My sister’s devotion to ice cream is legendary. Once, years ago at a family gathering when she was 5, she dropped her ice cream cone on the ground and immediately had a, whoops, meltdown. You would’ve thought her cone had been the very last frozen treat in the world. Even today, her passion for ice cream still goes unrivaled in our family. She’s the inspiration behind this recipe.

There’s truly something about homemade ice cream. Unlike store-bought varieties, it is made with love — often with someone special in mind. You get to customize everything from flavors and textures to mix-ins. Watching the churner work its magic, transforming ingredients into a cool, creamy confection is pure summertime satisfaction. And that first bite of ice cream you made with your own hands? Sweetness that goes beyond flavor.

Go ahead and pull out all the stops by sandwiching raspberry ice cream between brown-butter sugar cookies. The crisp, buttery cookies cradle the velvety, tart-and-sweet raspberry ice cream for a symphony of balanced flavors and textures. To achieve a perfectly creamy texture, I use equal parts milk and cream in the ice cream base. The beauty of this recipe lies in its endless possibilities. You can replace the raspberries with any soft seasonal fruit. Just make sure to puree before stirring it into the base. And there’s nothing wrong with vanilla or chocolate ice cream. This recipe might be a labor of love, but it’s totally worth it. I can’t promise you won’t have a meltdown after the last of your ice cream sandwiches are gone, though.