Homemade Orange Julius

One of my favorite treats growing up was an Orange Julius smoothie. There is an Orange Julius at the food court at the mall in Missoula. So growing up, whenever we took a trip to the "big city" to go shopping for the day, I'd get an Orange Julius hot dog and smoothie for lunch. It was something my mom, sister and I looked forward to. Good stuff. Good times.

The Ravalli County Fair always had a booth too of really cute old ladies who made homemade Orange Julius smoothies also when I was little. It wasn't the fair without a homemade Orange Julius, Almost-Famous Caramel Sauce with Granny Smith Apples, and Cinnamon-Sugar Elephant Ears. Yummmm. I suppose I've always loved food!

Dusty and I absolutely love watching Good Eats with Alton Brown. I have a total foodie crush on Alton Brown. The nerd in me loves knowing the science and history behind some of my favorite foods.  On one episode, Alton featured oranges and made his own version of an Orange Julius. He explain that the secret to the perfect Orange Julius smoothie is to freeze some of the orange juice into ice cubes and to use powdered sugar. The orange juice ice cubes prevent the smoothie from getting watered down....

And the powdered sugar creates the perfect frothiness and sweetness that is required for an Orange Julius. Brilliant!

This guilt free treat is so easy to make and has such simple ingredients you probably have on hand already. These taste just like the original Orange Julius, but even better!

Homemade Orange Julius

{Makes 2-16 ounce or 4-8 ounce servings}

-2 cups pulp free Orange Juice

-1 cup Milk

-1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

-2 tablespoons Powdered Sugar

Pour 1-1/2 cups of orange juice into two ice cube trays. Freeze for 2-3 hours. In a blender combine the orange juice ice cubes, 4 ounces leftover orange juice, milk, vanilla extract and powdered sugar. Blend on high for 1 minute until smooth. Pour into glasses and enjoy!

Recipe Adapted from Alton Brown