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You must have chocolate at all times.

Oh, see I kind of misread the question. I was thinking, what would I most like to EAT? And voted for the anise sesame cookies. But what would I be willing to whip up tonight quick? The mini chocolate cupcakes. I have a way-fast recipe I got of a box of Hershey's unsweetened cocoa powder.

They all sound great, but as far as complimenting the pie? The cookies, hands down. Bravo for making two desserts, I'm having you bring the dessert next time!

The cookies will go so great with pie. Cupcakes and pie together are way too heavy

I say chocolate cupcakes. The cookies look great, but with lavender in a pie and anise in the cookies... maybe you need a no-nonsense, simple crowd pleaser. Kind of a high-low approach.

I agree with Elizabeth. I'd want the pudding, for sure, but Tapioca is a love/hate for most, as is anise.

How about lavender ice cream? I think that would work nicely if you had enough pie to go around. Now, if you're thinking there won't be enough pie or some people won't eat the pie, I'd go with something chocolate. Maybe a mousse? Today is Chocolate Mousse Day, according to slashfood. Also, I never find cupcakes boring. I think they're delightful.

I just posted a recipe for Lemon Cups on Monday, that would go quite well with Lavender and Blueberry. They chill well, and aren't very dense... There is a picture, you can make it in smaller cups too if you like, or in one larger bowl to serve from...

Of the three you have above, I voted chocolate cupcakes, because I figured they'd be the crowd favorite. However, my preference would be for the cookies. I can't imagine the tapioca and pie complementing each other, separate definitely!

I forgot to mention that those cookies sound fabulous, but Squirrely's right. Most people either love anise or hate it and it seems like there are more haters that not.

What if you turned the anise sesame cookies into lemon cookies (swapping zest for anise)? Lemon would complement the pie nicely, but you still get the cookie part taken care of.

However, if we're only choosing from those 3 options, I vote chocolate cupcakes. You can't ever go wrong with chocolate and cake. Boring? Who cares! It'll definitely be enjoyed.

Personally, I love tapioca, but I know a lot of people who don't, so I'd be hesitant to bring it as a dessert to a big dinner.

Two summers ago I learned how to make Bonet, a dessert from Northern Italy. It's basically a caramelized baked chocolate custard with crushed amaretti cookies added to the custard before baking. It resembles a flan. It's baked in a loaf pan and served cold (read: make the night before) with a dollop of unsweetened (or lightly sweetened) whipped cream. It's delicious. Any custard recipe could be adapted. The one I made used cocoa, not chocolate.

I like the idea of a crispy cookie because the texture would be a nice compliment to the pie, but I agree that the anise is the wrong way to go. Do you know all of the dinner guests? Which one is the picky eater? There's always one, ya know.

I can't deal with the texture of tapioca and too much anise can make me gag, so I had to pick the chocolate cupcakes. Fortunately, I love mini cupcakes. I love chocolate. Basically, I would have picked them anyhow. Chocolate will blend well with the fruit pie, particularly if you have time to whip up a light, fruity frosting.

any kids in the group? Spencer voted for the chocolate cupcakes.

i too misread the question, and thought it was about what I would most like to eat -- the tapioca by the way...

if i may make a suggestion, what popped into my mind was Lora Zarubin's Little Clouds, which are little meringues glued together with whipped cream -- very light, addictive, and a nice neutral compliment to the divine-sounding blueberries with lavender. Plus, they can be may ahead of time -- up to 3 days.

http://www.leitesculinaria.com/recipes/cookbook/little_clouds.html

Well, this is a little anti-climactic but still cool - a friend volunteered at the last minute to make another dessert, so I was off the hook.

But without any coordination or hint from me on what I was bringing, she also brought a pie! Hers was lemon pie - a very tart double-crust pie with a filling of just lemon slices, sugar and egg. It was wonderful!

I am demanding the recipe...

If you get the recipe would you please share? I love lemon anything... hence the lemon cups suggestion.