A cool, sweet take on the summer sandwich buffet

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.