Top 8 mince pies you can buy this Christmas

They may be high in calories and far too rich for our sedentary lifestyles, but it wouldn’t be Christmas without mince pies. Here are Roz Crowley’s top choices for your festive feast.

This year I took for granted that past winners would deliver great ones, and, while covering some old ground, I found some terrific new additions to the listing, many of them in attractive presentation boxes to use as gifts.

Some of the taste team liked a lot of fruit, some much less, but all were fussy about the texture and taste of the fruit and the pastry that encased it. Those that made the final eight deserved their spot.