If Christmas has a taste, it is that of the mince pie. Deliciously spiced fruit covered by a buttery, sweet pastry – it is the epitome of indulgence. And love 'em or hate 'em, at this time of year, they're not going anywhere.
In the run-up to Christmas, many bakers have created their own twist on the little wonders, with some more traditional, and others holding a few surprises and secret ingredients.
Here we have four mince pies from established Merseyside bakeries with only one winner.
READ MORE: Man charged £1k a minute after dropping passengers at Manchester Airport
READ MORE: Much-loved Italian opening new venue in city centre
Homebaked, Anfield
The Homebaked mince pie is rather traditional in style but it is bloody good.
As soon as the pastry touches the inside of your mouth, it melts into a lovely, buttery, sugary crumb. The mincemeat also tastes great: fruity and spiced with amazing hints of citrus.
The pastry/mincemeat ratio is spot on, allowing you to experience the flavour and texture of both perfectly. This is the pinnacle.
Price: 50p per mince pie
Rating: 5/5
Address: 197-199 Oakfield Rd, Liverpool L4 0UF
The Wild Loaf, Dingle
Filled with a generous portion of mince, The Wild Loaf's mince pie has a darker pastry than average.
The pastry is quite crunchy, but tastes great. With a delicious, citrusy filling, it is brilliantly boozy – containing brandy and cider, making it a real adults adult mince pie.
The pie tastes extremely homemade and it's evident that much effort and thought went into its creation.
Price: £3 per mince pie
Rating: 4/5
Address: 133 Sefton St, Liverpool L8 4BX
Satterthwaites, Crosby
If you asked me to describe a mince pie from my childhood, I would describe to you the Satties mince pie.
It's soft, buttery, crumbly pastry filled with perfectly spiced fruit. Quite thin, not overly sweet and beautifully basic, this mince pie is completely no-nonsense – and I love it.
Traditional and unpretentious, the pies prove popular with the people of Crosby and the surrounding areas, prompting them to make 13,000 of them in preparation for the festive period.
Price: £5 for 6 mince pies
Rating: 4/5
Address: 51 Coronation Road, Crosby, Liverpool L23 5RE
Greggs
While I love a Greggs, their mince pies are a disappointment.
Much too sweet, the filling is more of a jam. It tasted cheap and processed, and so did the pastry, which had nothing special about it whatsoever. It was also sad to see one of the pies had exploded all over the box, leaving a sticky mess everywhere.
Not awful, but certainly not good, I'll stick to the sausage rolls.
Price: £2.15 for 6 mince pies
Rating: 2/5
So what do you think? Let us know in the comments and follow us on X (formerly Twitter) @LivEchonews
128 faces from Liverpool's nightclubs in the 70s, 80s and 90s
Receive top stories on everything going on in Merseyside including events, shopping and food and drink through our newsletter by signing up here