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.


The Facts

Firstly, apologies for the above picture. The sharp eyed readers will notice that the box is missing a couple pies on the top row. I did take a picture before I opened the box, but when I eventually looked at the picture, I realised it was rubbish. It was not centred properly to the point where I had chopped off the side. Therefore I had to take this picture after I had eaten a couple.

The dilemma above only became an issue since I began to notice so many mince pie boxes with windows on the front. While it does have its benefits, such as being able to pick a nicely cooked bunch or ones that have not been roughed up during transport; its a pain in the bum for reviewers trying to keep some continuity!

This is an "All butter pastry generously filled with brandy and port infused mincemeat". It seems like it's all about the booze with these mince pies. Again, another standard pie at 247 calories, 22.4g of sugar and 8.9g of fat. Interestingly, Morrisons do not say whether this pie can be eaten hot or cold and the absence of any heating guidelines, leave you guessing.

First Impressions

When I first took these out of the tray, I immediately saw the wonky lid on the pasty. What immediately sprung to mind was "were these made by the same people who make Tesco's"? I checked the rest and thankfully they were not all the same, but what was evident, was that the lid's seem to be a little too big for each pie. They do hang over the edge of the base a fraction.

Rather than just a plain old star, the pattern on the top was very detailed, which I liked. The pie is well cooked around the edges, but not as much in the middle of the lid. It's also dusted lightly with sugar granules.

The Bite

What immediately hits you in this pie is the alcohol. The taste of the brandy and port are distinct and strong. I feel like I might fail a breathalyzer test after just one.

This has, in actual fact, a shortcrust pastry despite the front of the box not telling you. It is slightly soft. I noticed that the lid was undercooked and still looked like dough. However, the lid is quite thin and so you don't really notice. The edges and base are thicker and thankfully better cooked so it still retains some shortcrust pastry attributes. I can also taste a little butter in there; just not as much as the 14% the box tells you is in there.

The mincemeat has huge pieces of fruit in there, some of the largest i've seen in a mince pie. Hopefully the picture above makes that clear. It is well filled and moist. However, as I said before, the taste of the brandy and port do over-power any other tastes in this pie.

Overall

Morrisons had a wide variety of mince pies for me to choose from. There were mini mince pies with a selection of different toppings, lattice topped ones and their in-store bakery producing Greggs-like mince pies and the deepest deep filled mince pies I have ever seen. But I chose these ones. I don't know why, but I did. I'm not going to say this is a bad mince pie, but it is not one that I would usually go for. Given that the box clearly states these are brandy and port infused, I should expect there to be alcohol, but not as much as was in these. If you want a pie you could almost get drunk off, these are for you!

"May the pie be with you"

3.3 / 5

If you've had this pie and would like to share your experience, do it in the comments below.