Iceland Luxury Mince Pies

'Iceland Luxury 6 Mince Pies'

Hello again. Welcome to what is now my 24th Mince Pie of the season. December is fast approaching and I need to get my present shopping done. If anyone would like to know what to get me for Christmas, I quite like Mince Pies. Lets get on with it then!

Vendor: Iceland
Price: £1.86

Pack size: 6

First impression: These are the 'most expensive' pies I have purchased so far. At £1.86 per box (or 32p per pie) and branded 'Luxury', was I about to find out why DO mums go to Iceland? I must say I was very impressed with the golden foil tray (see below) and would definitely serve them out to guests round during the holidays. Nice touch. The pies themselves were actually quite big (as you can see a few photos down using the international pie measurement system) and they were dusted with POWDERED SUGAR! More on this later. (4.5/5) 


Pastry: Now then. I must explain that I am a firm believer that Mince Pies should be dusted with powdered/icing sugar and NOT caster or granulated. There are two reasons for this 1) The texture of corse ground sugar is not nice and has not placed atop a pie. 2) Aesthetically, icing sugar looks more like snow. The pastry itself was OK, nothing to rave about. It was firm in texture and once in my gob turned quite dusty in the mouth. Kudos on the sugar, though  (2/5) 

Filling: Another thing which I love is Brandy. I also love when Brandy is in stuff. Like Mince Pies. These Pies (according to the packet) contain Brandy. Excellent I think to myself. Taking the first bite into the mincemeat and my face lit up like Christmas (lol) the immediate aroma and tang of the citrus and spice was delightful. I found the filling to be plentiful and very good ratio to that of the pastry. However, there was a weird aftertaste that I couldn't quite pinpoint (after 3 pies) I can only assume that it was the 'brandy' (or brandy flavouring) in question used here. I wont let this distract too much, but when you a gulping tea to take the taste away... (2.5/5)


Rating overall: An attractive pie with promise. Maybe I am just picky. Deffo get these out and share them with your family (so you don't have to eat them all solo) Iceland, no disrespect fam. It's not me, its you. x

Total score (9/ 15)