My Dad's Favorite Sandwich

Do you like Klondikes? Those ice cream squares covered in thin milk chocolate that cracks easily and drops onto your clothes? Many people do. I used to love ice cream sandwiches – the ones with vanilla ice cream between two thin, chocolatey brownie layers. That’s my best description of the commercialized American ones. I know they are made differently in other countries, and probably better! As a small child, fudgsicles were my favorite, and I never knew I sometimes had a chocolate mustache from eating them! Why didn’t someone tell me? Even as a child, I hated blue popsicles. The ice cream man would drive slowly through the neighborhood, music blaring, and we'd line up with our dimes and quarters. Why get a popsicle when you can get an ice cream bar, or a fudgsicle?

We have gone on long drives and stopped at gas stations where the ice cream treat freezer is right by the cash register. Of course, we peered in, drooling over the Drumsticks, Magnum ice cream bars, and the Klondike bars. I didn’t drool over the long, frozen juice sticks called Freezer Pops, or popsicles.  One time we stopped, and there was a very large ice cream sandwich. Vanilla ice cream sandwiched between 2 chocolate chip cookies. Never mind the calorie count; we got it and split it. One great thing about having a husband who needs more calories than I do is that I'll share his food, drinks, desserts, and treats. I always let him have more so he can worry about the calories.

I loved chocolate when I was small, and still do. I guess the candy gave me a sweet tooth. We didn’t eat too many desserts, but sometimes Mom made pie, cake, cream puffs, or cookies.  Ice cream was okay, but I still don’t crave it. Give me a chocolate truffle or a semi-sweet chocolate chip homemade cookie.

I discovered how to make my own ice cream sandwiches:

2 graham crackers – the squares, not rectangles

1 medium scoop of vanilla ice cream

Squeeze together until the ice cream spreads to the edges

Hold a napkin under the sandwich as you eat it.

I am picky about vanilla ice cream. My favorite brand is Tillamook. Tillamook is in Oregon, and you can tour the Tillamook Creamery. You can see the cheese production, from the milk vats to the aging blocks. The Creamery has an enormous ice cream counter where you can get samples and buy a cone or sundae. Here, you can try all the flavors sold in stores, but in the store we can’t open the carton and taste it. That makes this place a favorite for tourists or just people driving along the Oregon coast.

I previously said I’m selective about my vanilla ice cream. I like the Vanilla Bean, whereas my husband likes the Old Fashioned or French Vanilla. I think the Vanilla Bean is more flavorful. He likes ice cream more than I do and loves going to Cold Stone to get his favorite mix.

All of this background leads up to the ice cream sandwich. In the 1960s, I decided to make my own ice cream sandwich. I took 2 squares of graham crackers from the cupboard and put a large spoonful of vanilla ice cream between them. I discovered how delicious it was.

One evening, my dad and I were home alone. He was watching a sports game on television, and I made myself one of my delicious ice cream sandwiches. I asked if he would like one. He did, and I made him one with a generous scoop. It wasn’t Tillamook ice cream, because we lived in Illinois. We lived in the town where the original Dairy Queen is. That evening, we most likely had Sealtest ice cream in our freezer.

Making the ice cream sandwich for my dad became somewhat of a ritual for us. We didn’t eat them a lot, but when his sweet tooth hit, he would say, “How about you make me one of those ice cream sandwiches?”

I was delighted he liked my creation, and I always made him one, followed by a second. Our little shared treat. His favorite sandwich.

You wouldn't usually find this on a menu, and it isn't my original idea. But sharing my invention with my dad is a treasured, memorable gift.

                 Copyright © 10/20/2026 by Andrea O. Corwin