My favorite snack food during sweltering summer days is an ice cream sandwich. Two velvety cookies tightly hugging a chunk of rich ice cream perfectly hits the spot on lazy, sweaty afternoons. And I don’t discriminate: I’ll take an Oreo Klondike bar, a Good Humor Chipwich covered with a crunchy layer of chocolate chips, a classic, rectangular, fudgy chocolate bar that inevitably leaves residue all over my hands and face, or even an unlabeled one, like those sold in Weshop.

While these classics always rank high on my dessert list,  I sometimes look for something lighter during the summer heat. These graham cracker banana “ice cream” sandwiches are a refreshing and light alternative. They’re different from the classics: they actually don’t contain any ice cream at all. The creamy goodness comes from a frozen mixture of bananas, peanut butter, and a sprinkle of cinnamon, and the chewy structure encasing it is made of graham crackers. They’re one of the easiest desserts to create, but it’s important to make sure you hide them behind the frozen peas to keep them from disappearing, as my first batch mysteriously did over the summer.

Since there are only a few hot and sunny days left before Wesleyan becomes a tundra for a good six months, here’s a recipe for a fun alternative to my favorite frozen treat. Doubtless, they will even leave some crumbs on your fingertips to lick off, just like the real deal.

Graham Cracker Banana “Ice Cream” Sandwiches

Ingredients

8 sheets of graham crackers (16 graham cracker squares)
3 large, ripened bananas
3 tbsp. creamy peanut butter
1 tsp. cinnamon
Wax paper
Aluminum foil

Directions

1. Blend bananas, peanut butter and cinnamon until creamy.
2. Freeze mixture for three-to-four hours, stirring occasionally.
3. Spoon mixture onto graham cracker squares and top with another square.
4. Wrap sandwiches in wax paper and aluminum foil and freeze another 3 to 4 hours.