Price: £2.75 for a box of 6 (14/12/2024)
These are the premium mince pies from British supermarket chain Morrisons. They are part of Morrisons’ ‘the Best’ range of premium foods and therefore should be a cut above their standard Rich & Fruity Mince Pies. They are described on the front of the box as ‘melt-in-the-mouth short crust pastry generously filled with our indulgent mincemeat, infused with brandy and cider, seasoned with warming spices’. That’s enough to whet anyone’s appetite.
If the description on the top of the packaging didn’t fully convince you, there’s a further marketing blurb on one end. It says ‘expertly crafted using the finest ingredients and an authentic recipe, our deep filled mince pies are made with all-butter pastry – for those festive occasions when only The Best will do’.
The pies are attractively presented with a thick 8-pointed star shaped lid that is decorated with a snowflake pattern. Happily, they are suitable for vegetarians.
Cold Taste Test
These Morrisons the Best Deep Filled Mince Pies have some of the thickest pastry cases of any of the mince pies that I have sampled ahead of Christmas 2024. In my book, that is a good thing, because this is good pastry. It’s nice and crisp on the outside and not overly stodgy on the inside considering its thickness, which could have made it difficult to cook right through. If I were to be particularly critical then I might suggest that the texture could be a little more crumbly, but on the whole it is pretty good.
The mincemeat, when cold, is quite a densely packed and cohesive substance. It’s not as juicy or fruity as many of its competitors and the constituent pieces are mostly small. It has quite a tangy taste at first and I could pick out hints of citrus flavours and spices but not much trace of the alcohol.
Hot Taste Test
A short blast in the microwave is the way I’ve heated up all the mince pies in this series for the hot taste test, so for the sake of consistency, these Morrisons ‘the Best’ Deep Filled Mince Pies received the same treatment. The pastry remained very good once it had been warmed up, and I felt as though there was more of a buttery taste in evidence. The mincemeat was woken up a bit by the heat and I got a few nice juicy pieces of vine fruit, but overall it still came across as quite a dry and unadventurous concoction. They could probably have been a bit more daring with the recipe rather than staying well within their comfort zone.
Verdict
Overall, these are pretty good mince pies and the price point is decent for a premium variety pie. They can more than hold their own against most of their rivals and I wouldn’t hesitate to buy them again. They’d make a good addition to anyone’s Christmas dessert or snacking spread. The pastry is their real strength, whereas the mincemeat filling is good, solid, yet unspectacular fayre.
Nutrition
Typical values (per 100g):
- Energy: 388 kcal
- Fat: 13 g
- Saturates: 8.3 g
- Carbohydrate: 63.5 g
- Of which sugars: 32.9 g
- Fibre : 1.7 g
- Protein: 3.4 g
- Salt: 0.09 g