Today's pie is some what distinctive as it's made from puff pastry. Strictly speaking I'm not sure you can call it a pie as it's more like a pastry, but hey nothing ventured, nothing gained! It sits slightly squat on the plate unaided by pastry casing. A full covering of granulated sugar glinting in the office lights. Not much of an aroma to speak of. It feels quite light in the hand. First impressions are quite good. The puff pastry is quit flaky and soft, glad that I've got a plate to catch the crumbs. The taste is sweet, but not too sweet and you can taste the filling too. Looking at the pie I'm disappointed at the lack of filling, there was plenty of room for more inside. However the over all impressions is still ok. All in all an OK pie / pastry.

Now here we have an excellent example of a Mince Pie. Well presented with 4 seam holes and a light sprinkling of sugar. A full looking pie, with the pastry hanging over the edge of the case. Those steam holes are usually a good sign of a very full pie. Yum. The aroma was amazing, now my taste buds are tingling.
First impressions, Disappointing! The pastry was too dry /hard, it didn't melt in the mouth, instead it was hard almost sharp in the mouth. Filling was good. Let me say that again, the filling was good, but there could have been a little more! Overall I had high expectations for this pie, and I was disappointed.

Today we are back to the 'normal' deep filled pies, but it's a little on the small side. Very well presented though with nice star design and light sprinkle of sugar. Not a lot of aroma and no steam holes, so we are not expecting any surprises. First impressions were sweet. Boy is there a lot of sugar in this pie. Almost overpowering. Pastry was a little soft but OK. As it's a small pie there was not a massive amount of filling. I couldn't make out any texture though. In summary, a pie for people with a the 'sweet tooth'. Not my cup of tea!

A very interesting pie today. Another of the 'flat' design, but this had a very home made feel. This pie also survived the post, and there are not may pies that can do that (Mr Kipling). Not a fussy pie, simple, no clever design or steam hole. Just a perfect coating of granulate sugar. For a 'flat' pie it's a good weight, here hoping for loads of lovely filling... The Aroma is very pleasant and slightly different from the other pies. First impressions were good, light pastry with a slight crunch. Though flat pies tend to have less filling, this pie did not disappoint, it was literally stuffed full. The filling was also good with both texture and fruity. In summary a lovely Mince Pie, with such a home made look and taste, that you have to wonder if Riverford Farm Shop have a bunch of grannies locked up in a Sweat Shop making Mince Pies all day!

This pie is a very pleasant surprise on a Monday afternoon. Old of the 'flat' style pies so wide but not very deep. So, not much to look at, no clever design on top or steam hole, just an honest pie. My pie had an amazingly generous covering of granulated sugar and there was sugar in the box too! almost too much sugar! First impressions were good, pastry was soft and light with a little crunch. Filling, though thin was nice too, it had texture and fruit. This pie is an excellent example of a good 'flat' style pie, it just leave me wanting another!

A fine looking pie, almost perfect? Nice star design incorporating a steam hole. Even coating of granulated sugar. Nice domed top. This could be an amazing pie. The steam hole is always a good sign of a pie that is full of mincemeat. First impressions were disappointing though. Pastry was too hard / over cooked. Inside it was full of air not mincemeat! I feel robbed. What filling there was tasted rather nice, fruity and with texture. The pie that started with such promise, failed to deliver where it counts.

A second test for the "Big Boy" of Mince Pies. The Morrisons 4 Luxury Mince Pie is a meal in itself! One of the largest pies on the market it dwarfs other pies. A good looking pie, with plenty of caster sugar on top. First impressions good, pastry about right soft with a slight crunch. plenty of filling with fruit and texture too. Overall experience is a little sweet, but still a very good pie!

This has to be one of the best looking pies out there. Simple star design, even coating of granulated sugar making the pie glisten in the light. I'l looking forward to this already. My pie seemed to have a issue where the lid joined the base, sort of double lip, but it was still attached and ready to eat. First impressions were a little disappointing, the pastry in the base was too soft and a tad under cooked, where as the lid was firmer a better cooked. The pie was well filled too so plenty of filling to try. The filling was OK, had texture so I was able to distinguish the fruit, but it was a little too sweet. Overall a pleasant experience, but not the best. I could eat another one though so that's a good sign....