Mince pies are undoubtedly one of the best things about Christmas – and we should know. Here at Good Housekeeping, we start eating them as early as May. It’s called research.
And we thought we’d seen it all when it came to mince pies. Just this week, M&S launched a ‘mince pie’ for people who hate mince pies, while Sainsbury’s announced a new mince pie advent calendar.
But online organic retailer Abel & Cole has just upped the ante with its new-for-2026 giant mince pie. It’s the ultimate shortcut for anyone hosting a crowd this Christmas: the sharing pie is ready to slice and serve. After all, making mince pies from scratch can be a bit of a faff.
Designed to be the festive centrepiece of your dessert table, it serves up to 10 people – or eight particularly hungry guests.
Inside, the zesty, fruity filling – think raisins, apples, currants and sultanas – is spiked with Cognac and sits in buttery, flaky organic pastry. It's even topped with cute pastry stars. It has all the familiar flavours of a classic mince pie, just supersized – and, better still, someone else has done all the baking. Serve it warm or at room temperature, with a generous dollop of sweet, boozy brandy butter or fresh cream. It certainly makes a strong case for skipping the Christmas pudding.
At £14, it works out at £1.40 per person if you’re serving 10. That’s an impressively low-effort way to round off Christmas lunch, especially when the oven is already full and you have quite enough to think about without making your own pastry.
The pie is already available to order from Abel & Cole, so you don’t even have to wait until Christmas Day to try it. We’ll put the kettle on...
Stacey looks after all food and drink reviews — from coffee pods and veg boxes, to natural wine and tequila. Stacey is also founder of Crummbs, where she’s written nearly 2,000 restaurant and hotel reviews since 2013. Prior to this, Stacey wrote hundreds of in-depth buying guides for the Independent, i newspaper and BBC Good Food, as well as reviewing restaurants and interviewing celebrities in her column at Balance Magazine. Stacey has also appeared in BAFTA-nominated BBC documentary Blood, Sweat & Takeaways, where she investigated South East Asia's food production industry, appearing on both Newsnight and BBC World Service to share her findings. Regularly checking out the latest restaurants, bars and product launches, Stacey also loves experimenting with recipes at home, and is a WSET-certified wine and spirits expert, with over 10 years of experience in the business. You can follow Stacey on Instagram @crummbs_uk
