Whatโ€™s your favourite Christmas nibble – mince pies, perhaps? Thereโ€™s so much lovely stuff to choose from isnโ€™t there? Delicious food and the excuse to indulge is one of my favourite parts of Christmas and it’s the reason Iโ€™m scared to stand on the weighing scales come New Year!

Boxed own brand mince pies

Mince pies. The arrival of a single shelf of boxed own brand mince pies is the first sign that Christmas is coming. Itโ€™s usually just after I come back from my summer holidays that they appear and makes me hate them slightly. But then as the weeks move into Autumn and someone at work, a Christmas lover, has one on their break thatโ€™s when the craving for spiced fruit and sugary pastry kicks in.

Now Iโ€™m a little bit fussy about my mince pies. I like a gorgeously warm, homemade one slathered in cream. Sometimes Christmas time gets a little busy and baking just isnโ€™t practical and so Iโ€™ll turn to shop bought treats. We all need a break from being a full on domestic goddess even at Christmas time!

Taste test of the best mince pies on the market

BBC Good Food Magazine is a great source of Christmas food inspiration, their November edition is the go-to for all things tinsel, turkey and treats in our house. They have kindly (though I imagine it wasnโ€™t VERY hard work) conducted a blind taste test of the best mince pies on the market this year and in doing so have saved us all the sadness of a disappointing shortcrust or a gritty fruit filling and we present to you the results.

When you think of delicious festive food itโ€™s likely that Marks and Spencer or Waitrose will be at the front of your hungry mind. Glossy adverts, interesting flavours and higher price point make you assume they would be the best at everything. Not so!! Morrisons’ All Butter Deep Filled Mince Pies won the taste test and at ยฃ2 for a box of 6 we think thatโ€™s amazing news.

โ€˜Free Fromโ€™ Mince Pie category

Morrisons also won the โ€˜Free Fromโ€™ Mince Pie category and the Christmas Cake category. The Yorkshire based supermarket really know how to create a tasty treat that is perfect with a cup of tea on a gloomy December afternoon. The judges described the winning mince pies as having a โ€˜buttery, almost shortbread-like pastryโ€™ filled with โ€˜whole raisins and sultanasโ€™ with a โ€˜nice balance of sweetness and boozeโ€™.

Well, donโ€™t they sound epic?!