Sparkling savings on your Christmas treats from Mrs Crunch and a warming recipe for beef and chestnut wellingtons
OVER Christmas you may have a stream of visitors popping in.
So ’tis the season to make sure cupboards are well stocked with tasty treats – including booze, snacks and chocolates.
I’ve found the best deals on these festive favourites.
And with a few clever recipes you’ll be ready to entertain . . .
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Chocolate delights
PUSH the boat out for Asda’s Extra Special chocolate tree, £7.
Guylian Belgian Chocolate Sea Shells, 500g, are now £8 at Waitrose, saving £2.
For little chocolate lovers, save £1 on Sainsbury’s Santa’s Grotto Sweets Selection, 250g, now £2.
Get three chocolate treats for £10 at Morrisons, or they’re £4 each, including Toblerone Tinys, 415g, Cadbury Heroes, 500g, Cadbury Roses, 500g and Nestle Quality Street, 550g. Ends Sunday.
Co-op Prosecco Truffles, £5, make a perfect gift.
Tea-time treats
PICK up an in-store made fruit or chocolate chip panettone for £2 from Morrisons.
At Waitrose six Stollen Slices or 12 Stollen Bites are £3 each, or buy two for £5.
A classic collection of McVitie’s Family Circle Biscuits is half-price at Morrisons, now £2.
Exquisite Prosecco Panettone is £5.99 at Aldi, which has tinned Exquisite Biscuits for £2.99.
Morrisons has McVitie’s Victoria Biscuits, 650g, for £3, saving £1.
Kids will be enchanted by Asda’s Musical Christmas Cookie Tin, 600g, £6.
Fine wine offers
GET 25 per cent off any six bottles of wine at Tesco and Sainsbury’s.
Value offers include Tesco Finest The Trilogy Malbec 75cl, £11, Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Pinot Blanc down £1 at £6.
Get selected wines for half price at M&S including Casa del Colores Cabernet Sauvignon, down from £10 to £5.
Louis Raynald Chateauneuf-du-Pape is down from £15 to £9 at Morrisons, which also has tasty Maurice & Fils Chablis down from £12 to £9.
Fizz up the festivities
M&S has Orange and Cranberry Bucks Fizz at half price, now £3. Or save £10 there on Oudinot Rose champagne, down to £18.
Save £4 on Menestrello Prosecco at Morrisons, down to £5.50.
Team GB Champagne is £9.99, from Aldi – great for toasting the best of Britain. At Waitrose, save £10 on Bertrand de Bessac Champagne, £13.99.
Save £4 on Wm Morrison Champagne Brut, now £15.
M&S has Louis Vertay Brut and Abel Charlot Brut champagnes at half price, now £16.50.
At Morrisons you can save £10 on a bottle of Piper Heidsieck, now £20.
Like your liquor?
THESE make great gifts, or the starting point for some seasonal cocktails.
Baileys and Christmas go together like cheese and crackers, and at Morrisons the festive favourite is now half price, down to £10 for a litre. Offer ends Sunday.
Aldi’s Premium Whisky Gift Box, £12.99, is great for those who like a drop of Scotch after their turkey dinner.
Sip a festive gin and tonic and save £4 on Gordon’s Gin, which is now down to £15 at Morrisons.
At the same store you can save £6 on a 70cl bottle of Southern Comfort, down to £15.
Individual beef and chestnut wellingtons
(Serves four)
YOU NEED:
2tbsp sunflower oil
4 shallots, peeled and finely chopped
200g chestnut mushrooms, wiped and finely chopped
200g chestnuts, cooked, peeled and roughly chopped
4 beef fillet steaks, 200g approx
400g puff pastry
1 egg, beaten, to glaze
salt and black pepper, to season
METHOD:
Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6. Heat 1tbsp oil in a pan and add the shallots and mushrooms.
Cook over a gentle heat until softened then add the chestnuts. Season and stir then blitz in a food processor until almost smooth.
Season and oil the steaks. Seal them in a hot pan for a minute each side. Divide the pastry into four and roll out to squares big enough to enclose a steak. Place the steaks on the squares and spoon the chestnut mix on top.
Then brush the edges of the pastry with egg then fold the pastry over the steak.
Trim the edges as needed and press down with a fork to seal. Re-roll any leftover pastry and cut out leaves to decorate.
Lift on to a baking tray, brush the wellingtons with the remaining egg and bake for 25 minutes until golden and piping hot all the way through.
Recipe from
