A streamlined dessert chili crisp recipe neutral enough for desserts but packed with nuts and seeds for extra crunch. Since there’s no garlic or ginger, it’s fabulous on ice cream, pie, cobbler, etc., but still wonderful on savory dishes. As with all chili crisp recipes, I still love heating this chili crisp in a cast iron skillet, then frying an egg directly in the spicy oil.
A few months ago I listened to a Splendid Table episode about a variety of chili crisps. The guest discussed a special dessert chili crisp that was neutral enough for ice cream without garlic or ginger. I decided to create my own.
First I took my original crisp recipe from this blog and eliminated the garlic. Then I increased the sesame seeds and added crushed peanuts. I started with Korean gochugaru red pepper, but it turned out to be too bitter on top of ice cream. I decided to switch to Aleppo pepper which is more delicate and aromatic. It worked seamlessly. I also reduced the amount of oil in proportion to the chili and crunch so that it wouldn’t create an oil slick on top of desserts. I finally found the right balance. I served this dessert chili crisp on top of vanilla ice cream at parties throughout the holiday season, and it was a huge hit. I hope you get a chance to try it at home too.
Note: I used roasted, salted peanuts, which you can add directly to the bowl of dry ingredients. However, if you use raw, unsalted peanuts you’ll need to heat them in the oil and add a few pinches of salt.
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup salted, roasted peanuts
- 2 tbsp sesame seeds
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 1/3 cup Aleppo pepper
- 1/2 cup neutral oil such as avocado oil or sunflower seed oil
Instructions
- Lightly crush the peanuts using a mortar and pestle.
- Combine the peanuts, sesame seeds, cinnamon sticks, and Aleppo pepper in a metal bowl.
- Heat the oil in a small saucepan. When hot and almost smoking, remove from heat and carefully pour the oil over the spices in the bowl. Stir and let cool.
- When completely cool, decant into a jar. Store in the fridge.
