Sedalia, Mo. • When the biggest decision you have to make all day is whether to judge cream- or fruit-based pies, the day is bound to be a good one.

And a good day it was when I judged the First Lady's Pie Contest at the Missouri State Fair last month. Three of us opted to rate the fruit pies, while three other judges — including the celebrity of our group, pastry chef Brandon Kelley of B.K. Bakery in Jefferson City — sampled the custard, cream and meringue submissions.

Georganne Nixon, the state's first lady, hosted the contest, which received 21 entries — more than any pie competition at this year's fair.

"In pies we see art, we see preservation of history and we see a love of the family," Nixon said before presenting the champions with blue ribbons and $150 checks.

The competition was as stiff as meringue peaks, but the winning pies — based on crust, filling, appearance and overall flavor — were standouts. Granny's Strawberry Pie from Megan Roe of Cole Camp won the fruit division and My Best Lemon Cream Pie from Maxine Griggs of Sedalia won the cream division.

Turns out, Roe was being modest in naming her entry — the only thing her granny contributed was the recipe for the sugar-cookie crumble that topped the pie's outer edge. The rest of it was all Roe's.

And Griggs, 85 — who said she took part in 57 competitions from food to antiques at this year's fair — also had a family tie to her pie.

"It's because of my mom that I started cooking," Griggs said. "I learned to cook with her when I was 6."

After all six judges tasted samples from the two winning pies, we deliberated in a back office of the fairgrounds' Home Ec building and quickly came to a unanimous decision. Granny's Strawberry Pie was the best of show.

If I'm fortunate enough to be asked to judge again next year, any possible entrants reading this will benefit from this advice: Please, somebody, bake a strawberry-rhubarb pie (my favorite).

And while you're at it, go ahead and use lard in your crust. No one was bold enough to do that this year (or were they just fibbing on their ingredient lists?) — and any old-school baker knows that's the secret to a winning crust.

Even without rhubarb or lard, these two pies from Roe and Griggs deserved to take the cake. You can find the recipes through the links on the left side of this page.