Sometimes I just mix ice cream, milk and chocolate syrup in the blender and wing the amounts.
I tried one recipe that was chocolate milk, cool whip, condensed milk. It was ok but nothing special.
Do other people have homemade recipes they like?
I normally use Carnation malted milk mix, whole milk, and vanilla ice cream. Maybe some chunks of fruit too. (I like pineapple, peach, bananas, or strawberries.)
If I can’t find Carnation, then Ovaltine. Chocolate or plain, it doesn’t matter. But I wouldn’t mix chocolate with fruit.
I might put some Hershey’s chocolate or butterscotch syrup in too.
Try mixing some Nestle’s quick and instant coffee crystals to make mocha flavored shakes.
You could also add Hershey’s strawberry syrup with or without chunks of strawberry.
One thing I haven’t tried is adding chunks of apple pie with caramel or butterscotch syrup. (I like Dutch apple ice cream.)
I also like Turtle sundaes, so chocolate and butterscotch syrup would probably be good too.
Try using other kinds of ice cream instead of vanilla. Mint ice cream and chocolate syrup are a good combination. Or add some peppermint essence to vanilla ice cream, and then some crushed candy cane. Yum! 
Gotta have malt.
Yes! A milkshake alone is not worth the calories. I was always a chocolate malt guy. Terenti’s recipe is perfect. One caveat, if you like a chocolate malt, don’t use chocolate ice cream as a base, use vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce. For some reason chocolate ice cream makes for an inferior chocolate malt. I think the combo of chocolate and vanilla flavors is key.
As I got older and a bit more sophisticated in my tastes, I’d make strawberry malts in the summer using fresh strawberries in a blender with milk, malt powder and top shelf vanilla ice cream. Outstanding.
I was thinking about this in bed last night and had some inspirations.
Mix other candy into a vanilla malt—e.g., M&Ms, chocolate covered cherries, Reese’s peanut butter cups.
Again with vanilla ice cream:
Instant coffee crystals and a shot of Irish whiskey for an Irish Coffee malt.
Equal amounts of scotch and Drambuie for a Rusty Nail malt.
Bourbon and fresh mint for a Mint Julep malt.
Orange chunks, maraschino cherries, and rye whiskey for an Old Fashioned malt.
Lime juice, fresh mint, and rum for a Mojito malt.
I’d like to experiment with liqueurs other than Drambuie too—Kahlua and Grand Marnier, f’rinstance.
If you want to avoid dairy, try replacing the ice cream with ice, cashews, and coconut milk. I usually add chopped dates or bananas for sweetness and flavor.
Soy milk (vanilla or chocolate), Kaluha, vodka, ice cream. Blend.
The base is standard vanilla milkshake - vanilla real ice cream and whole milk and adding Golden Oreos. It’s cookie milkshake crack.
That’s Quik.
I’d rather have a chocolate malt than a shake any day.
Malt powder
Milk
Vanilla ice cream
Chocolate syrup
We went to a local diner that is well-known for its ice cream, malts, etc. I’ve been going there since I was a baby. My mom worked there when she was a teenager before it was a diner. Back then it was ice cream only. Chocolate malts have always been made using the above recipe. I ordered a chocolate malt. With my first taste, I could tell that it had been made with chocolate ice cream. It was just ok, not as good as the original recipe. When I asked the waitress about it, she looked at me like I was speaking Russian. She said, we always make them with chocolate ice cream. I told her, nicely in a kind of joking way, that nope chocolate malts are always made with vanilla ice cream. She just said - Really?
Egg nog: egg substitute, milk, nutmeg, cinnamon, rum extract, and plenty of vanilla ice cream.
This is the only one I ever make:
Yes! While its delicious all by itself, vanilla is the neutral flavor base I would use to make most malts.
Try adding pumpkin pie spice blend to a vanilla malt/shake. It’s also delicious!
Carnation malted milk powder, a half-cup of milk, and the richest vanilla ice cream I can find.
Riding my bicycle home from work in the early '80s, I used to stop at Dairy Queen for a pineapple and banana malt every day. They were sooooooooo good!
I have to try making a Piña Colada malt someday with coconut milk instead of cow’s.