WITH crumbly shortcrust pastry and a rich, fruity filling, the mince pie is a Christmas classic for a good reason.
But this year, supermarkets have tweaked our festive favourite to add extra flavours, toppings and ingredients.
Can any of them beat the original recipe – and is it worth spending your money on something a bit different this Christmas?
We bought novelty mince pie flavours from Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, M&S, Waitrose and Asda and put them to the test.
Here are our verdicts:
Tesco Finest Salted Caramel Topped Mince Pies, £3.50 for 4
If you’re expecting a mince pie prepare to be bitterly disappointed because – despite the name – these are not mince pies.
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They have a cheesecake-style biscuit crumble base with an overwhelming allspice flavour and a crunchy biscuit crumble topping.
There was too much biscuit and not enough filling, just a very thin layer of mincemeat with a dollop of salted caramel right in the middle.
It was a struggle to taste any salt in the caramel, which was sickly sweet, and it didn’t go very well with the mincemeat.
This is a case where Tesco has tried to merge two classic flavours which are better off apart.
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SCORE: 5/10
Morrisons The Best Cherry Bakewell Mince Pies, £2.50 for 4
These were a tasty, fun twist on two British classics.
The mince pie has a fabulous frangipane top which is moist and dotted with flaked almonds.
There wasn’t a very strong cherry taste, but that meant the mincemeat filling went well with the topping.
I’d happily eat these over regular mince pies any day.
SCORE: 8/10
Asda Extra Special Chocolate & Cherry Crumble Mince Pies, £2.75 for 6
Asda’s mince pie remix looked interesting, with a darker chocolate-flavoured pastry and a crumbly topping.
Sadly, there was little chocolate taste in the mince pie but there was a strong, artificial cherry flavour.
It was lacking in festive spice and, overall, it was a bit like eating a cherry pie with raisins in it.
SCORE: 6/10
Waitrose Christmas Spiced Flapjack Minced Pies, £2.75 for 4
These mince pies covered with oat flapjack both looked and tasted incredibly dry.
It felt like Waitrose had skimped on the filling, as the flapjack only came two thirds up the pastry case.
There was a pleasant, festive, cinnamon spice flavour but it wasn’t enough to counteract the fact that this is too much dry, stodgy carb to eat in one mouthful.
SCORE: 6/10
WINNER M&S Collections Chocolate & Hazelnuts Mince Pies, £4 for 4
Nothing about this mince pie and chocolate mousse mash-up sounds like it should work – but, amazingly, it tastes delicious.
The pie has a thin layer of mincemeat in the bottom and then is topped with a soft chocolate cream, flavoured with hints of booze and orange.
The crunchy nuts on the top help give it texture.
The only downside was that pies are prone to collapsing after you’ve taken one mouthful so they’re best eaten on a plate with a spoon.
At £1 each, these were the most expensive ones we tried.
But if you’re looking for something a bit different this year, it’s worth spending the money.
SCORE: 9/10
Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Cherry Kirsch Mince Pies, £2.75 for 4
If I hadn’t seen the word “cherry” on the box, I would have struggled to tell what was supposed to be in these pies.
Apart from a very subtle sour cherry taste and a hint of booze, it was difficult to tell what made these mince pies different from any other.
There was nothing wrong with these, but at 69p per pie you would be better off saving your money and buying regular mince pies instead.
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Sainsbury’s standard mince pies cost £1.60 for 6, or 27p each.
SCORE: 7/10
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