So... What are the best mince pies?

[DaddyCoolNippingAtYourNose]

.. and i don't mean the crappy standard ones. i mean the finest ones ever. i was always partial to tesco 'finest' and sainsbury 'taste the diff' but someone last year recommended the next step up on the posh scale to 'Duchy Originals' which i've bought but haven't tucked into yet.

which are the very very best in your opinions?

Message withdrawn

pah! dw used to make them but she can't be arsed this year. any other ideas? see, i reckon the duchy ones will be the best ever (they bloody better be, they were £3.50 for six - which I believe is 3x the standard price) but i wanted other opinions.

Duchy ones had too much sugar on top if I remember correctly from lastyear!

M&S luxury ones are good

I'm afraid that, like apple pies, mincemeat pies are uniformly awful if shop bought.

Pastry too thick, too doughy and not enough filling.

Home made or nothing for me

duchy ones are very good esp the mini ones

How about you make them? Really easy with frozen readymade puff pastry rolled out thin, cut into rounds with little fluted cookie cutter, spoonful of M&S luxury mincemeat, another round on top, squish edges, cut a vent & brush with egg&milk mixed .. when baked & just out of oven, scatter over caster sugar

Yum. And the kudos you'll get

Binkie, do you really use puff pastry? I tried it once and the results were....well....unspeakable really.

oo how funny. No, mine are fine! The tininess is relevant, though - I use the smallest size cookie cutter.

Were yours squodgy?

No, there was just far too much pastry - it puffed up too much! Have had better results with homemade pastry.

The ones my mum makes .

binkie - i can't be arsed

Yes, I tried puff pastry once, and they shot up ridiculously high, like over-sized vol-au-vents. Have had more success with Sainsbury's shortcrust pastry. In fact this year I have delegated mince pie making, and dd1 spent a happy weekend getting floury.

Also I'm not convinced by the nostrum that you should buy the best mincemeat you can afford -- one year I made a batch with waitrose superfancy mincemeat with extra everything and another batch with Sainsbury's bogstandard. The latter were preferred. So this year I have used Lidl's which also seemed very nice. We only ate the broken ones, obviously.

I like the mini ones from M & S with apricot and almond in them. I like them so much that I usually have about three boxes in the freezer for later on in the year, lovely with a cup of coffee.

That having been said DM has discovered a killer recipe so I am making soma as well this year.

Are men allergic to pastry? I reckon you'd be a dab hand DCNAYN.

i'm allergic to effort.

sounds like i gotta pick me some m&s luxury bad boys then.

Frozen puf pastry layered alternately with cinnamon spicec bramley apples and mincemeat.... yum... deffo the way to go

So can you make them just with cutters, not the little tin things that Nigella insists you have to have with a star on top and all?

Duchy ones a bit bland IMO. Need some brandy in them I think.

Waitrose mini ones are yummmmm........

i haven't got a waitrose and i'm too low tech to grocery shop on the internet. i'll keep them in mind though. my colleague shops waitrose. maybe i can get some from her.

ok. the request has been made. i should expect my waitrose pies nearer the end of the week

mine are the best!! Although I do like Ainsleys studdley ones!

Bells brandy ones from Booths - scrummy!

booths! i've heard about them before. i'm no where near a said booths though (i don't even know what booths is)

hmmm ainsley's eh.... i'll have to keep my eyes open. surely they are just in any standard grocery store.

Tesco finest ones are the dog's doodahs. Yummy