Greggs mince pies

[AutumnLeaves21]

Is it just me or have they gone downhill this year? Usually my absolute favourites, this year the mincemeat is runny and not as tasty as usual, pastry is a bit soggy? Anyone agree? I usually love them!

@AutumnLeaves21

Is it just me or have they gone downhill this year? Usually my absolute favourites, this year the mincemeat is runny and not as tasty as usual, pastry is a bit soggy? Anyone agree? I usually love them!

Sounds like maybe just a bad batch

I enjoy the Iceland ones.
That said, there's none come anywhere near my mum's home made ones.

Thomas the Baker does great mince pies, if you’re in/near North Yorkshire

I am mince pie testing this weekend.

I shall let you know the results.

I must admit looking around at whats available this year is somewhat daunting.

Mince pies with caramel or crumble topping look all the rage. Theres irish cream liqueur mince pies. Mince pies with either gin, rum or brandy and cognac. Mini mince pies seem to feature heavily. Hestons sound vile but need testing.

I admit Booths are my go to mince pies. But I need to test this theory thoroughly.

I may be sick or gain 3 stone in the process but it needs to be done.

I hope not. Come on Greggs. If they have f*cked up the Festive Bakes I won't be happy.

I’ve tried the gold pack M and S Collection ones and Aldi Specially Selected. I wouldn’t buy the M and S again. The Aldi filling was nice. pastry tasted nice and buttery but needed a bit more sugar on top.
I’ve never tasted a Gregg’s mince pie. Have I not lived?

They were vegan friendly last year too so I doubt recipe has changed. Costa do a nice one in the packet that's vegan friendly too. But you pay for 1 Costa mince pie about the same as what you pay for 4-5 Greggs ones, and the Greggs ones are bigger I think.

I love when people refuse vegan stuff cos oh my god it's just so awful and a travesty. You never hear people moan about rice or apples, shock horror they are dirty filthy vegan food too how awful is that! RUN AWAY!

But like others say you could make your own.

They have been vegan for years

@spookysoul

I know they’re vegan, don’t know if they always were or if it’s a new recipe. I still think they’re yummy.

They were vegan last year too

I love when people refuse vegan stuff cos oh my god it's just so awful and a travesty. You never hear people moan about rice or apples, shock horror they are dirty filthy vegan food too how awful is that! RUN AWAY!
I've just never liked mince pies that aren't all butter, vegan or not. I like heaps of lentil, bean, or chickpea based vegan foods. It's not because they are vegan.

@RedToothBrush not all heroes wear capes

I can only eat homemade mince pies. The pastry to filling ratio of shop bought ones is just way too thick for me. Luckily since I can only be arsed to do 1 (or max. 2) batches I don’t eat them for 6-8 weeks of the year.

I like a piece of Stilton in mine occasionally to counter the sweetness. Also has to be warm.

[quote AutumnLeaves21]@RedToothBrush not all heroes wear capes[/quote]
Someone somewhere has to take one for the team.

I have to say i am dubious about these crumble mince pies. They do look substandard and as if they might be a major disappointment.

I had the pine scented Heston ones a few years back and was really excited by the idea of them. God they were a complete let down.

My gut tells me old fashioned mince pies are definitely going to come out best. But I need to scientifically prove this beyond doubt.

The Waitrose number one range ones are lovely (and on offer right now) but I agree there’s a lot of meh mince pies around this year.

I’ve tested a couple of packets of the greggs ones, and think they’re about the same as usual.

@DrManhattan fear not, can confirm festive bakes are as delicious as ever.

I've had some great ones for Greggs!

Nothing beats an M&S one for me this year.

Following with interest!

Make your own.

Following with interest for @redtoothbrush's findings!

@Immaculatemisconception no.

@QuimReaper same she’s providing a public service

I make my own from good quality shop bought pastry and mincemeat. So much less stodgy than anything you can buy in a shop.

M&S Best Ever mince pies are absolutely delicious but they are only sold singly or occasionally in box of four in the in-store bakery (or the cafe). Bettys famous tearooms also do fabulous mince pies.

I rope in DD2 each year to help taste test. My favourites so far are Waitrose, closely followed by M&S. Waitrose just seem to have better pastry and ratio of pastry to mincemeat is spot on. However as we do not have either store close enough for these to be a weekly purchase, we declare Co-op to be the best of your average supermarket range. Do not bother with Tesco, there is nothing redeeming about them. Sainsbury’s were ok mincemeat but pastry a bit meh (btw we’ve got for the one up from budget range, but not the Finest range for fairness across stores. Otherwise Sainsbury’s bakery 4 pack would beat Coop). Yet to locate any mince pies in our Iceland and hitting Lidl at the weekend. Didn’t rate Mr Kipling either.

DD2 and I take this very seriously each year. We don’t include mince pies from coffee shops, they must be able to be purchased alongside other family food shopping, else it’s a luxury.

@CleanHankie I don’t rate Kipling either. I don’t really like any boxed ones to be honest…supermarket bakery are great, booths bakery ones are lovely. Only boxed supermarket ones I’ve enjoyed were the boozy ones from Morrisons…lovely!