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?

Just had a Tesco deep filled pie for breafast
Burnt the toast and run out of milk (that?s my excuse )
Got to say, no where near as good as normal Tesco ones - too much filling. I don?t like loads of pastry but don?t want to wade through sticky sweet stuff either..
Can?t believe I am posting on here!!!!!

bump - just had morrisons and they are rubbish.

bump

(bumped for whydoolittlestarsshine)

Sains Organic are quite nice
Sains taste the difference have nuts in them - mince pies are not supposed to contain nuts

HEEELLLOOOOOO!! here's a blast from the past!!

I'm afraid though... I'm no longer residing in the land of the mince pie. I'm across the pond where I can buy only one type of mince at the local bakery. Which are nice... but different.

ahh daddycool! good to see you back again!

how's life across the pond?

duchy original

and... we did this last year (as y'all can see) and I agreed with myself that my opinion was the only one that mattered and that WAITROSE deluxe mince pies were by far the best with the exception of anyone's private recipes for home made bad boys.

it's ok. only ok. very different. I might start a separate thread within the next few days.

duchy original - I thought these would be the best but they weren't. and i was surprised. the pastry was superior but the filling a little bland.

start a thread - you're ok though?

the M&S deep filled classic ones are good as are the sainsburys ones with sugar on top

have got a huge box of waitrose ones here and they are passable

yeah, i'm ok. just feeling a little cut off from the rest of the world.

got a good job, nice house, ds is happy (he's a good boy. a really good boy), dw is feeling about the same as me. it's just all so different.

oh no! Daddycool, you've shattered my illusions now! Best in town here though, either that or somerfield ones where we actually live

oh god, it's so hard. I've moved country a few times and it can be very very isolating. It'll probably take you a while to get some roots down. Big hugs to you and dw. I've been back in the UK since 1999 and it took me a while before I really felt like I had proper friends and a community to lean on, iykwim.

hi DC

i am deputising for you

regretful to report that my 06 findings to date differ to yours (dif recipes each year???)

e.g. bizarrely, waitrose bog standard shortcrust pies far superior to their all butter ones

whaddya make of that then?

oh, and i agree that the duchy origs one still disappoint

thanks foxinsocks

brandybutter - i can't 'make something of that'... I'm not able to taste any of them!

(why isn't there a festive sad emoticon? guess it just doesn't go with the whole festive cheer thing)

Aaahhh this was one of my all time fave threads!

Now, does anyone else think that the Waitrose Christmas pudding would be better than Duchy or M&S. Much debate over this in the Pennies household, with no published research available to help reach a conclusion.

BrandyTutter - no no noooooooo - the all butter beauties are still far and away the best (with the minis stil being my personal preference).

This is so BA, Before Aldi :)