The 10 Best mince pies

Starting to fill up the cupboards for the Christmas hordes? Get started with a few boxes of these buttery treats...

1. Fortnum & Mason mini Raphael chocolate

£9.95 for 12, fortnumandmason.com

This combination shouldn't work, but bizarrely it does. It is innovative stuff.

2. Marks & Spencer Handcrafted Ultimate all butter

£2.99 for four, marksandspencer.com

The pasty-to-filling ratio of these festive morsels, which are brand new this year, is spot on.

3. The Co-operative Truly Irresistible mini

£2.20 for nine, co-operativefood.co.uk

These pretty tarts are a mouthful each, but are bursting with flavour.

4. Greggs

30p each or £1.40 for six, greggs.co.uk

You could easily get away with pretending that a plate of these superb-value mince pies are homemade.

5. Bettys Continental style

£11.50 for 12, bettys.co.uk

These are so fresh that they're best eaten within three days of delivery (or frozen for Christmas), but you're unlikely to have much trouble.

6. Harrods limited edition orange and Cointreau

£9.95, harrods.com

These posh pies are bound to be a talking point at any gathering.

7. Heston from Waitrose puff pastry

£3.29 for six, waitrose.com

You can always trust Heston to put a quirky slant (pine-flavour sugar) on a traditional favourite.

8. Tesco Finest deep-filled mince pies with Courvoisier

£2.50 for six, tesco.com

The thin pasty is buttery and crunchy, while the filling is packed with glace cherries, almonds and walnuts.

9. Thomas the Baker

£2.80 for 6, thomasthebaker.co.uk

Made by an award-winning bakery in Yorkshire, these pies use a recipe that's been passed down for generations.

10. Morrisons deep filled

£2 for 6, morrisons.co.uk

If ever there was a taste of Christmas, this is it – chewy, gooey dried fruit, with candied peels and festive spices.