Kristen Kish's Playful Remix Of Apple Pie á La Mode

Is there anything better than the juxtaposition of a hot and cold dessert? Think of all the treats you can pair with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for a heavenly warm and cold sensation: chocolate dump cake, blueberry cobbler, fudge brownies, and perhaps the most famous, apple pie á la mode. Piles of apple chunks with brown sugar, a flaky, buttery crust, and a creamy scoop of melting vanilla ice cream — how could this dessert get any better?

It may seem impossible, but celebrity chef Kristen Kish has found a way. If you haven't heard, Kish was the winner of season 10 of "Top Chef" — the second woman ever to win on the competitive cooking show. She's no stranger to adventure — in her show "Restaurants at the End of the World," Kish ventures off the grid to find chefs who practice authentic farm-to-table cooking. 

Although she tries reindeer tongue pastrami and custard topped with seaweed on the show, Kish has whipped up plenty of creative concoctions on her own as well, which turn out as inventive as they are appealing to the mainstream. And once you try her version of apple pie á la mode, you may never go back.

What do you get when you merge apple pie á la mode with a snickerdoodle? A delicious flavor bomb, and potentially your new favorite summer treat. In her recipe for apple pie á la mode ice cream sandwiches in Food & Wine, Kish mixes vanilla ice cream and apple pie filling together and smooshes this mixture in between two snickerdoodle cookies.

The filling uses butter melted with olive oil, bay leaf, chopped apples, brown sugar, lemon juice, all your favorite fall spices, and salt, which all cook together until the apples are tender and caramelized. As for the cookies, they're made from standard snickerdoodle ingredients, including cream of tartar for chewiness and a tiny bit of acidity.

This combination is genius when you think about it — snickerdoodles are essentially just cinnamon-sugar cookies. Who doesn't like apples and cinnamon together? Add in the cool creaminess of vanilla ice cream, and the whole dessert is just (celebrity) chef's kiss. Kish created the treat as an ode to both of her grandmothers — one who baked apple pie and one who made snickerdoodles. We have her childhood influences to thank for this delicious remix of apple pie á la mode.