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‘The Pioneer Woman’ Ree Drummond Spicy Ginger Sundaes with Five-Spice Crisps

The Pioneer Woman Ree Drummond showed home cooks how to make a spicy dessert that's sure to satisfy your cravings. Here's her recipe for one of the best sundaes you'll ever have.

by Sheiresa Ngo

Published on May 7, 2022

3 min read

Ree Drummond’s spicy ginger sundaes with five-spice crisps

Ree Drummond smiles while wearing a floral shirt on the set of the Today show kitchen.

The Pioneer Woman Ree Drummond | Tyler Essary/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images

Drummond starts with four tortillas. She brushes them “very generously” with butter. During The Pioneer Woman show, she tells her fans that if they like anything with spice, this dessert will “rock your ever-loving world.” Next, Drummond makes something like cinnamon sugar. However, instead of cinnamon, she uses one tablespoon of Chinese five-spice powder.

“It’s so mysterious,” says Drummond. “One time I decided to change things up and I was making cinnamon toast, and I used Chinese five-spice powder instead of cinnamon. I did it on purpose because I was curious about how delicious it would be. I can’t believe people only use cinnamon when they could use five-spice powder. It is so, so good.”

For the next step, Drummond sprinkles the sugar and Chinese five-spice powder over the tortillas. She says she also does this when she makes a Mexican chocolate ice cream sundae. Drummond makes sure she puts a thick layer of the sugar mix on top of the tortillas.

“It looks like I’m very generously sprinkling these with the sugar mixture, and that is because I am,” jokes Drummond. “I’m really laying it on thick.” Drummond says the sugar will caramelize in the oven, so it’s OK to go a little heavy with the sugar mixture.

Next, Drummond turns the tortillas over and does the same thing on the second side. “Don’t judge me,” she jokes after someone blurts out, “Oh my goodness!” Drummond places the tortillas in a 350-degree oven for about 15 minutes until they become “crisp and caramelized.”

Preparing the caramel sauce

For the next step, Drummond makes the spicy ginger caramel sauce. She says the sauce is the star of the show. She starts with butter in a pan and adds ½ cup of coconut sugar (regular or brown sugar is also OK), heavy cream, and grated ginger. For the spice, Drummond adds one teaspoon of sambal, which is a chili paste. “It’s slightly sweet, but nice and spicy, and the flavor is amazing,” says Drummond.

Drummond whisks the mixture so that the butter, cream, and the rest of the ingredients can mix. “The flavor of this caramel sauce is going to make you question traditional caramel sauce for the rest of your life; it is so good,” jokes Drummond. She cooks the caramel for about five minutes until it becomes thick and smooth. (Another food item Drummond loves is condensed milk. She calls it “the nectar of the gods.”)

Building the sundae

Drummond says she’s going to show home cooks “how to build the best sundae of your life.” (Check out this merry berry sundae for another nice treat.) Next, she takes the five-spice crisps out of the oven. The crisps are very hot when they first come out, so she uses a pizza cutter to break them apart. As an alternative you can cut the pieces ahead of time and then let the crisps cool. Drummond says they will break easier this way.

For the final touch, Drummond drizzles the caramel sauce on top of coconut milk ice cream. Then she puts a piece of the five-spice crisp on the side. She sprinkles toasted coconut on top as a garnish. You can find the complete ingredients list and directions on the Food Network website.

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