The winners are in: The State Fair of Texas has revealed the winners for the 21st Annual Big Tex Choice Awards, the State Fair's annual competition of concessionaires submitting new festival creations.

A panel of judges convened on August 21 to taste and evaluate the 15 finalists before arriving at the following winners:

• Best Taste – Savory: Crab & Mozzarella Arancini by Stefan T. Nedwetzky
• Best Taste – Sweet: Chill & Thrill Delight by Tony & Terry Bednar
• Best Taste –Sipper: Cookie Chaos Milkshake by Brad Weiss
• Most Creative: Wagyu Bacon Cheeseburger Deviled Egg Sliders by Kendall Williams

This year, the State Fair has changed the formula by adding a new category called Sippers, dedicated to beverages — putting the number of finalists at 15 instead of the 10 that have been the standard since this annual competition was launched in 2005.

This year’s judges included Jeff Allen and Marissa Allen, co-founders of Cookie Society; Keandre Hopkins, content creator; Chris Meyer, general manager of Karbach Brewing Company, the contest sponsor; and Alex Snodgrass, author and content creator.

The winners were chosen from 15 finalists, evaluated on four criteria: uniqueness, creativity, presentation, and taste. Trendiness was apparently not a factor — otherwise the Dubai chocolate cheesecake surely would have aced it.

Also, it is not one's place to second-guess the judges' decree, but … are sliders really creative? Some of this year's Sweet finalists — Sweet-and-sour candy-coated lemon, Rousso’s Dubai Chocolate Funnel Cake Fries — had so much creativity.

The State Fair of Texas will run from September 26 to October 19. Find tickets and other information online.

Details on the winners are as follows:

Crab & Mozzarella Arancini, Stefan T. Nedwetzky
Rice ball made of crab, rice, mozzarella cheese, onion, red bell pepper, lemon, black pepper, garlic, coriander, and basil, served with marinara.

Chill & Thrill Delight, Tony & Terry Bednar
A twist on Colombia’s famous Salpicon de Frutas featuring a cup of diced mango, pineapple, watermelon, grapes, cantaloupe, and strawberries, soaked in watermelon juice with a splash of lime, topped with shaved mango sorbet.

Cookie Chaos Milkshake, Brad Weiss
Cookie butter milkshake with snickerdoodle chunks, Oreo cookies, Golden Oreo cookies, cookie butter cookie dough, Biscoff cookie, and cookie butter drizzle, with a rim coated in crushed Biscoff cookie pieces.

Wagyu Bacon Cheeseburger Deviled Egg Sliders, Kendall Williams
Cajun-seasoned Wagyu patty with cheddar and bacon sandwiched between two fried, panko-crusted deviled egg halves, with ketchup-inspired sauce.