M&S Mince Pies awful this year - any alternatives?

The shortcrust pastry is too crumbly; probably it was made with soft cake flour -- very low gluten, but cheaper.

My own view is that flaky pastry is much more suited for mince-pies - it is firmer, being handled and layered more; also it goes browner.

Mincemeat is almost by definition a fairly cheap filling; to cut corners on this is just stingy.

Final recommendation; make your own!

Haven't tried them yet but Lidl Deluxe are getting good reviews -cheap enough to risk a box...

@Supercell might be worth checking M&S again, I thought I saw the red boxed ones in M&S Omni earlier this week.

LIDL Deluxe ones is getting good reviews - On C4's Secrets of Supermarket Own Brands.

I like the ALDI rum ones.

https://groceries.aldi.ie/en-GB/ALDIIE/p-all-butter-jamaican-rum-mince-tarts-290g-6-pack-specially-selected/4088600543390

Sliding slightly off topic here, but I got a big tin of shortbread last year in Aldi (blue with a stag on the lid), and it was absolutely gorgeous! I see them back in this year, but have managed to resist so far.....

Back on topic, I could cry for the days of the Gallic Kitchen and their mince pies, which cost a bomb but were huge and absolutely gorgeous so worth every penny. Nicest I think I've ever eaten.

I am disappointed to hear that M&S ones are bad, they were always a handy cheap(ish) option - but in recent years I'm more inclined to spend more on less in local bakeries that do these things right.

Please come back and review!

You'd buy a microwave for the price of an M&S dinner these days.

Mince pies are a little different.

Some of them are meant for microwave:

https://www.tesco.ie/groceries/en-IE/products/274308085

Have you ever tried making them? They are fairly easy to make. Just getting the joint between the 2 pieces of pastry is the only difficult part.

Not buying that!

Not so long ago I bought a sausage roll from a cafe that specialises in pastries and pies (Dunlea's Cork). Although they have a microwave combo type oven, the sausage roll came out limp, flaccid, lava-hot and horrible. And this is from the people that make them. I considered stopping the server from heating it but trusted their system to not ruin their own product.

No pastry should ever see the inside of a microwave, in my experience.

I know it's not efficient but I'll turn the oven on if I want to heat any pastry. Doesn't take long.

I'd imagine an air fryer would be great too but I've never used one.

The almond mince tarts from that Aldi Specially Selected Range are also delicious. I bought a pack to try, thinking the might be a nice change, and cut through the very sickly sweetness you can sometimes get from shop bought mince pies. My first one was absolutely delicious, and when I went back to confirm my opinion, the rest of the family had demolished the entire packet. Even Mr "I don't really like mince pies" had eaten at least two.

That's a pity... hopefully they get more stock in. The Supervalu bakery brandy mince pies are good ones too, but it will probably depend on your local store if they have them or not.

I was going to say the same!

If in Dublin or near an Avoca, go for those.

Also the Donnybrook Fair & Lotts & Co ones are great. Not cheap, but better than the standard supermarket offering as a xmas treat.

I tried "making my own". Got a jar of mincemeat, added some rum, put it into vol au vent cases, and dusted with icing sugar at the end. They looked good, and everyone ate them + whipped cream, but I don't like them at all, nor pudding nor Christmas cake so I let them at it. I don't have pastry hands, my mother did but I didn't inherit the pastry gene. I never buy them since I don't like them, but I wanted to use up the few frozen vol au vents in the freezer. Result.

The Independent did a Christmas Food Taste Test over the weekend. It's all behind a paywall, but here's the mince pie results.

Mince pies

Frangipane Mince Pies Aldi Specially Selected 258g/6 pack, €3.49 Heavy-handed on the almond flavour, from the Amaretto-infused mincemeat to the frangipane sponge lid and flaked almond topping, in a soft, cakey pastry. Divisive. ★★★

Handmade All Butter Mince Pies Dunnes Stores Simply Better 400g/6 pack, €4.99 These look exactly like the Lidl ones with their generous case and star of buttery shortcrust pastry, but the complex stout and brandy-infused nutty mincemeat gives these the edge. Very good. ★★★★★

Mince Pies infused with Whiskey and Pecan Lidl Deluxe 400g/6 pack, €5.49 Handmade in Galway, generous in size with an attractive sugar-dusted star of buttery shortcrust pastry that’s crumbly but not dry; good ratio of citrussy mincemeat filling textured with pecans and walnuts. Satisfying. ★★★★

Mini Mince Pies M&S Collection 246g/9 pack, €4.50 Nicely executed with a keen sharpness cutting the richness of the dark, intensely flavoured mincemeat, and a decent pastry case, though the star topping looks factory-made rather than homemade. Smart. ★★★★

All Butter Pastry Mini Mince Pies SuperValu Signature Tastes 250g/9 pack, €4.69 Again, a clever idea of a mini pie, and these look handmade, but are by far the sweetest of all those sampled, and with an odd smell and taste that’s weirdly cloying and off-putting. Unpleasant. ★

All Butter Pastry Mince Pies Tesco Finest 376g/6 pack, €3.50 Dry, crumbly pastry with a heavy dusting of sugar. The mincemeat is sweet but very tangy and nicely boozy with French brandy and port giving it good length. Serviceable. ★★★ 

Try the LIDL in- house bakery mince pies,I reckon they are possibly the best there is this year.They sell them in boxes of 4 in stores that have a bakery.

If it's too sweet, add grated cooking apple.

They're down to €1.99 from this Thursday.

I tried the Lidl Deluxe ones last year and I found the pastry was too undercooked for my liking. I'll give the bakery ones a go on Thursday.

Well I thought I'd report back on my initial home-made mince pies effort...... not too bad actually!

Jus-rol puff pastry and jar of mince bought - then realised I have neither a pie tin nor a cutter🙈. So I just used a ramekin to hack out two discs of pastry, stuck a spoon of mince on one and sealed them shut - forgot to brush the top with milk, stuck them in the airfryer to see what would happen, and I was pleasantly surprised with the result!

I think I'll be using the actual oven next time, and I'll try to be a bit more organised and remember all the steps and try to make them look a bit prettier (I literally cannot remember the last time, if ever, I used my oven for baking!) - but even my 10-minute thrown-together effort was a mile better than the bought Aldi ones!