Vanilla ice cream sandwiched between two chocolate cookies make for a truly iconic summertime treat. They're even more delicious when homemade, and cake mix makes the recipe easy.

The wafers in an ice cream sandwich have a soft, cakey texture, so you don't want to use cookies that are too crunchy. This is where a box of Devil's food cake mix comes in.

To turn the cake mix into perfectly authentic ice cream sandwich cookies, omit the water called for on the box and use softened butter instead of oil for a thicker batter.

On a half-sheet pan lined with parchment paper, spread the batter all the way to the edges to form a uniform layer, then bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 to 15 minutes.

Transfer the sheet to a cooling rack, then allow your ice cream to soften on the counter until malleable. Wrap a sheet pan that's the same size as your cookie sheet in plastic wrap.

Spread the ice cream onto half of the pan, fold the plastic wrap over it, smooth it into a block, and put in the freezer. Cut the cooled sheet cake down the middle into two pieces.

Unwrap the now-set ice cream and lay it on one half of the cake, then put the other layer on top. Trim the edges so they're leveled and cut the block into individual sandwiches.

Best of all, homemade ice cream sandwiches are customizable. Use different ice cream and cake flavors, roll the edges in sprinkles or candy, or dip each sandwich in chocolate.