Mince Pie Reviews

Reviews & tasting notes of mince pies in the UK

Aldi Holly Lane Deep Filled Mince Pie Review 2020

Aldi Holly Lane Deep Filled Mince Pie Review 2020

Posted on Author Mince Pie ReviewsPosted in 2020, 7/10, Aldi (Holly Lane), StandardLeave a Reply

Overall rating: 7/10

Price per pie: 13p

Review: Aldi’s most standard of their enourmous mince pie range has faired averagely over the last few years. They’re cheap and pretty cheerful.

The class of 2020 are pretty good. A nice looking mince pie with a snowflake on top, and a nice sprinkle of sugar too.

The pie is maybe a *little* crumbly once bitten but not to the point of disaster. And one you’ve bitten in, you’re met with a lovely mincemeat. Nice and sweet with some whole currants and spices.

The pastry is sweet, but with a bottom spiralling towards something that could be described as “soggy”.

For me this is a very solid mince pie. So if, and its a big if, you were expecting a good number of people round at Xmas then this would be a good one to buy in bulk. And at 15p per pie they’re very easy on the pocket too. Bonus.

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Co-op Shortcrust Mince Pie Review 2020

Co-op Shortcrust Mince Pie Review 2020

Posted on Author Mince Pie ReviewsPosted in 2020, 5/10, Co-op, StandardLeave a Reply

Overall Rating: 5/10

Price per pie: 31p

Review: The Co-op bakery mince pies have faired well in previous years – but those are the deep filled ones. These flatter ones don’t inspire tonnes of confidence – not sure how the ratio of pastry to filling will work?

And immediately it’s gone a bit wrong. The pastry overpowers the whole thing. It’s got a nice taste to it, and a generous sprinkle of sugar on top – but the ratio is way out. It’s such a shallow mince pie that it never really had a chance…bless it.

The mincemeat is reasonable but nothing to write home about – nothing special advertised though either. I think 5/10 is fair enough – it doesn’t taste too far wrong, it’s just too dry.

Still looking forward to the deep filled Co-op bakery mince pies though 😉

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Lyon’s Cakes Mince Pie Review 2020

Lyon’s Cakes Mince Pie Review 2020

Posted on Author Mince Pie ReviewsPosted in 2020, 8/10, Lyons Cakes, StandardLeave a Reply

Overall rating: 8/10

Price per pie: 17p

Review: A first showing for Premier Foods’ ‘Lyons Cakes’ brand mince pies on Mince Pie Reviews. It’s a standard pie – no promises of the fancy stuff. No idea what to expect…

I’m pleasantly surprised. The box is a merry red and green and gives us a sneak peek at what the pie looks like. A ridge top affair with a sugar sprinkle, no star and no visible mincemeat. The box told me no lies about the pies – they look good too, neat and with little mincemeat bubble around the top of the pastry.

They’re around average on the bite-o-meter, not dry and crumbly but also not too soggy – very nice. The sugar on top gives a kick of sweetness and then the mincemeat follows up.

Similar to Co-op’s 2020 standard mince pie, this is a pie filled well. No gaping cavity where mincemeat should be – which probably helps keep the pastry from drying out too. You get a pleasant sweet and fruity flavour from the mincemeat, which for 17p per pie from a standard offering is well worth entertaining.

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Co-op Mince Pie Review 2020

Co-op Mince Pie Review 2020

Posted on Author Mince Pie ReviewsPosted in 2020, 8/10, Co-op, StandardLeave a Reply

Overall rating: 8/10

Price per pie: 17p

Review: A standard mince pie from Co-op….we’ve been here before. The last mince pie I reviewed in 2019 was Co-op’s standard mince pie. I needn’t remind regular readers what happened there, but for the new or uninitiated – it was an *abomination*.

Surely this year they’ve sorted it out, heeded the warnings – created something edible for a start?

Phew. You can breath, it’s fine. In fact it’s better than fine, much much better. This is a great standard mince pie.

The box doesn’t promise any extravagantly named fruits or rich liquors, and whilst that’s clear upon tasting – this pie does deliver on flavour and quality of bake.

The pastry has a nice taste to it and is both a good texture and an acceptable thickness. Maybe the tiniest bit on the soft side, but not so to cause any structural issues.

The mincemeat is tasty and is surely the star of this show. The fill certainly helps with that – it’s right to the top, full to the brim with mincemeat. It’s not that anonymous brown sludge you get in some standard mince pies either. It’s sweet tasty – even sans fancy fruits & liquors.

All considered, I’m astounded this has followed the shocking 0/10 mince pie from 2019, it’s really head and shoulders above. This is sure to be a quality addition to the table during the festive period – where or not we get to share them with anyone is yet to be seen…

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Co-op Puff Pastry Mince Pies

Co-op Puff Pastry Mince Pies

Posted on Author Mince Pie ReviewsPosted in 2020, 7.5/10, Co-op, FancyLeave a Reply

Overall rating: 7.5/10

Price per pie: ~31p

Review: I’ve liked these in past years, I’m a fan of apple turnovers so these appeal to me. Puff pastry is lovely and the sugar on top usually helps.

The Co-op’s puff pastry pies for 2020 feel very similar to those reviewed in 2017. The puff pastry is good and has a gentle brittleness – it also has a subtle golden brown top with a sprinkle of coarse sugar.

Hiding inside the puff pastry is a small but sweet portion of mincemeat. There’s nothing special about the mincemeat though – it’s not spiced and doesn’t have any fancy fruits, but it’s tasty.

Some people will undoubtedly be disappointed with amount of mincemeat, and this kind of ratio in a standard mince pie would be crazy.

This isn’t a pie you’d have as a workhorse of the festive period – it’s a show pony. And it’s actually pretty good too 👍

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Tesco Butter Enriched Pastry Mince Pie Review 2020

Tesco Butter Enriched Pastry Mince Pie Review 2020

Posted on Author Mince Pie ReviewsPosted in 2020, 4/10, Standard, Tesco1 Reply

Well here we are….closing in on Christmas 2020. Things aren’t going *quite* to plan are they… I questioned whether to even do this again, considering how we’ll all be sat apart on Christmas day, saddened by the global pandemic, the lockdowns, the masks, the tests, the deaths and the bloody god damn misery of it all.

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