Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

Please have one less roast potato to ensure you have room for this year's winning mince pie. I certainly will be.

We'll hopefully be back towards the end of 2013 to start this all over again! I also hope it will be the year I taste the exclusive Costco mince pie. If you cannot wait until next year, be sure to have a read of fellow blogger Andy Savage's review on this pie.

http://derbyphotoscouk.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/costco-mince-pies-are-best-mince-pies.html

From everyone at the Mince Pie Administration, we would like to wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New year.

See you all in about 10 months.

:-)

Jamie Oliver - Jamie's Mini Mince Pies

Stumbling across these mince pies was quite a treat. With Jamie Oliver being a household name you would think these mince pies would be everywhere, or more specifically, in your local Sainsbury's. These elusive mince pies were discovered in Boots!

Coles Bundaberg Rum Mince Pies

Our first international review!

Heston Blumenthal (made for Waitrose) - Puff Pastry Mince Pies with Pine Sugar Dusting

After much questioning as to whether I would try "the other Heston mince pie", I have finally made my way to a Waitrose to pick up a box. Can Heston's pies take the top two spots on my leader board?

Pret A Manger - Mince Pie

This gourmet sandwich shop that started in London has grown substantially. With stores as far east as Hong Kong and as far west as Chicago, I want to know whether they still care about their home town by making a decent mince pie this Christmas.

Costa - Mince Tart

After sampling Starbucks' offering on the mince pie front I was intrigued to find out just how seriously the other big name coffee shops took their mince pies.

Starbucks Mince Pie

I don't drink coffee or tea. Don't like the stuff. Therefore, Starbucks is not a place I visit often and so would not have thought to get a mince pie from there had it not been for my work colleagues mentioning them as a possible contender.

Asda - Extra Special (created with Leiths School) - All-Butter Mince Pies

It would appear Asda have an "Extra Special" line for their mince pies. These surely cannot be as bad as their current mince pies. Can they?

Asda - Chosen By You - Mince Pies

As a guest writer, I feel the need to stay true to the tagline for this blog, and therefore I most certainly will not be mincing my words.

Iceland Christmas Mince Pies

Iceland. The place where mums go, supposedly. Like the country, their mince pies have always been a bit chilling. If this year is different, there will be more than just mums flocking to their stores.

Aldi - Holly Lane - Specially Selected - Luxury Mince Pies

The second of the two boxes my colleague's mother bought for me are Aldi's luxury brand. Their regular mince pies were good, so these should be even better, right?

Aldi - Holly Lane - Deep Filled Mince Pies

I have been hearing a lot of promising things about Aldi and thanks to a work colleague's mother, I have kindly been given a couple of boxes of their mince pies. Let's hope they beat their direct competition, LIDL (although that's probably not hard!).

Morrisons Christmas - Deep Filled Mince Pies

That supermarket you once went to that was called Safeway, is now Morrisons. So while my mother continues to call it Safeway despite the business being bought by them over 8 years ago, they have had plenty of time to get their mince pies in order.

Greggs Sweet Mince Pies

I have to admit, this not a place where I would usually go to get a mince pie. I've always associated Greggs with pasties and danishes, but I have been hearing good things about their mince pies and so I just had to have some.

Tesco's Finest - Deep Filled Mince Pies with Courvoisier ® VS Cognac

Tesco have been rather uninspiring with their mince pies this year. I'm hoping the Finest range is the game changer - after all, they have brought in Courvoisier to add that bit of quality to the pie.

Sainsbury's - Taste the Difference - Brandy Rich Mini Mince Pies

The larger mince pie has dominated this blog since the start. It is about time I reviewed a mini mince pie. These are Sainsbury's luxury, "taste the difference" brand. Let's see if all good things come in small packages.

Tesco - Christmas - Deep Filled Mince Pies

Tesco have never really impressed with their mince pie range in previous years - they have trotted along with what feels like a "follow the pack" mentality. I hope this year is different and we see a stand out pie from them.

The Co-Operative - Truly Irresistible - Luxury All Butter Mince Pies

During university Co-Op mince pies were never very far away. I had always been impressed with these. I hope that this is not because I was too lazy to travel anywhere to get a decent mince pie and simply accepted what was put in front of me. Let's find out.

Waitrose - Christmas - All Butter Mince Pies

My sister was originally sent on a mission to bring back some of Waitrose's own mince pies, but when she also brought back the Heston Blumenthal mince pies, these were set aside. They are now back, but will they be overshadowed by its more famous step-brother?

LIDL - Snowy Lodge - Deep Filled Mince Pies

LIDL have made themselves a household name in recent years. Their wallet friendly products have got us flocking to their stores, but are their mince pies another reason to go?

A Pie free day

The Prime Minister takes a couple weeks off to go on holiday, fortunately this administration will only be taking tonight off. There will be no mince pie review today.

Normal service will be resumed tomorrow.

Heston Blumenthal (made for Waitrose) - Spiced Shortcrust Mince Pies

An unexpected treat from my sister who picked these interesting mince pies up from Waitrose. Does Heston's recipe live up to his 3 Michelin-starred status?

Marks and Spencer All Butter Mince Pies

This is the pie I have been looking forward to. They have been my favourite for the past couple of years. Can M&S make it a hat-trick?!

Harrods Flaky Pastry Mince Pie

This is a rare treat. I have managed to get my hands on a Harrods mince pie from their in-store bakery in Knightsbridge, London. Lets see if you really get what you pay for.

Sainsbury's Deep Mince Pies

Sainsbury's Mince Pies have always been one of my favourite, and is usually the first stop on my search for a winning mince pie, this year is no different.

Mr Kipling's Exceedingly Good Mince Pies

Lets start this year's reviews with the nations best selling mince pie. However, despite this accolade it has never been a pie that has been at the top of my pie list, but does this years edition change that?

I feel the need, the need for PIE!

Baking

Hello everyone,

The first mince pie review will be up shortly.