By ALISON LADMAN
By ALISON LADMAN
Associated Press
The beauty of ice cream in summer is you really don’t need to do anything to it to enjoy it. A big unadorned bowl is a simple, delicious pleasure all on its own.
Still, sometimes we can’t help but tinker with perfection. So for our July Fourth celebration, we decided to take the season’s finest treat and make it even finer. We created a DIY ice cream sandwich buffet perfect for any backyard barbecue event. And we quickly discovered the possibilities were boggling.
Start with the “bread” of the sandwiches. We’re going to assume you don’t want to bake your own cookies. That’s fine, because there are all sorts of choices available at the grocer. And don’t hesitate to get creative. Graham crackers, slices of cake, even cinnamon buns or doughnuts can be pressed into service. Play around with different sizes, too. Small cookies can be used for ice cream sandwich “sliders.”
ICE CREAM S
ANDWICH BUFFET
INGREDIENTS
For the “bread”:
Graham crackers
Pound cake, sliced and toasted
Chocolate wafer cookies
Oatmeal raisin cookies
Chocolate chip cookies
Molasses cookies
Sugar cookies
Whoopie pies
For the spreads:
Chocolate fudge sundae sauce
Caramel sauce
Butterscotch topping
Fruit jams, such as raspberry or strawberry
Marshmallow spread
Nutella
For the frozen fillings:
Ice cream
Sorbet
Frozen yogurt
Sherbet
Gelato
SHORTCAKE
SANDWICH
Spread 2 pieces of thinly sliced and toasted pound cake with strawberry jam, then fill with vanilla or strawberry ice cream.
BLACK AND RED
Sandwich raspberry sorbet between chocolate wafer cookies.
CREAMSICLE
Sandwich orange sherbet between vanilla sugar cookies. Add a smear of chocolate fudge sauce, if desired.
S’MORE
Spread marshmallow topping on 2 graham crackers, then fill with rocky road or chocolate ice cream.
LEMON SPICE
Drizzle a touch of butterscotch on a soft molasses cookie, then top with lemon sorbet or sherbet, then a second molasses cookie.