[Ad- gifted product] In America, we do not have mince pies. The first year I came to England, I really didn’t understand what these were. People spoke about mince meat, so I assumed it was a weird sweet meat pie that English people eat. It turns out, it’s really not, and instead is a fruit, sugar, and sometimes alcohol filled pie with a buttery crust, made and eaten around the winter holidays. Mince pies are really an interesting take on Christmas Cookies, which we are big on in America. There are also many, many different types of mince pies, so Dann and I took the time to rank our favorites.
Neither of us are fans of dry crusts, instead in the mindset that the crust of a pie should deliver the filling to us, without hampering the flavor or trying to be something that stands on it’s own. Our favorite pies are more filling focused, with the crust taking a back step.
1. Tesco Finest Butter Crumble Topped Mince Pies
A classic mince pie with a different topping, Tescos Finest does a line of topped mince pies, which have a crumbly, buttery topping. The topping makes the mince pie soft and not so crumbly, as well as adds quite a bit of sweetness to the pie. The way the topping contained butter, allowed us to bite through it without that harsh dryness. We quite liked the texture of the crumble and enjoyed eating it. The filling was enough, with some great texture through raisins and you could taste the cognac, especially as an aftertaste to the pies.
2. OGGS Luxury Handmade Mince Pies
OGGS does a bunch of different vegan baked goods, including these delicious mince pies which you can order year round. As a vegan pie, these are the best that you can find. The crust is not dry, it’s just a touch sweet, and the filling is generous. The pastry itself was light and fluffy, which really complemented the filling, which was very nice in flavor, but wasn’t quite as moist as the previous filling. I love the little stars on the top as well! If you’re a vegan or are just looking for some specialty mince pies that are all hand made, these are really lovely.
3. Mr. Kipling Deep Filled Mince Pies
Everyone always tells me not to miss out on Mr. Kipling. Known for a bunch of different baked goods, they always have a huge selection at most stores. From time to time, I do pick up a few of there treats. Mr. Kipling Deep Filled Mince Pies does really have a bunch of filling which is so moist. The crust itself is the real let down here, where there isn’t much sweetness and it’s just a bit thick for our tasting. I do like the snowflake decoration and the filling was a perfect texture.
4. Morrison’s Minced Pies
These pies are hand baked in store and come in some very simple packaging. Without all of the designs, bells, and whistles of the previous pie, Morrison’s are thinner pies, which means you could probably eat more of them, however the ratio could be a bit better if there was a touch more filling. The filling flavor and texture is pretty good, especially considering the price, but overall it finds itself lower on the list due to size and dryness.
5. Tesco Iced Mince Pies
I had not had an iced mince pie before today, when I tired the Tesco Ice Mince Pies. I don’t really like overly sweet things at all, I like a balance of sweetness, but at the same time I also like less dry crust. So we took a gamble and got these mince pies. They are very, very sweet due to the very thick topping of icing on each pie. For us, it was pretty overwhelmingly sweet, though we both felt that children or people with a sweet tooth might prefer these. The icing takes over the flavor of the filling and the crust, so it is the star of the show. If you don’t care much for mince pies filling and would rather just eat something sweet, these are the ones to grab.
Trying out a bunch of mince pies, we feel these cross a few different categories and represent a good portion of this British tradition. These five are all enjoyable, just at different rankings for different people. We look forward to somehow consuming all of the mince pies in our home over the next few weeks, for the build up for Christmas!