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Bring on the Heat: 11 Dishes Made with Flamin’ Hot Cheetos

By: Patty Lee

The cult-favorite junk food is having a moment at restaurants across the country, firing up burgers, pizza and even ice cream.

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Photo: Rey Trajano

Hot as Hell at Drill'd Ice Cream Mixmasters, Fountain Valley, California

Believe it or not, regular Flamin' Hot Cheetos were actually not spicy enough to stand up to the ice cream at Drill'd. For more heat, the California dessert shop turned to Frito-Lay’s Xxtra Flamin' Hot variety, which it blends into a vanilla ice cream base using a high-speed drilling contraption. The resulting soft serve — finished with a dusting of ground Cheetos — comes out as a pale pink swirl. Don’t be fooled by its charming color: There’s a reason the flavor has been dubbed the Hot as Hell.

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Hot Cheetos Macaron at Indulge Gourmet Desserts, Tomball, Texas

The rotating flavors at Treney Juarez’s macaron stand mix high with low. Some, like the fig-goat cheese and salted caramel, skew more classically French, while others, such as the recently debuted hot Cheetos and sour apple, are inspired by the Houston pastry chef’s own guilty pleasures. The Flamin’ Hot Cheetos cookie calls for white chocolate ganache blended with crushed puffs and macaron shells colored a bright red to match.

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Cheesesteak with Flamin’ Hot Cheetos at Lefty’s Famous Cheese Steak Hoagies Grill, Dearborn, Michigan

This twist on Philadelphia’s signature hoagie may not garner support from traditionalists, but should be a hit with the population of eaters who add potato chips to their sandwiches. Created by owner Sam Berry — the restaurant’s namesake lefty — the sandwich boasts all the typical cheesesteak fillings (thin-sliced beef, grilled onions, a mix of white American and Swiss cheeses) with a handful of the curly neon puffs strewn on top for added texture.

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Cheet-o-lote at Dodgers Stadium, Los Angeles

According to the origin tale, Flamin’ Hot Cheetos were the brainchild of Richard Montanez, a former janitor who took home a defective batch of regular Cheetos and sprinkled them with elote spices. The story comes full circle at Dodgers Stadium, where the Mexican street-food staple — a 2017 mid-season addition promoted to this year’s permanent lineup — is slathered in chipotle-lime mayo and hot Cheetos powder.

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