top Secret Recipes. The beauty is you won't have to worry about collecting roots, herbs, and berries like the pros do when making A&W root beer. Instead ,you just need to get some root beer extract, manufactured by McCormick, that you'll find near the vanilla in your local supermarket. Make up some root beer syrup, let it cool off in the fridge, and you can whip up 10 servings of A & W root beer by combining the syrup with soda water whenever you're ready to drink it.Source: Top Secret Recipes: Sodas, Smoothies, Spirits and Shakes by Todd Wilbur.
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A & W Cream Soda
Read moreSure, Roy Allen and Frank Wright are better known for the exquisite root beer concoction sold first from California drive-up stands under the A & amp;W brand name. But these days the company makes a darn good vanilla cream soda as well. And the formula is one we can easily clone at home by combining a few simple ingredients. Most of the flavor comes from vanilla, but you'll also need a little lemonade flavor Kool-Aid unsweetened drink mix powder. This mix comes in .23-ounce packets and provides the essential citric acid that gives my A&W cream soda recipe the slight sour flavor of the real thing. Once you make the syrup, let it cool down in the fridge, then combine the syrup with cold soda water in a 1-to-4 ration, add a little ice, and get sipping.
You might also want to try my A & W root beer recipe here.
Source: Top Secret Recipes: Sodas, Smoothies, Spirits and Shakes by Todd Wilbur.
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Grey Goose Honey Deuce
Read moreThis quenching combination of Grey Goose vodka, fresh lemonade, and Chambord raspberry liqueur was invented in 2007 by Grey Goose ambassador and restauranteur Nick Mautone for the vodka sponsorship deal struck with the U.S. Open Tennis Championships. Nick came up with a drink made with the refreshing flavor of raspberry lemonade, and the cocktail stick with three frozen honeydew melon balls resembling tennis balls was his perfectly inspired garnish.
The popularity of the summer concoction at the U.S. Open peaked in 2023 when 460,275 Honey Deuces were sold in commemorative cups for $22 each. Sales of the drink that year reached over $10 million, and at the 2024 tournament, with an upped $23 price tag, sales are expected to be even higher.
I designed my custom version of the Grey Goose Honey Deuce recipe for a 16-ounce glass, so I retooled the recipe shared by Grey Goose, which is measured to fit in a 12-ounce highball glass. Also, their recipe doesn’t mention how to make good lemonade, so I devised an easy formula that will give you 16 ounces of lemonade, which will be enough for four cocktails.
Before making your drinks, use a melon baller to make honeydew melon balls. Pierce three on a cocktail stick for each drink you plan to make and freeze them for about an hour. Your serve.
Find more of my famous drink copycat recipes here.
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Starbucks Pink Drink
Read moreMany new food product ideas emerge from corporate test kitchens, but Starbucks’ Pink Drink was born on social media. That’s where customers learned to request coconut milk in their order of the chain’s strawberry-acai refreshers drink, and when they gave it a good shake it turned pink. That was in 2016. When high demand persisted for the “secret menu” item, Starbucks added the Pink Drink to its permanent menu one year later, in 2017.
You'll have no trouble creating my Starbucks Pink Drink copycat recipe as long as you procure a bottle of the strawberry acai flavor of Dr. Smoothie Refreshers. This lightly caffeinated concentrated drink mix can be found online in 46-ounce bottles and will be enough to make 11 (16-ounce) Pink Drink clones. You’ll also need coconut milk, preferably one that isn’t too thick or chunky (Goya brand is good), and freeze-dried strawberries.
Finish the drink by shaking everything together in a shaker with ice, then pour the pink goodness into a 16-ounce glass and consume with glee.
Find more of my Starbucks copycat recipes here.
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Harry Potter Butterbeer
Read moreThe imaginary drink from J.K. Rowling's books became a reality when the first Wizarding World of Harry Potter appeared in 2010. Since then, many hacks for the beverage have emerged online. The only problem is, if Rowling's reported requirements for the drink are true, then almost all of those copycats recipes got something very wrong.
Learn more and get my recipe for free on my Food Hacker Blog here.
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Southern Comfort Traditional Egg Nog
Read moreOnline taste tests and reviews routinely mention Farmland Fresh, Darigold, and Southern Comfort as America's best egg nog brands. And of the three, Southern Comfort, a brand famously known for fruit-flavored whiskey, often takes the top spot with its delicious “traditional” egg nog. Which, ironically, contains no booze.
But the first egg nog, invented in medieval Britain, was quite intoxicating. It was a warm drink made with milk and sherry, and thickened with plenty of egg yolks. That’s a much different beverage experience than today’s branded egg nog, often served cold. And the cartons of egg nog from your market are now made with non-traditional ingredients such as corn syrup, and much of the egg yolk has been replaced with cheaper and longer-lasting natural gums, like carrageenan and guar gum.
But, for my Southern Comfort Traditional Egg Nog copycat recipe, we'll turn back the clock and make egg nog more traditionally, with plenty of real egg yolks to thicken the batch, and no gums or corn syrup. My easy recipe will give you around 36 ounces of fresh homemade egg nog. And it’s up to you to add any booze.
Make more fun, famous drinks with my recipes here.
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Outback Steakhouse Bestselling Cocktails
Read moreSince cocktails are amongst the biggest moneymakers at most restaurants, chains like Outback are constantly fiddling with creative new drink formulas, hoping one will break out as the next Wallaby Darned, the chain’s most famous bestselling cocktail (cloned here).
Most of the chain's new drinks are usually quite delicious, but apparently not delicious enough, since the next seasonal batch of new drink recipes will often replace them. But these two cocktails are a couple of standout exceptions that have been on the menu for some time. They’re both fruity and smooth and refreshing and they each feature rum.
Use my Aussie Rum Punch recipe here to make a drink just like the original with white rum and Malibu rum, plus mango, cranberry, and lime juices, and finished with a splash of Sprite. The Castaway Cocktail recipe is made with Absolut Mandarin vodka, two kinds of rum, plus pineapple, blood orange, and lemon juices.
Instead of using flavored syrups as they do in the restaurant, these recipes are made with real fruit juices, so even though they might look different than the drinks at the chain, they’ll taste just as good. And perhaps even a little better.
See if I cloned more of your Outback Steakhouse favorites here.
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Chick-fil-A Frosted Lemonade
Read moreChick-fil-A’s popular Frosted Lemonade is a delicious, blended combination of lemonade and the chain’s trademarked Icedream soft serve product. Just like Dairy Queen’s famous soft serve, Icedream looks and tastes like ice cream, but it contains considerably less butterfat since it’s made with milk, rather than cream.
For my Chick-fil-A Frosted Lemonade recipe though, cream-less ice cream is not a necessity. Regular ice cream works just fine here, although light ice cream, which is usually made with a milk base (Blue Bell Vanilla Light Ice Cream is one example), also makes a great clone.
Give the fresh lemonade you make here a little time to chill in your freezer before adding it to your blender with the other ingredients. In a matter of seconds, when all the ice is crushed, you’ll have two frosty 16-ounce drinks that taste just like the real deal, but at a mere fraction of the cost.
Try more of my Chick-fil-A copycat recipes like their famous chicken sandwich here.
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Chick-fil-A Peppermint Chip Milkshake
Read moreThe chicken chain’s seasonal milkshake made with chips of peppermint and chocolate is only available November through January each year, but what if you’re craving one in March? Or what if it’s Sunday and you can’t get your favorite shake because that’s when every Chick-fil-A is closed?
Now, you can use my Chick-fil-A Peppermint Chip Milkshake recipe to make this treat at home in the few minutes it takes to smash some candy canes and turn on a blender. Use a small storage bag and a kitchen mallet or handle of a butter knife to smash the peppermint candy into small crumbs, then combine those with dark chocolate bits, ice cream, milk, flavoring, and color, and you’ll be sipping on a perfect copy of the famous shake in under 5 minutes.
Oh, don’t forget the whipped cream and a cherry.
Try more of my Chick-fil-A copycat recipes, like their famous chicken sandwich here.
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Applebee's Oreo Cookie Shake
Read moreThis delicious made-to-order Oreo cookie milkshake was one of several items cut from the menu in 2020 when the pandemic brought the dine-in restaurant business to a crawl. But in June 2021 when the song “Fancy Like” from country singer Walker Hayes, which mentions the milkshake by name, went viral on TikTok, Applebee’s brought back the shake to satisfy the increased demand.
Now you can make your own simple hack with my Applebee's Oreo Cookie Milkshake recipe without leaving home. It requires just a few ingredients and a blender. Start by getting the ice cream smooth in the blender with the milk before adding the Oreo pieces so that you don’t make the cookie crumbs too small. You want a few little bits in there for crunch, but they shouldn’t be big enough to clog the straw.
Add some whipped cream on top with some more Oreo crumbs, and you’ve just made enough for two 12-ounce shakes.
As the song goes, “We fancy like Applebee’s on a date night, got that Bourbon Street steak with the Oreo shake.” Now that you’ve got your Oreo shake, how about a Bourbon Street steak?
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Milo's Famous Sweet Tea
Read moreMilo Carlton opened the first Milo’s Hamburger Shop in Brirmingham, Alabama in 1946 serving hamburgers, pies and freshly brewed iced tea which customers would sweeten from a bowl of sugar on each table. But because of a sugar ration caused by the war, Milo was forced to do something no one had tried before: he took all the sugar bowls off of the tables and pre-sweetened the tea. When customers realized the tea was better than they could make themselves Milo’s Famous Sweet Tea became as popular as the food.
In the late 80’s, Milo’s began selling the Famous Sweet Tea in gallon jugs in grocery stores in the Birmingham area, and it has been a growing successful product ever since, recently becoming a national brand.
To duplicate Milo's famous sweet tea, you absolutely must start with Southern tea bags, and that means Luzianne. This New Orleans tea company crafts its tea blend especially for iced tea. You will get the best clone of Southern-style sweet tea with this brand. If you can’t find Luzianne, you can still make great tea with Lipton Iced Tea Bags.
Try my Milo's famous sweet tea copycat recipe below, and check out more of my recipes for famous drinks here.
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The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf Vanilla Ice Blended
Read moreStarbucks’ Frappuccino, the most famous blended coffee drink in the world, is actually a clone of this blended concoction invented at the California-based chain, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf. In the mid-80s, a store manager at the Westwood, California location mixed diet drink powder with ice, milk, and coffee in a blender and was pleasantly surprised by how delicious it was. They tweaked the recipe to include the chain’s chocolate powder instead of the diet powder, and a new hit product was born.
To make Coffee Bean vanilla ice blended at home, we must first make the secret flavoring powder that starts with a base of dry coffee creamer. I recommend using superfine sugar (Baker’s sugar) and superfine salt (popcorn salt) if you can find them. The fine crystals will dissolve better in the cold drink. You’ll also need vanilla extract powder, which can be found online.
Once your secret powder is made, measure 1/3 cup of it into a blender with ice, cold espresso, and milk, and blend on high until smooth. In a matter of just a few minutes, you will have a 16-ounce re-creation of the original blended coffee drink now served at 1,200 Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf locations in 30 countries.
Try my Coffee Bean Vanilla Ice Blended copycat recipe below, and find more of my copycat drink recipes here.
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Jamba Juice Pumpkin Smash Smoothie
Read moreThe base formula for Jamba Juice’s seasonal smoothie consists of 2% milk, a couple scoops of sweetened frozen yogurt, and ice. The final addition is a scoop of a secret blend containing all the great flavor that makes this smoothie taste like you’re drinking pumpkin pie.
Real canned pumpkin purée, plus sugar, spices, and a little food coloring will bring your homemade Jamba Juice Pumpkin smash smoothie to life with the taste and appearance of the original that you can now make any time you want.
Frozen vanilla yogurt is not as easy to find in the freezer section as it was 10 years ago, so reduced-fat ice cream and regular vanilla yogurt will substitute nicely here.
Think of all the famous drinks you can make at home? Click here to see if I hacked your favorites.
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McDonald's Oreo Shamrock McFlurry
Read moreTo celebrate the 50th anniversary of the famous green mint-flavored Shamrock Shake first served in 1970, McDonald’s created this new minty McFlurry, with crumbled Oreo cookies mixed in. If you’re a Shamrock Shake fan, you’ll go nuts over this new twist. You may never again crave a regular Shamrock Shake.
This dessert-in-a-cup is thicker than the traditional Shamrock shake, since it’s made with soft-serve vanilla ice cream rather than milkshake mix. To simulate McDonald's Oreo Shamrock McFlurry at home, you mix the ice cream with milk, Shamrock syrup (made with the recipe below), and Oreo crumbs in a frozen glass or ceramic bowl. The cold bowl keeps the ingredients thick until you spoon everything into a glass.
The secret syrup recipe here makes around 8 tablespoons of green mint syrup, which will be enough to make four minty homemade McDonald's Oreo Shamrock McFlurry milkshakes.
Follow this link for more of my McDonald's clone recipes.
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In-N-Out Burger Vanilla Shake
Read moreIn-N-Out Burger's delicious shakes are made with real ice cream, and that's a good thing, but this vanilla shake has a unique taste that's more than just straight vanilla—I sense a hint of buttery caramel. Riffing on that idea, I came up with an easy recipe for In-N-Out Vanilla Shakes, using a blend of French vanilla ice cream and whole milk, along with a simple secret ingredient: caramel topping. Spooning just 1 tablespoon of Smucker’s caramel topping into the blender before mixing it all up produced a vanilla shake remarkably similar to the one that’s been served at In-N-Out Burger since 1975.
Unfortunately, a milkshake produced with a home blender is thinner than a restaurant milkshake made with a milkshake machine. To fix that, after mixing your shake in the blender, place the blender in your freezer for a bit until the shake firms up, then mix it once again, spoon it into a tall glass, and serve it with a wide straw.
Try my In-N-Out Vanilla Shake recipe and pair it with my improved In-n-Out Double-Double hamburger recipe here.
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Shake Shack Vanilla Milkshake
Read moreThe burgers rock, the custard is cool, and the shakes may be the best you’ve ever had. The shakes at Shake Shack are so good because they’re made with the chain’s signature frozen vanilla custard which I’ve already hacked here. To make the Shake Shack Vanilla milkshake, you just add milk to the custard and blend it until smooth. Pour the creamy shake into a 16-ounce glass and today will be your new favorite cheat day.
Try my recipe for the Shake Shack Burger here.
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Wendy's Chocolate Frosty (Improved)
Read moreIt may look like it's all chocolate, but Wendy's founder Dave Thomas thought that a purely chocolate frozen dairy dessert would overpower his burger and fries, so he mixed chocolate with vanilla to create his signature ultra-thick shake, and in 1969, the Frosty was born.
My first crack at this iconic treat was revealed in a copycat recipe I published 25 years ago in my first book "Top Secret Recipes" that called for mixing milk with Nestle Quik and vanilla ice cream in a blender. Tasty? Sure, it was. But the finished product was too runny, and the flavor wasn't perfect. That's why I recently holed myself up in the lab and created a new improved Wendy's Frosty copycat recipe that you churn in a home ice cream maker until thick and creamy, and it now tastes just like the real thing.
Unlike my previous recipe, which relied on premade ice cream and a drink mix, the scratch ingredients I used here allowed me to make small adjustments in flavor for a better match, and an ice cream maker is the perfect way to produce a thick, creamy consistency. So far, this is the best hack I've come up with to duplicate the treat that tests have shown is up to twice as thick as other famous desserts in a cup, including Dairy Queen's Blizzard and McDonald's McFlurry.
For over 30 years I've been deconstructing America's most iconic brand-name foods to make the best original copycat recipes for you to use at home. Welcome to my lab.