Forget Vanilla: This Ice Cream Pairing Gives Apple Pie An Unbelievable Flavor

Autumn is here, and though pumpkin spice is always hogging the spotlight this time of year, it's not the only flavor associated with fall. Avoid the pumpkin-spice overload and turn your attention to other autumnal tastes, like apple, cinnamon, and maple. In fact, why not try those flavors all together?

'Tis the season for apple pie, and if you want to go a la mode, most people would put a scoop of vanilla ice cream on their slice. But vanilla is so, well, vanilla — dare to upset the apple cart and try a scoop of maple walnut ice cream instead. Maple pairs well with typical seasonal spices such as cinnamon and nutmeg, which are integral parts of your apple pie filling. The best types of apples for pie have a tartness, like Granny Smiths, and a scoop of creamy maple walnut becomes the ideal complement. It brings a sweet caramel flavor to the mix, which offsets that fruity acidity, and who doesn't love caramel and apples?

Both maple and walnut are like apple's brothers from other tree mothers. They share certain rustic, earthy elements that make them the perfect combination, especially when you're craving cozy fall foods. Maple can accentuate the flavor of the apples, and the walnuts contrast the much squishier pie filling by adding a little crunch to the dessert. How do you like them apples?

Vanilla ice cream is still the favorite pie topper by a landslide. In fact, in answer to the question, "What ice cream goes well with an apple pie?" one Redditor had a rather definitive bias, saying, "Vanilla Bean — anything else is heresy." But that doesn't mean that there weren't people willing to give other flavors a go.

Salted caramel stood out as another popular choice. This one would work well because, again, apples and caramel go hand in hand, like pairing cookies with milk. The salty-sweet opposition adds another layer of complexity to the pie, bringing out the sweetness of the apples and intensifying their flavor.

Cinnamon ice cream also garnered several recommendations. It's an obvious choice due to the spice's presence in the filling and how deliciously it combines with the apples. Plus, the slight bitter undertones of cinnamon help keep the dessert from going too far over to the sweet side. Adding cinnamon ice cream to apple pie is like adding extra cheese to pizza — it's a crucial part of the flavor equation, and you really can't have too much of it.

Other social media suggestions for an apple pie ice cream pairing include rum raisin, butter pecan, coffee, dulce de leche, or butterscotch. Try several and experiment until you find the one that will be the apple of your eye.