Three years ago, my family was invited to sail southwest to Phoenix for Thanksgiving. It was the first time our annual celebration was held outside of the Northeast. With temperatures hovering in the upper 60’s, we chowed down on roasted local vegetables, succulent turkey, and a very healthy smattering of homemade sweets. It was a pleasant change from green bean casseroles and store-bought pies.

The relatives that invited us have since moved back to Washington. I’ve already made my annual pilgrimage out east for the year, so I’ll be spending next Thursday at their place. My cousins, now in high school, have equally found the same joy that I have in cooking and baking. One is a savant in savory dishes, the other sticks to the sweet stuff. It’s a winning culinary duo in the making.

We congregated on Sunday to discuss dessert options for Thanksgiving. My younger cousin- the dessert expert- handed me a brand-new cookbook filled with hundreds of recipes to choose from. Everything from cookies to brownies, bars, and barks were on the table. The vetting process took an hour. Flavor combinations were tossed about left and right. Winter flavors got high priority. Anything with summertime fruits was automatically out. Recipes that were too difficult or too simple- shelved.

Out of the book’s 100 recipes, we whittled it down to 21 options. I proposed an NCAA-style bracket to pick the Top Five. One recipe was eliminated before the bracket shaped up- my older cousin didn’t approve of one cacao-basil cookie combination.

The bracket was brought down to the living room. My uncle would cast the tie-breaking vote, if needed. Pictures of the final products were cross-examined. Ingredients were debated. Flavor profiles were scrutinized. It didn’t quite feel like being in the “Twelve Angry Men” jury room, as we were much more amicable. But with both kids taking debate and law classes, the whole process was taken much more seriously. Dessert was on the line here, folks!

We bid farewell to some favorites. Others were put on the potential Christmas wish list. But we did, eventually, get to our Top Five. Which would make the ultimate Thanksgiving dessert?