I tried the winning Houston Trader Joe's ice cream sandwich recipe

Context: Out of roughly 400 submissions nationwide, Houston's came out on top. On the Trader Joe's podcast discussing the contest, they said the room went silent after the judges tasted it. And I can see why.

How it works: The annual contest allows only five Trader Joe's ingredients per entry — and they have to be staples available year-round. Pantry basics like salt, butter and flour don't count toward that limit.

Zoom in: The Shepherd Drive location held its own internal competition with about seven contenders. Summer, an employee there (Trader Joe's didn't share her last name), created the winning recipe. She originally wanted to use miso, but since it's not stocked consistently, she pivoted to Korean red chili paste — gochujang.

My experience: My brain's internal dialogue was exactly: "What am I eating, and how does this work so perfectly?" It surprised me just how well the flavors and textures came together.

• The corn cookie adds crunch, while the ice cream softens it all and cuts the gochujang heat.
• I got a spicy aftertaste, but that was likely baker error by adding too much paste. They're not like the New York Times' Gochujang Caramel Cookies — you need the generous scoop of ice cream to make the whole thing click.

• It's creative, easy to make and a crowd pleaser. A couple of friends tried it with me — and they had a similar reaction trying to process all the flavors and immediately another bite.

If you try it: I used the exact Trader Joe's ingredients for testing purposes, and they totaled about $20, making about nine sandwiches, with a lot of leftover ingredients.

• But chances are you already have flour ($3), honey ($4) and butter ($4). That leaves the cornbread mix ($3), vanilla ice cream ($5) and gochujang paste ($2) to pick up.