A basic milkshake consists of ice cream and milk, but mix-ins and toppings provide endless variations. The easiest way to make a milkshake is with a blender, but it's also possible to do it by hand.

Ah, the vanilla shake! The foundation upon which all other milkshakes are built. Long synonymous with words like “basic,” “plain,” and “boring,” we think vanilla gets a bit too much flack. If you line ...