The Simple Way To Make Dr Pepper Your Favorite Frozen Treat

Coca-Cola stars in viral TikTok recipes like fluffy Coke, while Pepsi and milk has its own divisive portmanteau nickname of "Pilk." Even generic orange soda can be used to make mall food court chicken, but what can you do with Dr Pepper? You could always drink it straight up while pondering what it means to be a Pepper (see the 1977 Dr Pepper marketing campaign), but there's also the option to dress it up and make it into a deliciously creamy Dr Pepper slushie. An Instagram user posted a video that demonstrates exactly how to make this frozen treat — and it's ridiculously easy. 

It all starts with frozen chunks of Dr Pepper (these appear to have come out of an ice cube tray) combined with an equal amount of soda. These two ingredients are then blended with heavy cream, poured into a glass, and topped up with additional Dr Pepper for even more flavor and fizz (taste as you add to ensure you don't overdo it). As a final touch, the drink is topped with a swirl of whipped cream and a straw (a maraschino cherry would be cute, too, if you happen to have any on hand). 

Interestingly enough, the comments on the Instagram post weren't of the generic "looks yummy!" variety, but they instead turned into a lively discourse on changes that could be made to the recipe. The original poster suggested switching out the cream for vanilla-flavored creamer, which might be desirable if you have a super-sweet tooth. Another person confessed that they're not a Pepper, positing that the drink would probably be pretty tasty with root beer instead. In fact, it would most likely work with just about any soda: Cola, lemon-lime, orange, grape, or ginger ale, as well as any of the flavored Dr Pepper varieties like strawberries and cream or cherry vanilla.

A few health-conscious commenters suggested making frozen Dr Pepper into a protein shake, and using a diet version of the soda could further allow for a lower-calorie, lower-carb take too. Others debated what kind of booze would be best to add (among the suggestions were Kahlua, Bailey's, RumChata, coconut rum, and vanilla-flavored whiskey). Another idea is to lighten it up by using half and half or milk in place of the heavy cream. 

Going the opposite direction entirely, adding a scoop of vanilla ice cream would make for a thicker, more milkshake-like consistency. You could also use either chocolate milk, chocolate ice cream, or even both to make a delicious Dr Pepper version of the old-timey soda fountain drink colloquially known as Brown Cow. The original typically involved either root beer or cola, but there's no reason you can't make the moo-ve to Dr Pepper instead.