Have you seen milkshakes from The Yard Milkshake Bar? It’s almost like they’ve been designed for the Instagram generation! Just filling a mason jar with a milkshake wasn’t enough. The Yard tops their milkshakes with baked goods, candies, toppings, and anything else they can find!
The Yard has a handful of franchises in a few states, but they’re still few and far between. We were thrilled to discover there was one near us, located at Pier Park in Panama City Beach. In fact, this shopping, dining, and entertainment district is home to the only Florida location! When we planned our trip to Panama City Beach, we added it to our to-do list immediately.
To be honest, I’m not a milkshake person. I prefer my ice cream eaten with a spoon rather than a straw! However I do love baked goods and I’ll give anything topped with a piece of cheesecake a try.
The Shakes
We all purchased pint-sized milkshakes, knowing the quart would be way too much. Still, one pint per person is was a lot of food! We also got to keep our jars.
The menu has 18 specialty milkshakes, including 2 gluten-free and one vegan and lactose friendly shake. There’s a secret menu online featuring 6 additional shakes. There are also 3 specialty milkshake specials each month! When we visited, there was a dinosaur-themed cookies and cream milkshake (Dino-Mite), a snowman-themed cotton candy and rock candy shake (Olaf’s Frozen Hot Chocolate), and a cookie butter Girl Scout Cookie shake (You Go Girl!).
We ordered the Cookie Monster, the Cookie Dough Delicious, the Dino-Mite, and the Unicorn. Other members of our party had the Old School Banana Split, the Monkey Meets the Moose, and the Salted Caramel Cheesecake. The Salted Caramel Cheesecake had definitely the most appeal; three members of our group got one! After we ordered, we took a seat and waited patiently for our treats.
The Cookie Monster
The Cookie Monster milkshake is made from Cookie Monster ice cream, a blue vanilla ice cream with cookie dough and Oreos. It is topped with whipped cream, a cookie dough sandwich, Cookie Crisp cereal, fudge, and marshmallow cream drizzle. It’s served in a jar with a chocolate icing-rolled rim that is also coated with Cookie Crisp cereal.
This milkshake had a giant sandwich on top. The two cookie s (This cookie dough is also for sale by the jar at The Yard. For safety, the flour is heat-treated and does not contain eggs.) It was amazing! The Cookie Crisp stuck to the jar in chocolate fudge did not disappoint, either. The ice cream tasted like cotton candy, though, and not the Cookie Monster I am used to. It was too sweet for me to handle!
The Cookie Dough Delicious
The Cookie Dough Delicious is cookie dough ice cream milkshake served in a chocolate icing-dipped jar. It is topped with chocolate chips, whipped cream, chocolate drizzle, and a scoop of cookie dough.
My daughter ate nearly every bite of this shake, but despite her efforts, she couldn’t finish! She had about an inch of milkshake, littered with cookie dough chunks, left in the bottom of the jar. She is obsessed with cookie dough and said this was the best shake she’s ever had.
The Dino-Mite
The only monthly special we purchased, the Dino-Mite, is a cookies and cream milkshake topped with an adorable stegosaurus made from a waffle that has been dipped in green chocolate. Its jar is dipped in chocolate icing and rolled in crushed sugar cone. The entire shake is topped with whipped cream and chocolate drizzle.
As you can see, the stegosaurus isn’t actually green. When we ordered, the barista told me that they had run out of green and that our dinosaur would be a plain waffle color. My son still wanted to order it, but it was a bit less magical than a green dino would have been! He also didn’t even try to eat it, though he did gobble up its eye as soon as he got it.
The Unicorn
The Unicorn is an eye-catching milkshake made with cotton candy ice cream in a jar decorated with purple marshmallow drizzle. The jar is dipped in marshmallow cream and loaded with sprinkles, then the shake is topped with whipped cream, cotton candy clouds, a sour rainbow candy, and a sugar cone “unicorn horn.”
The Unicorn was definitely the neatest shake we ordered, so if you have someone in your party who is trying to avoid having sticky hands, it’s my recommendation. It was decidedly more sugary than many of the other options, including pure sugar toppings. It came with a lighter taste, but a bigger sugar high!
The Old School Banana Split
The Old School Banana Split is made from strawberry and banana pudding ice creams. It’s served in a jar that has been dipped in chocolate icing and is topped with whipped cream, strawberry topping, peanuts, chocolate drizzle, a banana, and a cherry.
This self-proclaimed classic delivered. It had everything you expect from a classic banana split and it was fresh, creamy, and sweet.
The Monkey Meets the Moose
The Monkey Meets the Moose is a naturally gluten-free shake. Made with no-sugar-added Moose Tracks ice cream, it’s served in a peanut butter-dipped jar, topped with whipped cream, melted peanut butter, crushed peanuts, and a banana.
The peanut butter, banana, and whipped cream may cancel out the benefits of this trade, but we couldn’t tell that the ice cream was sugar-free. This is a great fit for someone who loves the combination of peanut butter and bananas.
The Salted Caramel Cheesecake
The Salted Caramel Cheesecake is made with Cookie Monster and salted caramel ice creams and is served in a chocolate icing-dipped jar. It’s topped with whipped cream, caramel, fudge, and a slice of New York cheesecake.
A third of the people in our group ordered this shake and all of them agreed it was amazing! The most consistent comment was that the cheesecake was surprisingly good. One even noted that it was better than the shake!
Plan Your Visit
The Yard Milkshake Bar
15801 LC Hilton Jr. Drive
Suite #110
Panama City Beach, Florida 32413
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