This powerful sensory experience is a complex one that pleases the senses, and there are many ways to experience it.

Pepper Jelly and All Its Uses

Pepper jelly is a classic way to combine spice and sweet. This preserve is made with peppers, sugar, and salt and has a pectin or vinegar base.

It comes in many varieties, such as mango pepper jelly or garlic pepper jelly.

Pepper jelly is often paired with cream cheese. It can be spread on a chilled block for the type of dip you can scoop onto a piece of bread or cracker. It can also be combined in a bowl with cream cheese and extra cheese, then heated for a more spreadable dip that chips can easily scoop up.

Cinnamon Chili Brownies

Nothing kicks a brownie up a notch like adding chili and cinnamon to it.

To your usual brownie recipe that makes two dozen medium size brownies, add two tablespoons of freshly ground guajillo or Aleppo chili and one teaspoon of ground cinnamon.

Chilies and chocolate are a classic pairing, thanks to the wide variety of both chilies and chocolate. Bakers like to tinker around with these varieties to gauge what’s most complimentary.

Spice Up Your Ice

Ice cream is a chilly treat that can be enhanced with a little heat.

Adding black pepper, cardamom, or cinnamon to plain vanilla ice cream makes it much less run-of-the-mill.

Granitas are semi-frozen ice desserts that are blank slates to write flavor pairings upon. In a medium saucepan bring to a boil 4 cups densely packed mint leaves, 2 sliced and seeded jalapenos, 4 cups of filtered or bottled water, and one-half cup of sugar.

Cook for a half hour and add small pinches of salt to taste, then strain into a wide shallow container. Add lime juice to taste, then freeze the mixture. Break up large ice chunks every 45 minutes until flaky shards of ice have formed and can be scooped into a cup.

 Hot Honey Peanut Butter Cookies

Peanut butter cookies are a classic at the dessert table. Next time, add in one-half cup of hot honey and two teaspoons of chili flakes to punch up the flavor.

You can make your own hot honey by heating one cup honey with one tablespoon of chile flakes over low heat for 30 minutes, then straining after it sits at room temperature for an hour.

Spicy Sweet Potatoes

Use sweet potatoes to make your next plate of nachos. This sweet base can be topped with the classic cheese, sour cream, and jalapenos.

You could also dust sweet potato fries in a Latin Spice Mix made of one teaspoon each of cayenne pepper, ground cumin, salt, garlic powder, and one-half teaspoon of dried oregano.

Go Nuts

Nuts are also a great base for a spicy addition. Stir together one-half cup dark brown sugar, one-quarter cup cocoa powder, two tablespoons minced dark chocolate, two teaspoons kosher salt, one-half teaspoon each cinnamon, cayenne pepper, and nutmeg, and one-quarter teaspoon each allspice and ground ginger.

Beat an egg until foamy and add the spice mixture. Fold in four cups of pecans until they’re coated then bake at 300 degrees Fahrenheit for 25 minutes.