They are the yin and yang of summer treats: toasted marshmallow s'mores, made in the evening over an open campfire; and a frozen ice cream sandwich, best appreciated in the heat of a blazing hot afternoon. But what if we combined the two? Is it possible to make a frozen s'more?

Step 1: The Ingredients

Just about every part of this recipe is malleable. You can use a chocolate bar instead of chocolate chips. You can substitute butter or another semi-solid fat for the coconut oil. Use jumbo marshmallows, if that's all you have, and cut them into pieces. And of course, make the ice cream in the way you prefer—or use softened store-bought vanilla ice cream from a carton (as described in Step 3).

That said, this is what I used to make 9 ice cream sandwiches:

9 rectangular graham crackers (1 waxed paper package)
1/2 c. chocolate chips
1 Tbs. coconut oil
1/4 package mini marshmallows
2 c. whipping cream
1 c. milk
1/4 c. sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Step 2: The Graham Cracker Sides

Break each graham cracker into two squares: each half will become one side of a sandwich. Put crackers on a baking tray, insides up.

Next, melt your chocolate and coconut oil together. You can do this in a double burner over the stove or with short, 15-second bursts in a microwave oven. Whisk after each interval until well blended.

Spread chocolate mixture over each graham cracker and put the tray in the freezer until chocolate is hardened (about 15 minutes). The crackers can remain in the freezer until you are ready to assemble.

Step 3: The Ice Cream

Mix together the cream, milk, sugar and vanilla and freeze in an ice cream maker or shallow tray. You can also skip this step and just soften some commercial vanilla ice cream at room temperature for 20 minutes or so.

While the ice cream is churning, spread the mini marshmallows on a foil-lined baking tray and set your oven to broil. When the oven is heated, broil the marshmallows until just golden brown. This will only take about a minute, so keep an eye on them!

Mix the broiled marshmallows into the thickened ice cream. (If they are stuck together as mine were, separate them with a knife before mixing.)

Step 4: The Assembly

Spoon a tablespoon or two of ice cream onto a frozen graham cracker half, cover it with another half, and press the sandwich down to seal. When all the sandwiches are assembled, put the tray back in the freezer until the ice cream is hard. This last step only takes another 15 minutes or so, but it is important: you want the ice cream to hold up when you bite into it.

Variation: one taster preferred an earlier version of this treat, which had a single regular-sized marshmallow sitting atop a small scoop of vanilla ice cream rather than mixed in. No one else liked this, but I present it here as an option for marshmallow diehards.