Mince Pie Reviews

 

Overall rating: 8.5/10

Review: These filled cookies from ASDA are the first non-mince pie, mince pie items I’ve come across this year. They’re good.

Last year we had popcorn, cocktails, cream and all sorts – this year the mince pie flavoured stuff has been hard to come by. Not sure why.

I’m a fan of anyone having a go at making an unusual item that tastes of mince pies. Sometimes they taste good and other times they’re just vaguely cinnamon and fruit. These cookies have a good punch of ginger and cinnamon in the dough, then the mince pie flavour comes from a good dollop of mincemeat underneath the dough in the centre of each cookie. They taste nice, the cookie is soft and the mincemeat is a good mix of fruits. They’re quite sweet but for a quick mince pie flavour fix they’ll do for me. Nice work.

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Overall rating: 9/10

Review: Well I’m as surprised as you are! Standard supermarket mince pies have been lazy this year – too soft, tasteless. Not this one.

It’s safe to say my expectations for this mince pie were low, Sainsbury’s have smashed past those and pushed their way into the upper echelons of 2019 mince pies.

The pastry isn’t soggy on the bottom or too crumbly – instead we’re greeted with a great bite, not crumbly but sweet and almost biscuit-like.

The mincemeat is sweet, fruity and rich with some great whole fruit that so many of the standard pies are missing. No ‘paste’ in here!

To finish off there’s a generous sprinkle of sugar on top and a nice design. I think this will be hard to beat in the standard category this year – buy it in bulk and serve it when you have guests over the festive period.

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Overall rating: 2/10

Review: Like so many fancy looking mince pies this year, Sainsbury’s have managed to miss the mark.

The first thing you notice when you bit into this mince pie is the cavernous gap where the mincemeat should be…its over half empty! The second thing you notice is just how dry the mincemeat is – I had to double check the box to make sure they hadn’t been left over from last year.

The final observation is the taste – the mincemeat has a slightly strange after taste, almost chemical. Very unpleasant. The only saving grace is the pastry which is decent. But overall a big waste of money…did anyone taste these Sainsbury’s? I’m available all year, you just need to ask.

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Overall rating: 6/10

Review: The best gluten free vegan mince pie I’ve ever eaten…but also my first!

I’ve had many requests to review some gluten free and vegan mince pie options. Done it in one here!

I’ve reviewed this as a mince pie – no preferential treatment for the GF or V.

Interesting to note that most mincemeat on the market is already gluten free and vegan. If there’s brandy added then that can complicate matters as some aren’t vegan. Keep your eyes peeled vegan folks.

Onto this mince pie…I’m pleasantly surprised. I thought it would be a tasteless, squishy mess. I was wrong.

The pastry is a decent consistency but is let down by having a bit of a grainy after taste and texture. There’s a very clear spiced flavour to the whole pie which is potentially in there to make up for the lack of flavour from the butter etc in the pastry. It’s actually a little overpowering.

The mincemeat is good and juicy, pretty decent actually. Very happy with that, some nice whole fruits in there.

All in all this isn’t one of the best mince pies I’ve had this year….but it’s the best gluten free vegan one. One to try if you’re looking for GF/V options.

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Overall rating: 6.5/10

Review: Another Co-op pie…how many do they have? This one is middle of the road – certainly not very luxury.

Pastry on this one is quite nice but there’s better out there. It’s very slightly too soft and crumbly. Similar for the mincemeat. It’s certainly not bad, it’s just mediocre, not very tasty…

As a mince pie it looks right and tastes ok, but nothing to get excited about. There’s better mince pies out there from Co-op in 2019.

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Overall rating: 8/10

Review: Look at that box! These are some fancy mince pies. M&S know how to do food so I’m excited about trying these…

The pie is quite large, it doesn’t taper towards the bottom like most do. The top is as fancy as the box, with an intricate star motif and icing sugar to finish. On first bite I think it’s a bit soft – not too soft but not perfect either.

The filling is the star of the show here, full of delightful fruit and a glug of cognac. But the overriding flavour is orange from the clementine advertised on the box. Glad to see a mince pie tasting like it’s advertised for once, but the orange maybe causes the spice and fruit of the mincemeat to fade a little too far into the background.

Still a very good mince pie M&S, happy to have these at the table over Christmas.

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Overall rating: 8.5/10

Review: The second M&S mince pie of 2019. It’s a cracker. Well it’s a pie, but you know what I mean…

This is the standard pie from M&S so I’m not expecting it to be as good as their fancy pie. It is. It’s better. Blimey.

The pastry on this one is great, it’s not as soft as the fancy pie which is good. A nice sprinkle of sugar on the biscuit-like top which just finishes it off nicely. The filling is really tasty and a nice consistency, again better than the fancy pie (less orange).

This is a great contender and something that would look great on your table and impress your festive visitors.

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Overall rating: 6.5/10

Review: I quite fancy a lattice top, something a bit different. This one looks quite nice on the box but as so often this year, the actual pie is a little paler.

Biting into it, the bottom is a bit too soft and the top is then inextricably too dry – not ideal at all. The one saving grace is the mincemeat – with lots of juicy fruit and lovely sweet, rich flavour. The pastry doesn’t have much of a taste to compliment the mincemeat though, which is a shame.

A good try but feels like it’s just there to look pretty and make up the numbers.

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Overall rating: 7/10

Review: Oh ohh. Here comes Mr Big Shot! It’s the deep filled pie from Mr Kipling – with a Good Housekeeping Institute taste award on the box no less…

I’m not sure who’s on the Good Housekeeping Institute mince pie tasting panel (you just have to ask guys, I’ll help) but this pie is just a bit better than standard. A 7 is a good score and I’d be happy to have these as a festive workhorse – being them out when you have guests in bulk. Keep the fancy stuff back for yourself.

The pastry is very slightly on the soft side, but the mincemeat is nice with some nice full fruit and bite. It’s not particularly memorable but there’s nothing terrible either. You wont go far wrong with a Mr Kipling pie – they’ve been making them for long enough I suppose.

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Overall rating: 9/10

Review: The winner from 2017 returns triumphantly. Another great mince pie from Co-op.

The biscuity pastry is sweet and crumbly – but not too crumbly. Inside this towering beast of a mince pie is a lovely, rich, fruity and spiced mincemeat. A great mix of actual whole fruits and mincemeat paste. A generous filling too – not quite to the top, which is a good thing because it’s a big eat already! This one has brandy & port but not in huge amounts, just enough to give it hint. A sprinkling of coarse sugar on top finishes this pie off perfectly. These only come in packs of two, but get a few in for Christmas as they’re sure to be somewhere close to the best of the best in 2019.

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