Hotel Chocolat alternative mince pies

In my house, my wife is the only one who likes a mince pie. However, we all like chocolate - who doesn't? For those of us who aren't fans, Hotel chocolat have come up with a range of alternative mince pies - pecan pie and burnt caramel praline chocolates.

On appearance alone, these are a winner! Hotel chocolat make some good looking chocolates, that's for sure.

A box of 6 alternative pies will set you back £7.50, so maybe one to put on your letter to Santa! You can get 3 boxes for £6 each, but this is good quality chocolate, so it's worth it.

First up is the Pecan pie, which is a dessert I love! I think pecans are a great dessert nut and this chocolate contained a whole pecan inside, meaning that the nutty taste lingers throughout. Maple can be a bit hit or miss, sometimes I find it can be too strong and almost alcoholic in taste, but on this occasion is just brought some sweetness to the party, and paired with the pecan nut it was delicious.

I think Hotel Chocolat do texture contrasts so well, and the crispy pastry pieces in this were spot on, maintaining that crisp texture, in spite on the gooey maple caramel encased within it.

I very much enjoyed this chocolate, and it was lovely to have a pecan nut rather than a hazelnut or peanut, as both of those tend to be over used in chocolate.

Next up is the Burnt caramel praline and - as a lover of both ingredients - I was very excited to give this one a go.

There isn't much to say about this, apart from Hotel Chocolat probably do caramel centres better than any other chocolatier. The caramel here was soft, and with a good amount of salt. I could taste both the praline and the caramel, they worked harmoniously together and again the textures of the crunchy praline and gooey caramel was perfect.

I loved the star design on the top of this one and again the pastry shell gives the chocolate a bit more of a bite.

These were a massive hit, they won't replace mince pies if you're a lover, but they are a fun and tasty alternative. Most definitely one to try.

Munchie stuff