December is now on the horizon, and all of the major supermarkets have started to stock up on mince pies.
ASDA, Tesco, Morrisons, Sainsbury's, Lidl, Aldi, M&S and Waitrose will all be stocking their shelves with Santa's favourite in-flight snack, and there's a fierce competition to be named the best.
This year's prestigious BBC Good Food Christmas Taste awards tested mince pies from the UK's major supermarkets to find out which came top.
In a perhaps surprising result, it wasn't an offering from one of the Big Six which took the crown - but a £2 pack of mince pies from the Spar.
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Here are all of the results from this year's BBC Good Food Christmas Taste Awards 2021 for the best mince pies.
Best classic mince pies
WINNER: Spar luxury mince pies, £2 (330g)
Our judges were impressed by the festive star design, and despite the open top, the mincemeat is golden and not burned.
The deep-filled pies have buttery pastry and jammy, well-spiced mincemeat with citrussy notes.
Best flavoured mince pies
WINNER: Waitrose cherry & almond frangipane topped mince pies, £2 (pack of four)
If you like Bakewell tarts, this is the pie for you.
The frangipane topping gives a good hit of almond flavour that works well with the mincemeat and isn‘t too sweet.
They’re also lovely served warm with cream.
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Tesco Finest 4 Crumble Topped Mince Pies With Salted Caramel & Festive Spice, £3 (4-pack)
Full of festive spices and caramel, our judges enjoyed this twist on a classic and the light crumble topping.
The heavily spiced filling reminded judges of gingerbread and lebkuchen, with sweet mincemeat throughout.
Best gluten-free mince pies
WINNER: M&S made without wheat mince pies, £2 (205g)
With a pretty, festive design and buttery, shortbread-style pastry, these pies, made without wheat, were the clear winner.
The filling has good bite and is full of juicy, spiced fruit, with strong citrus notes.
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Tesco Finest Free From 4 Mince Pies, £2 (4-pack)
These could easily pass as a non-gluten-free mince pie, with short, crumbly pastry.
The sticky mincemeat filling had a good texture and mild spicing.
