December is here and Christmas is getting closer but will it be a white one? We hope so, and to get you in the mood we’ve created a snowflake builder that lets you draw your own snowflake. The best designs will win a prize so get your woolly creative caps on, warm up some mince pies and let it snow. Get started here.

The Review

Six Mince Pies. Golden shortcrust pastry with a sweet mincemeat filling, lightly dusted with sugar. Delicious served with a warm dollop of thick cream

‘This was a difficult pie to review being the 1st June and one of the hottest days of the year. The first taste was one of joy after many pieless months. A just above average pie, that is perhaps a little soft, that’s been stripped of anything festive and is sold as Asda’s all-year-round mince pie. A good option to see pie fans going through the non-festive season.’ – Paul

‘Summer, a time for ice cream, cold drinks and sun burn, not mince pies. Lucky for us the great giant of Asda has stood up to festive routine and said “We want summer mince pies”. They got what they wanted, on Monday 1st June 2009 our colleague Paul unveiled the Summer Pie. My first impression was shock then awe  then shock and then acceptance. Tasting the strange pie I was greeted with seasonal taste of mince. A Haileys comet of flavour. Unfortunately it wasn’t the best of pies, good amount of filling, average taste, but a little soggy. Maybe its the weather but I think the classic pie belongs to December.’ – Adam

‘Lo and behold, it’s another mince pie… in June!? (where is my interrobang key?). Picked up by Mince Pie Paul on a recent trip to the mainland they were an unexpected surprise in the office this Monday morning. I couldn’t actually remember if I liked mince pies or not so was a little nervous, and the memories of crunchy Weavels filled my every thought. Thankfully these pies are a near Weavel free zone – the mince was moist and almost totally free of funny crunch bits. The pastry was pretty good too and the box has a polka-dot summer feel, but none of these points can elevate it from a middle of the road ranking. The box also says to eat it warm with cream – ice cream is a much better bet during these hot summer days. My personal opinion, save the pies for winter.’ – Mince Pie Virgin Whore

The Review

Six traditional Christmas mince pies. Deep filled mince pies made to our long-established exclusive recipe with Fortnum & Mason Mincemeat. Chucky, evocative and appropriately moreish.

‘The first thing you’ll notice on approaching this pie is the size, it is by far the tallest pie we have tested. It is a monster weighing in at an unhealthy 83 grams! With allowance for the slight damage in transit and working on the principal that bigger is not necessarily bigger, I would give these an average mark for appearance, there is nothing apart from the size that differentiates these from their competitors. The pastry is tasty but too crumbly. I’ve started on the negatives but there is a big positive, the mince meat is delicious. It is based on their own unique recipe and there is no reason to change it. If you think bigger is better and money is no object then these are worth a try.’ – Paul

‘The hour had finally come, the gigantic box was opened and we were allowed to taste the expensive goodness. These Fortnum and mason pies are a mountain of a pastry, they are indeed deep filled at a 3.5cm (average 2.5cm). The first thing you notice apart from the height is the smell and the inviting hint of cinnamon. Whilst devouring the pie it did disintegrate quicker than hoped, I lost a few tasty morsels as crumble debris scattered my desk. With this in mind I still feel that these are a top pie. This is a pie with a different taste, a finer taste, a taste to suitable to sit down with on a leather chair and a pipe.’ – Adam

‘Timelessly classic F&M packaging contains what is probably the deepest, weightiest and most masculine individual pie on the market this year. Huge, with lots of cinnamon flavour and great crumbly pastry. This is a proud – almost arrogant – pie that’s untroubled by the credit crunch, dieting or chi-chi styling. Not one to nibble out of politeness at an aging relative’s house – this is a pie to eat when you are hungry. Seasonal genius: 9.5.’ – Marco

‘Great tasting pastry but very hard to eat due to it’s depth – this pie is very deep and the cavernous chamber is filled to the top. Impressive. My mince did have a few crunchy bits in which always make my brow crinkle in discomfort, but overall it’s not too bad. The mince is maybe a little powerful for my taste so I saved the pastry until last and boy, was it good!’ – Mince Pie Virgin

The Review

6 luxury all butter mince pies. Mince pies made with all butter pastry, filled with mincemeat, apple, brandy, almonds and glacé cherries.

‘Not a bad mince pie if you don’t mind stodgy pastry. I’m not sure if we just got a bad pack, perhaps this batch were all slightly undercooked.’ – Paul

‘Ambitiously billed as ‘Truly irresistible, luxury, all butter mice pies’, this pie sets the bar high – and clears it: delicious pastry, nuts and a sweet, boozy taste. Coop proves they can do luxury as well as stamps. Brilliant.’ – Marco

‘I think the word ‘luxury’ on this box was a typo, it shouldn’t be there, the pastry was soft and soggy, and the mince full of hard bits. It’s a pity as the holly motif that adorns the richly coloured lid hinted at something better. After co-op’s delicious mini mince pies I was expecting a lot more from these bigger siblings. A let down.’ – Mince Pie Virgin

The Review

All butter shortcrust pastry deep filled with a rich fruity mincemeat with vine fruits, almonds, dried aprocots & Courvoisier® VS Cognac

‘Not my favourite; that may be due to the nuts and cognac which I am not keen on. Sometimes things just need to be kept simple!’ – Su

‘An excellent pie with flavoursome filling and delicious pastry. I was expecting my first 10/10 rating but my filling had slightly too much alcohol for me, this didn’t seem to be the case the minis and could have been a one off. These pies looked swollen with filling but the weight didn’t seem to match the appearance. This was because of the air pocket caused by the curved lid which also added to the crumbliness. Having said that, if the pie was full I think the mincemeat flavour would be too strong. I know they are following the current fashion for deep filled pies but personally I would prefer a flat lid and a pie which held together better. These pies do have one outstanding feature and I have awarded these my first Terrific rating for packaging which I think is suitable for a pie of such calibre.’ – Paul

‘Like second place in a beauty contest, the connoisseur is a tasty treat but not the finished article. It has a delicate subtle taste of alcohol, not overpowering like some other pies. COUGH (Walkers Glenfiddich) COUGH. A good size with a light pastry, this pie is up there with the best of them so far. Expensive but very enjoyable.’ – Adam

‘Faberge-style packaging screams exclusivity, which the pie lives up to. Firm, buttery pastry with evidence of port in the mincemeat. A firm, luxury pie that should please the most demanding of connoisseurs. But how do they pursue their passion and sharpen their skills once Christmas has passed?’ – Marco

‘Simple, but stylish, this is a fine looking mince pie, but does the flavour live up to expectations? So far the entire M&S mince pie range has scored very highly with the exception of their the atrocious Top Iced pies, so a lot was expected of the top of the range Connoisseur mince pies. For me however, they don’t quite live up the hype. That’s not to say they are bad, they’re not, these are very tasty pies but they don’t have that special Christmas magic I was hoping for. The pie has a little too much pastry meaning the first bites seem a little boring with no flavours standing out. After a few more bites the excellent mincemeat filling begins to come to the fore but it’s too little too late. For me, these pies don’t warrant the extra expense over the standard M&S range, both are just as good, so unless you want to impress your friends and families with premium pies look elsewhere.’ – Mince Pie Virgin

The Review

6 deep filled mince pies. Rich shortcrust pastry cases filled with mincemeat.

‘Good, robust pastry, although the lid came off in my hand. However, if, like my wife, you enjoy adding clotted cream inside your mince pie then that is a strong design feature. Taste was a little sugary, which did not match up to the pastry, but, all in all, not a bad entry-level pie.’ – Marco

‘These mince pies look better than they taste. There’s nothing wrong with them, but nothing really right with them either. They are average, average pastry, average filling. They do have one benefit (if you can call it that), the lids come off, so children or indeed childish people can remove all the filling and put the pie back together! Ah, that brings back memories.’ – Paul

‘This pie was okay, it is another one of those run of the mill standard pies. It looked average, tasted alright until I discovered some crunchy bits. Crunchy bits are the enemy of the mince pie tester, the undiscovered evil. If you want complacency try these, if you want a delicious pie try something else.’ – Adam

The Review

6 mince pies made with organic rich all butter shortcrust pastry, filled with a traditional organic mincemeat made from plump vine fruits, apple, sweet almonds, orange & lemon zest, seasonal spicy and brandy

‘This is a difficult pie to review seeing as it doesn’t taste of much, but is still nice! The buttery pastry does mask the flavour of the filling which, although has a hint of alcohol, doesn’t stand out in any way. The filling is crunchy in parts which looses marks. They have strayed from the path, got slightly lost, but found their way in the end. ‘ – Paul

‘I was looking forward to this pie. But like the box, that looks great from afar, it suffers from closer inspection. I think I know why – it is manufactured by Walkers and has a similar taste as their pies, thankfully not so strong so it’s possible to finish to Duchy. The texture of the mince is different from all the other pies I’ve tried. It’s a bit like apple peel, in places, but that’s quite pleasant. Overall I was a little disappointed in this pie, I wanted more from it.’ – Mince Pie Virgin

The Review

12 Rich Fruit Mince Pies. Golden shortcrust pastry crammed with sweet, fruity mince meat.

‘These pies are full of tasty filling which has a good flavour without being too over-powering. The pasty has good colour, holds together well and avoids soggy bottom syndrome. Excellent value for money.’ – Paul

‘Asda have made a standard, regulation pie. It does noting special, but neither does it offend. Pasty is okay, if a little soggy on the base. The filling flavoursome but a little sugary – maybe  golden caster sugar with a hint of light demerara sugar. Eating too many of these pies in one sitting is not advised, but individually they’re fine so long as you have a sweet tooth.’ – Mice Pie Virgin

‘This pie came with rumours of greatness, in previous years pie tasters had said this could be the one to beat. But this year it was not the case, it was good however not great. The pastry is ok and filling is adequate. Good price for feeding a large family.’ – Adam

The Review

18 deep filled mince pies, made with the finest fruits (catering pack)

‘The heavy, catering pack, utilitarian branding and crash-proof, internal packaging make this the ideal pie to airdrop to troops in Afghanistan. However, the filling belies the industrial image, which is less sugary than you would expect and far superior to many other mass-market pies. Pastry base is a little flimsy though – paratroops would need something more substantial. Tasty, likeable and unassuming.’ – Marco

‘Very average taste and manufacturered look… the pastry was very soft, as though they were stale and the filling was very jammy rather than meaty.’ – Su

‘It does what it says on the pack, there are 18 of them, they are deep filled and they taste cheap. These soft mince pies contain non-food like flavours which I can’t put my finger on, a soapy sponge dipped in brown sauce flavoured jam comes to mind.’ – Paul

‘The packaging suggests that these are used for the masses. The subtle ‘Catering Pack’ sign gave me the clue that these would cut corners in the taste and look department. They were very sweet and crammed with a brown jammy texture. The flavour of these ‘pies’ was of a soggy Weetabix with a soft pastry.’ – Adam

The Review

6 Asda extra special, rich fruit brandy mince pies. Crumbly all-butter shortcrust pastry,crammed with rich, brandy-soaked vine fruits and sweet glacé cherries

‘VERY strong brandy taste, literally soaked in brandy, way too much. Only had 2 bites and had to leave the rest!’ – Su

‘I had high hopes for these after my initial research had shown great reviews but for me there was too much of a brandy flavour which over-powered everything else. They look almost perfect with their delicate snowflake embellishment only let down slightly by the pale in colour of the pastry. A good pie for those who like brandy or those who choose to warm their pies and eat with vanilla ice cream.’ – Paul

‘This pie looks the part, it has a beautiful snow flake on top and is a good size. It is however a different story when tasting the part. When bitten the pie revealed a millennium dome-esque space void of the promised filling. The mincemeat was chewy and drowned in brandy, I thought I would become accustomed to the taste throughout the eating but i did not. I failed to finish this pie.’ – Adam