The Great Mince Pie Review

[NigellaTufnel]

Having caved in and bought my first lot of mince pies in October I must admit I was disappointed by the Waitrose All Butter selection - too big, too salty, and the the pastry was not short enough.

Now, being a greedy thorough person I will leave no stone unturned in a quest to find the best mince pies. So as we travel through November into December, does anyone have any other reviews?

It's like a book group, but with pies.

do you have a local WI country market? they should start selling homemade ones early Dec I reckon.....

I tried the M&S lattice- topped ones last week. Wasn't impressed. There was too much pastry to mincemeat and the pastry wasn't very good. :(

I shall have to go back to making my own with mincemeat I make from organic fruit I grow and dry myself.

I feel that we should have a taste off every week.

So if anyone fancies buying the M&S this week / weekend we can compare notes

WI country market? Up North?
Although I am in Cheshire...

yes a taste off would be fab - put my name down!

I didn't like the Sainsbury's bakery ones when mil bought them for us last week. They were far too sweet and cloying.

I will start investigating at the weekend! Sainsbo's big fat Taste The Difference ones with extra booze used to be v good iirc.

Cheshire country markets

well I never! More excuses to shop

I'm glad a couple of others have mentioned Greggs mince pies - I didn't want to lower the tone , but their thin ones are my very favourites. Sadly I'm now at least an hour away from my nearest Greggs.

I find that many of the supposed 'deep filled' ones have a lot of usually dry pastry and air but not a lot of filling.

I've book marked this. We tried the Waitrose pies last week and I have thrown them away the pastry was undercooked, too thick, pretty unpleasant. looking forward to the quest although I have got some of last years' homemade mincemeat in the fridge....should be nicely matured.

sorry year's

saorachd - Still laughing at your post!!

Marking place, but I am a bit of a self confessed mince pie maker. Also put orange rind and juice into pastry. Delicious.

Has anyone mentioned the puff pastry mince pie things Sainsbos sell?? A bit wrong, but also very right.

Elspeth Diggory, your pastry may rock but it can't be as good as mine () because it lacks my very special, secret (but about to be revealed because I am a kind and generous soul) ingredient: chilled vodka.

Replace half your water with cold vodka, and your pastry will roll out brilliantly and melt in your mouth.

far out...

chilled vodka in your pastry! Where did you get that idea from?! (I'm not saying it wouldn't work, tbh I don't have a clue).

I'm starting to think my pasty is not rolled out thinly enough after reading this thread.

Try these!!

Unbelievably easy mince pies
You can throw the dough around and the mince pies still come out crisp and biscuity in this kid-friendly Christmas recipe
Makes 18 pies
Ingredients
? 225g cold butter , diced
? 350g plain flour
? 100g golden caster sugar
? 280g mincemeat
? 1 small egg , beaten
? icing sugar , to dust
Can be frozen uncooked

1. To make the pastry, rub the butter into the flour, then mix in the sugar and a pinch of salt. Combine the pastry into a ball - don't add liquid - and knead it briefly. The dough will be fairly firm, like shortbread dough. You can use the dough immediately, or chill for later.
2. Preheat the oven to 200C/gas 6/fan 180C. Line 18 holes of two 12-hole patty tins, by pressing small walnut-sized balls of pastry into each hole. Spoon the mincemeat into the pies.
3. Take slightly smaller balls of pastry than before and pat them out between your hands to make round lids, big enough to cover the pies. Top the pies with their lids, pressing the edges gently together to seal - you don't need to seal them with milk or egg as they will stick on their own. (The pies may now be frozen for up to 1 month).
4. Brush the tops of the pies with the beaten egg. Bake for 20 minutes until golden. Leave to cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then remove to a wire rack. To serve, lightly dust with icing sugar. They will keep for 3 to 4 days in an airtight container.

I have just polished off a Mark's & Spencer All Butter mince pie.

Not bad, but not amazing.
Nice crunchy sugar on top, and quite nice pastry, but not exactly melt in the mouth.
Mincemeat nice, but not amazing.
A good size though.

All in all a good workaday mince pie. I'd give it a 6 out of 10.

Good grief, I need a life.

And more pies.

Right - am keeping this quest alive with good news with Waitrose shortcrust ones (in a red box)

Jolly nice, good pastry, ok mincemeat. Can't stop eating them. I'd give it a 8 out of ten.

Waitrose did some lovely mini ones last year that had different kinds of mincemeat in them - they were good, I ate rather a lot!

My Mum's are the best though. We are making the mincemeat next week and then I can bake some - yum yum.
My pastry is very basic. Flour, half lard, half butter and a little water. Lovely and crumbly and delicious.

You can't get them in a shop, but Riverford (Organic home delivery veg and meat people) do really very lovely indeed mince pies.

But I made some for the first time this year, and they were scrummy! And easy. It was a recipe from the BBC Good Food website, a bit like shortbread. My mum, a mince pie veteran, declared them her favourite!!! Dh wasn't so keen, preferring his own. Tsk.

Oh, it's remembertoplaywiththekids recipe below!! Lovely, and very easy (altho it feels like its going wrong). Grease the tin first though, or else you will never get them out.

i absolutely love Morrisons mince pies...and they do mini child size ones to so there is no excuse for me not to eat all 6 in the packet

Another vote for Greggs. They are by far the best 'bought' pies.

sainsburys Taste the difference ones beat m&s and waitrose for me so far

Tesco finest all butter blugh!!!

Dont even go there!

I reckon Greggs as well - just the ordinary one, mind, not the Viennese