Hotel Chocolat Alternative Mince Pies

According to my Husband - Christmas begins when the first mince pie hits the supermarket shelves.  I don't have the same opinion - mince pies just aren't my bag.  I don't really get the whole mincemeat thing, and that's before we even reach the gluten issue!  Not eating mince pies at Christmas can make one feel somewhat Scrooge-like so I was delighted when the lovely people at Hotel Chocolat sent me some Alternative Mince Pies.

Hotel Chocolat is a store that I could browse in all day.  It has a brilliant mix of quirky concoctions and products for chocolate connoisseurs that I could drool over for hours.  When these chocolates arrived they were opened in seconds, and it took all the self-control I had not to eat them all before I photographed them!

These little chocolate cups are filled with salted caramel and praline and are a lot more special than a boring old mince pie.  No dried fruit, no soggy pastry, hallelujah!  They are seriously decadent but, hey, it's Christmas!  Their size makes them a perfect after-dinner-coffee accomaniment (or a sneaky wee before dinner snack!)  These would be a great secret Santa gift, or stocking filler, and I fully expect to be unwrapping a box of these on Christmas morning (hint, hint.) 

If you look on the Hotel Chocolat website, these chocolates are labeled with the crossed grain, in store they are marked as gluten free, and I have checked and double-checked the ingredients to confirm.  Enjoy!