The Co-Operative (Loved by us) 6 Deep Filled Mince Pies

So, the first mince pie of the year. It has been a very late start. If I could say what I've been up to, you'd understand why I've been lacking on the mince pie review front! Lets not waste any more time.

BHS Deep filled Mince Pie

BHS - A great department store with plenty to things to buy like clothes, shoes, bags and mince pies? Yes, BHS have a cafe who are now selling mince pies! This revelation was stumbled upon via BHS' twitter account. We swiftly made our way to a local BHS cafe to pick up some of these little giants. Can these deep filled mince pies measure up and break into to the well established clique formed by the supermarkets?

Fortnum & Mason - Six Traditional Christmas Mince Pies

Yes, that's right mincers, the (non-existent) revenue generated from reviewing mince pies has resulted in the Administration being able to splash out on some very posh mince pies for your viewing pleasure. We braved the gale force winds and torrential rain and arrived at the doors of the most well decorated supermarket in the country. You know you have walked into an upper class world when their staff are better dressed than you are. With the worry of being thrown out for wearing trainers, jeans and a rain jacket, I quickly found the mince pies and left. Let's see if you really do get better quality when you spend more.

Marks & Spencer - 6 All Butter Mince Pies

Marks and Spencer mince pies are a firm favourite of the blog. Whenever I have a craving for a good mince pie around this time of year, M&S are on hand to ensure that my needs are fulfilled. Last year saw their inconsistency loose them a few marks. Lets hope this year is different.

The Co-Operative - Loved by Us - 6 Deep Filled Mince Pies

If you were to list supermarkets / stores in order of prestige, most people's list would be remarkably similar. However, The Co-Op is often the store that's missed from that list entirely. In fact, on my list, I really wouldn't know where to place it. Maybe this is a good thing, I won't have any expectations from it and treat it as the humble mince pie that it is. Lets see how this one does.

Mr Kipling Exceedingly Merry 6 Deep Filled Mince Pies

Mr Kipling have long been a British baking powerhouse, producing a whole variety of cakes and pies since 1967. Everybody knows the name and what they do. Their mince pies were very much below average last year. Lets hope they read my blog and made some improvements this year.

Sainsbury's - Christmas by Sainsbury's - 6 Deep Mince Pies

Right, the first pie to touch my lips this year is a Christmas by Sainsbury's Deep Mince Pie. One would expect the first pie after 10 months, regardless of quality, to taste extraordinary; a feeling akin to a mother seeing her newly born baby for the first time! Okay, maybe that's a bit too far, but I was definitely looking forward to sinking my teeth into this one. Lets see how it did.

Coles Bundaberg Rum Mince Pies

Our first international review!

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.

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.