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Nothing says summer like an ice cream sandwich: creamy ice cream, little bits of moist chocolate cookie getting stuck to your fingertips, eating the whole thing before it melted into a goopy mess. You probably don’t need a reason to seek out one of these yummy summer treats, but now you’ve got one: it’s National Ice Cream Sandwich Day!

Even better, today we show you how to make your own… with chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream!

Here’s the recipe, from The Cookie Dough Lover’s Cookbook by Lindsay Landis.

Old-Fashioned Cookie Dough Ice Cream Sandwiches

These tasty summertime treats take the classic ice cream sandwich to a whole new level with—what else?—cookie dough! The soft chocolate cookies make the perfect foundation for blocks of frozen cookie dough goodness: firm on the outside, chewy on the inside, with a hint of saltiness that intensifies the richness of the chocolate.

Makes: 9 sandwiches                     

Active Time: 35 minutes                                                   

Total Time: 12 to 24 hours

For Filling:

·       1 quart cookie dough ice cream, homemade or store-bought

For Cookies:

·       ½ cup vegetable shortening

·       1 ¼ cups light brown sugar, packed

·       ½ teaspoon baking powder

·       ¾ teaspoon salt

·       ½ cup dark or Dutch-processed cocoa powder, sifted

·       ½ teaspoon instant espresso powder

·       ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

·       2 cups all-purpose flour, divided

Directions:

1. Line a 9-by-9 inch baking pan with foil or parchment paper.

2. If using homemade ice cream, prepare as described on page 89. Immediately after churning, stir in cookie dough bits and then spread ice cream into the prepared pan. If using store-bought ice cream, soften it slightly and then spread it into the prepared pan. Freeze overnight or until firm.

3. Preheat oven to 350°F

4. In a large mixing bowl, beat together shortening and sugar with an electric mixer for 2 to 3 minutes. Add baking powder, salt, cocoa powder, espresso powder, and vanilla and mix until incorporated. Mix in 1 cup of the flour, followed by 2 tablespoons of water, and then add the remaining 1 cup flour and another 2 tablespoons of water, mixing well until no dry ingredients remain. Dough should be soft and pliable but not sticky; if necessary, add more water until dough comes together.

5. On a lightly floured surface, turn out half the dough and roll it to an even ¼-inch thickness. Using a ruler and a rotary cutter or paring knife, cut dough into 3-inch squares. Alternatively, use a similarly sized cookie cutter to make fluted or circular cookies.

6. Transfer cookies to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Using a chopstick or skewer, poke an even pattern of holes on each cookie’s surface. (Note: This step is purely decorative and can be skipped if you prefer your cookies sans holes.) Roll out, cut, and poke remaining dough, rerolling scraps as you work. You should have just enough for 18 cookies. Place sheets of cookies in the freezer for 10 minutes before baking.

7. Bake 7 to 8 minutes, or until tops are matte and cookies are just set. Do not overbake.

8. Remove from oven and let cookies cool 2 to 3 minutes on baking sheet. Transfer to cooling racks to cool to room temperature. Refrigerate or freeze cookies until ready to use.

9. To assemble sandwiches, use the edges of the parchment to carefully lift the block of firm ice cream from baking pan and place it on a cutting board. Using a large knife, cut ice cream into 9 equal squares. (If you used a shaped cutter for your cookies, use the same cutter for the ice cream.) Place 1 piece of ice cream between 2 chilled cookies and press cookies lightly to adhere. Freeze sandwiches until ready to serve.

Quick Tip: A standard-sized Post-It note happens to be exactly 3 inches. Use it as a template to make cutting perfect squares a breeze. 

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Photo by Fevi Yu

As the mercury rises, something about the heat seems to make tempers flare just a little bit quicker.

Summer is mostly about fun and games, though in the case of golf, it can be a fine line that divides a nice afternoon from a frustrating one. Whether you’re on vacation to relax or playing a game with business in mind, you’ll have to keep your cool in more ways than one.

The Worst Case Scenario Survival Handbook: Golf by Joshua Piven, David Borgenicht, and James Grace has the protocol for keeping things calm, cool, and collected – and maybe even a better score.

Oh cheesecake. So rich, so creamy, so totally deserving of a holiday of its own. The delectable dessert has roots running all the way back to ancient Greece, and is now enjoyed in various forms around the world. In honor of National Cheesecake Day (it’s a thing, it was yesterday), Quirk is serving up a unique recipe from the book Pops! Icy Treats for Everyone by Krystina Castella.

Perfect for summer, these Blueberry Cheesecake Pops have all of the essential cheesecake elements: graham cracker crust, creamy cheesy filling, and delicious fruit topping. You may think you know cheesecake, but you’ve never had it quite like this.

It’s not easy being dead. Well, nearly dead. Zombies are licking the windows and once they figure out that whole doorknob thing, we’re just a bucket of elbows ready to be slurped down by the undead. But, until then, the Zombie Tarot can help with your more pressing questions of love, money and career so why not kill time before the genius missing half a braincase figures out the dog door.

The tarot is a snapshot of future: what cards you draw today will give you a good picture of what’s staggering down the road. Remember that you have the ability to mix it up a little, your fate is not set it stone, so if there are clouds on the horizon and zombies making you a bit stabby, gird your loins and either get ready to rumble or prepare to be a delicious snack.

Primarily known for his contribution to dystopian literature with his publication of Brave New World, Aldous Huxley helped shape the world of literature, especially science fiction.

However, his involvement in culture within and outside the literary realm is far more substantial than one may initially think.

To commemorate Huxley on his birthday (born 118 years ago), here are some fun facts about his life:

Disney rejected Huxley’s screen play of Alice in Wonderland—there were simply too many big words. However, the final portrayal of the hookah-smoking caterpillar is supposedly a nod to Huxley.

Huxley appears on the album cover of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.

Huxley’s eyesight problems drove him to give up his dreams of being a scientist and instead begin a writing career. He was practically blind for a few years as a teenager.

George Orwell and Stephen Runcimen were Huxley’s students.

Literary friends of Huxley included Ray Bradbury and D. H. Lawrence.

Huxley borrowed the title of his book The Doors of Perception from a line of William Blake’s Marriage of Heaven and Hell. He similarly alludes to Miranda’s speech in Shakespeare’s Tempest in his title Brave New World.

Huxley died on November 22, 1963—the same day that C. S. Lewis and JFK died.

At Huxley’s request, his wife Laura administered LSD to her husband a few hours before he died.

For the chocoholic in all of us, a slight twist on a classic ice cream flavor: Chocolate Cookie Dough Ice Cream.

Lindsay Landis’ egg-free cookie dough recipe means you can chow down on the dough itself to your heart’s content… so you might want to make a little extra.