As thick and creamy as the richest milkshake, this can also do double duty as a dessert. Serve half portions in pretty stemmed glasses with the cookie crumbles sprinkled on top. Be sure to make this in two batches, because the ingredients will overflow your blender container.

　　

Ingredients

4 servings

　　12 ounces fresh raspberries (or 12 ounces frozen raspberries, thawed)

　　1 quart vanilla gelato or ice cream, slightly softened

　　2 tablespoons almond liqueur such as Amaretto di Sarono

　　2 teaspoons grated orange zest

　　Ice

　　4 amaretti cookies, crushed

　　

Step 1

Place half the raspberries in a blender with half the gelato, 1 tablespoon of the almond liqueur, and 1 teaspoon of the orange zest. Pulse the blender until the mixture is combined. Add about half a tray of ice cubes and blend until smooth.

　　

Step 2

Divide the smoothie between 2 highball glasses and make a second batch with the remaining ingredients. Sprinkle some of the crushed cookies over the smoothies and mix them in briefly to distribute. Serve with long spoons and straws.

　　Reprinted with permission from Giada's Kitchen: New Italian Favorites by Giada De Laurentiis. Copyright © 2008 by Giada De Laurentiis. Published by Crown Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved.Giada De Laurentiis is the star of Food Network's Everyday Italian and Behind the Bash. She attended the Cordon Bleu in Paris, and then worked in a variety of Los Angeles restaurants, including Wolfgang Puck's Spago, before starting her own catering and private-chef company, GDL Foods. The granddaughter of movie producer Dino De Laurentiis, Giada was born in Rome and grew up in Los Angeles, where she now lives.