Classic mince pies for the festive season

With Christmas around the corner, mince pies have returned “in full force” to supermarket shelves, said Holly Morgan in The Mirror. The seasonal staple is part of the festive furniture, as beloved as “carol singers and questionable novelty jumpers”. Brits eat more than 800 million of the delightful mincemeat-stuffed pastries a year, and it isn’t hard to see why.

Mince pies are an excellent “no-fuss” addition to any Christmas gathering, said Emma Henderson in The Independent. Gone are the days where hosts need to stress about “impromptu visitors during the Christmas period”: the mince pie is the “perfect treat to keep in the cupboard”, to be served with a “glass of mulled wine” at the drop of a hat.

Waitrose No1 Brown Butter Mince Pies with Cognac

For the second year in a row, Waitrose scooped “Best Buy”, coming in as the “clear favourite” in the supermarket category, said Rebecca Marcus in Which?. Expect “moreish” brown butter pastry surrounding “fruity” mincemeat, bound together with brandy and festive spice. Though one of the “priciest” around, it’s well “worth splashing out”.

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waitrose.com

Iceland Luxury Butter Mince Pies

Look no further for a “masterclass in harmony”, said Stacey Smith in Good Housekeeping. Building on traditional flavours, the “yuzu juice-spiked” mince pies are “densely packed” with fruity, “zesty” filling. “Testers described it as ‘a fantastic, classic mince pie’.”

iceland.co.uk

Marks & Spencer Collection Mince Pies

Whether you’re looking for the “standard” or “posher” versions, the M&S entries “aced it in my tests for their fruity, nutty filling and buttery pastry", said Xanthe Clay in The Telegraph. For those who are sustainability minded, they don’t contain any palm oil, and are made with Wildfarmed regeneratively farmed flour.

marksandspencer.com

Sainsbury's Taste the Difference All Butter Mince Pies

These tasty mince pies are “hard to fault”, said Henderson in The Independent. The pastry has an “excellent creamy, buttery flavour”, while the mincemeat is well-balanced with a “decent tang” of brandy. Brilliant quality, they are a “cut above” other supermarket mince pies.

Sainsburys.co.uk