MINCE PIES ON TEST

Extra Special Luxury All Butter Mince Pies (6), £1.85, Asda Made with port and brandy and topped off with two pastry stars, they look the part, but there was lots of air between the filling and the pastry. The plump fruity filling and crumbly pastry is a tasty combination but we didn’t detect any alcohol, which was disappointing. 6 Mince Pies, £2.50, Marks & Spencer The pastry was a perfect blend of rich and tasty but also light and crumbly, with a pretty snowflake detail on the top. Filled to the brim with a good fruity mix that had a lovely hint of cranberry. The ratio of pastry and filling is spot on. We scoffed the lot. All Butter Pastry Mince Pies (6), £2 or two for £3, Tesco The pack boasts that they have Courvoisier Cognac but the chef must have missed this batch when it came to a splash of brandy. They were filled to the top and had a pretty snowflake motif but it was a case of style over substance. The filling was chewy and rather lacklustre. The Best All Butter Deep Filled Mince Pies (4), £1.70, Morrisons Chunky pies that look home made. The pastry is sweet and buttery but it’s far too thick. While the filling tastes good with plump fruit there’s simply not enough to match the mass of pastry. All Butter Mince Pies (6), £2.50, Waitrose In a cellophane wrapper to keep them fresh, they had no Christmas design and didn’t appear special enough for the price. But despite their dull look, the melt in the mouth pastry and succulent filling made up for it. Surprisingly light, they tasted homemade but we struggled to pick out any brandy flavour. Taste the Difference 6 All Butter Mince Pies, £2, Sainsbury’s Golden, light pastry with a sweet and buttery flavour but the filling was less good. It is meant to be infused with brandy but we didn’t even get a slight sniff of anything – it was very bland with no taste whatsoever.