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Did you know? Here are some fun facts about ice cream: 12: Number of pounds of milk it takes to make one gallon of ice cream 48: Number of pints of ice cream on average an American consumes per year, more than any other country 50: Number of licks it takes to polish off a single-scoop ice cream cone Source: www.icecream.com; Washington Post

What would summer be without ice cream to help cool you off on those hot days?

No matter what flavor is your favorite, you can make ice cream better (we know it’s hard to believe) by making ice cream sandwiches.

We found some easy recipes that you can make for your family, friends or for yourself.

Note: You can try different flavor ice cream in the recipes. Also don’t be afraid to try different cookies, crackers and toppings.

What you need:

2 cups vanilla ice cream, slightly softened

1 cup chopped peanuts, divided (that means you use half now and half later)

30 Chips Ahoy! cookies

How to make it:

Mix ice cream and 1/2 cup nuts in an airtight container. Freeze 20 to 30 minutes or until it is firm enough to hold its shape.

Spoon about 2 tablespoons ice cream mixture onto flat side of each of 15 cookies; cover each with a second cookie, top side up, to make the sandwich.

Roll the edges of the cookie in the remaining nuts. Freeze 2 hours or until firm.

Note: Try also rolling the cookies in other ingredients such as chocolate chips, crushed Oreo cookies or sprinkles.

– From Kraftrecipes.com

What you need:

Dozen chocolate covered mini doughnuts

2 to 3 cups coffee ice cream

How to make it:

Cut the mini doughnuts in half crosswise.

Place small spoonfuls of ice cream around the doughnut ring of 6 doughnut halves, leaving the holes empty. Place the other doughnut halves on top of each other, making a sandwich.

– FoodNetwork.com

What you need:

4 slices of banana bread

1 cup of chocolate ice cream, divided

Chopped nuts (optional)

How to make it:

Take a round cookie cutter, or the top of a glass, and cut four circles in the bread. (You can also leave the bread whole if you would like.)

Place ice cream on top of two pieces of bread. Place other 2 pieces on top of each bread to make a sandwich.

Roll edges of sandwiches in chopped nuts.

– Modified from FoodNetwork.com