Mince pies, my rolling thread of which is best
Discussion
Might have to hit Costco shortly.
As to the M&S mince pies. I think they have changed the recipe.
If I were to score the Waitrose Plum and Ginger pie with a 7, the filling was nice, had variation and strength of flavour. The pastry was a decent taste, but I know what Bill means about the claggy nature of the pastry.
So what about the M&S luxury pie. The filling is bland, the pastry is so claggy that even my first bite resulted in it being welded to the top of my mouth (happened on both pies). Frankly it is a very poor pie to me and I struggle to score it a 3.
So what about the ordinary M&S pie. Last year I thought these were about the best, and good value. Definitely a recipe change. Filling is slightly artificial in taste, and as with the luxury pie, too light in flavour. The pastry was actually quite good, though too buttery for my personal tastes. 5/10
As to the M&S mince pies. I think they have changed the recipe.
If I were to score the Waitrose Plum and Ginger pie with a 7, the filling was nice, had variation and strength of flavour. The pastry was a decent taste, but I know what Bill means about the claggy nature of the pastry.
So what about the M&S luxury pie. The filling is bland, the pastry is so claggy that even my first bite resulted in it being welded to the top of my mouth (happened on both pies). Frankly it is a very poor pie to me and I struggle to score it a 3.
So what about the ordinary M&S pie. Last year I thought these were about the best, and good value. Definitely a recipe change. Filling is slightly artificial in taste, and as with the luxury pie, too light in flavour. The pastry was actually quite good, though too buttery for my personal tastes. 5/10
The above salted caramel Aldi’s WERE good ,I had one then proceeded to polish 4of them off ,that be the prob when a box of Costco is purchased,I’ll eat one then keep going back every hour until the wife calls me a greedy 
and tells me to stop
and tells me to stop Edited by eskidavies on Monday 11th November 22:27
Ok so I’m slow at eating mince pies, il be taking a Friday treat to Costa tomorrow, I was just in the co - op and they had a good selection
Standard
A fancy one
A puff pastry one
A mini one ( good for keto only 13g of carb)
A fancy one with no lid but brandy cream on( that’s a tart not a pie. Pies need a lid.
And the ones I went for , £1 for the 2 deep filled ones
Review coming later
Standard
A fancy one
A puff pastry one
A mini one ( good for keto only 13g of carb)
A fancy one with no lid but brandy cream on( that’s a tart not a pie. Pies need a lid.
And the ones I went for , £1 for the 2 deep filled ones
Review coming later
The co-op deep filled mince pies
Size - great size, they really are very deep and more like a apple pie for size, bigger than the standard box of 6 8/10
Pastry, good very crispy but still a bit and breaks away lovely, the crimping around the edge is very similar in crunch to a jammy dodger, the base was lovely and thick and not at all soggy, quite a heavy pasty so this was a great evening snack with a cup of tea, although it claims to be butter enriched but that really doesn’t come though in how dry it is. 8/10
Toppings, very boring to look at with no fancy Christmas shapes or dusting, just some standard caster sugar which was boring, the crimping around the edge is nice but not exactly a festive treat 3/10
Filling, thanks to the very thick pastry, I’m not sure it really has any more filling in it than a standard mince pie, but what was in there was a good amount of fruit with a nice thick juice that wasn’t runny and really did taste very good, Although the pack claims brandy, apple, and mixed spice which I didn’t get, the main being sultana so a bit disappointing. No hint of orange which is a good thing for me, i. 6/10
Texture very good, not mushy and not to firm, what I would say is the perfect consistency for a mince pie, it all held togther well too which meant none landed on me or the chairs, which is always a bonus 8/10
Cost £1 for 2 so good value,
Keto friendly ? 47g of carbs so not really.
Overall I would say a 6/10 which sums up the co op actually very well.
Size - great size, they really are very deep and more like a apple pie for size, bigger than the standard box of 6 8/10
Pastry, good very crispy but still a bit and breaks away lovely, the crimping around the edge is very similar in crunch to a jammy dodger, the base was lovely and thick and not at all soggy, quite a heavy pasty so this was a great evening snack with a cup of tea, although it claims to be butter enriched but that really doesn’t come though in how dry it is. 8/10
Toppings, very boring to look at with no fancy Christmas shapes or dusting, just some standard caster sugar which was boring, the crimping around the edge is nice but not exactly a festive treat 3/10
Filling, thanks to the very thick pastry, I’m not sure it really has any more filling in it than a standard mince pie, but what was in there was a good amount of fruit with a nice thick juice that wasn’t runny and really did taste very good, Although the pack claims brandy, apple, and mixed spice which I didn’t get, the main being sultana so a bit disappointing. No hint of orange which is a good thing for me, i. 6/10
Texture very good, not mushy and not to firm, what I would say is the perfect consistency for a mince pie, it all held togther well too which meant none landed on me or the chairs, which is always a bonus 8/10
Cost £1 for 2 so good value,
Keto friendly ? 47g of carbs so not really.
Overall I would say a 6/10 which sums up the co op actually very well.
It’s about time we start doing Mince Pie Mondays in work, where each week one person brings some in from a different place and we vote on which is best. Makes the weekly meeting go a bit quicker. I shall report back with our findings!
I seem to recall Morrison’s steaming ahead in 2017, but I may be misremembering. Can’t remember last year because I was a bit preoccupied with my imminent marriage.
I seem to recall Morrison’s steaming ahead in 2017, but I may be misremembering. Can’t remember last year because I was a bit preoccupied with my imminent marriage.
eskidavies said:
Another here for Costco,I also like the all butter Aldi ones ,yesterday picked these from Aldi not tried yet ,a trip to Costco is now imminent,why is PH so influential
Tried these and the black forest ones from Aldi. Both great, but we had the office argument of whether they are "proper" mince pies or not...Costa
Size - overall a good size. Not very deep but quite wide, one to use a knife to cut I think 8/10
Pastry, lovely pastry on this one, a good thickness around the edges but missing the top bit for a cut out of a star which is a bit stingy, but the pastry was delightful, it didn’t crumble and was kind of chewy and was very enjoyable with no crumbs 7/10
Toppings little bit of powdered sugar is always good, nice to look at aswell, but as half the top is missing a bit disappointing, but I like the deepness of the edges which holds it all together 6/10
Filling - a great amount of filling from top to bottom and edge to edge, not too overpowering on the spice flavours and a good mix of everything with a thick juice that didn’t make the bottom soggy 9/10
Texture along with the filling was very good, a great bite to it and as I said the chewy pastry goes well with the thick pack filling. 8/10
Cost £2.10 - coffee shop prices but still pretty pricey 3/10
Carbs per tart 69g so very high
Overall because of the high price vs great taste this is the best so far 7/10
Size - overall a good size. Not very deep but quite wide, one to use a knife to cut I think 8/10
Pastry, lovely pastry on this one, a good thickness around the edges but missing the top bit for a cut out of a star which is a bit stingy, but the pastry was delightful, it didn’t crumble and was kind of chewy and was very enjoyable with no crumbs 7/10
Toppings little bit of powdered sugar is always good, nice to look at aswell, but as half the top is missing a bit disappointing, but I like the deepness of the edges which holds it all together 6/10
Filling - a great amount of filling from top to bottom and edge to edge, not too overpowering on the spice flavours and a good mix of everything with a thick juice that didn’t make the bottom soggy 9/10
Texture along with the filling was very good, a great bite to it and as I said the chewy pastry goes well with the thick pack filling. 8/10
Cost £2.10 - coffee shop prices but still pretty pricey 3/10
Carbs per tart 69g so very high
Overall because of the high price vs great taste this is the best so far 7/10
So far the taste the difference mince pies from Sainburys are the winners this year for me.
https://www.sainsburys.co.uk/shop/gb/groceries/fes...
https://www.sainsburys.co.uk/shop/gb/groceries/fes...
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