What should you pick up from the supermarket this Christmas? These top picks and award winners are the best affordable Christmas puddings, showstopper desserts and sweet treats around for 2019. Feast your eyes (and your trolley).

Christmas puddings

Lots of award winners this year, and some new flavour combinations too.

• Lidl Deluxe 24 month matured Christmas pudding with cognac, £12.00 for 907g, in store only. BBC Good Food winner, Good Housekeeping joint winner 79/100, Quality Food Awards winner, Olive magazine silver medal, Which? Magazine 5th place. Strong cognac flavour and plenty of fruit. < MOST AWARDS WON
• Iceland Luxury 12 Month Matured Christmas Pudding, £4.00 for 400g. Good Housekeeping joint winner 79/100. Shot through with warming alcohol, heady Christmas spices and crunchy almond and pecan pieces.
• Asda Extra Special 9 Month Matured Luxury Christmas Pudding, £7.00 for 907g. Olive magazine winner, Which? Magazine joint 2nd place 73/100. Glossy, with sweet and tasty fruits. < BEST VALUE TRADITIONAL PUD

Best of the rest:

• Morrisons The Best Panettone & Amaretto Centred Christmas Pudding, £8.00 for 800g. Good Housekeeping ‘pudding with a twist’ joint 2nd place 79/100. Christmas pudding with dried fruits, amaretto, candied cherries, panettone and cider with a melt in the middle cherry sauce centre, all topped with rose gold glitter.
• Aldi Specially Selected Exquisite Vintage Pudding, £12.99 for 800g. Which? Magazine winner 76/100. Cakey texture, plenty of fruit and nuts and an orangey tang, I will happily vouch for the tastiness of this pud.
• M&S The Collection 18 Month Matured Vintage Christmas Pudding, £14.00 for 800g. Which? Magazine joint 2nd place 73/100. Rich flavour, soft texture and a hint of booze.
• Tesco Finest nine-month matured mulled wine Christmas pudding, £5.00 for 400g, also in 3-for-2 offer. BBC Good Food Awards highly commended, Oliva magazine silver medal. Intense mulled wine spices, lots of plump fruit, plenty of citrus and a balanced, boozy backbone.
• Co-op Irresistible 18 Month Matured Christmas Pudding, £3.00 for 400g, in store only. Which? Magazine 6th place 70/100, Good Housekeeping 6th place 76/100. Good texture, generous amount of fruit and nuts. < LOWEST PRICE

Gluten free Christmas pud

Waitrose & Partners gluten-free Christmas pudding, £1.80 for 100g (serves 1). BBC Good Food Awards highly commended. Subtle flavours, pleasant level of alcohol, juicy texture and glossy exterior. Also available in 400g size (£5.00), which can be found at Ocado too.

Showstopper festive desserts

Winner winner, after Christmas dinner. Hope you like caramel and toffee…

• M&S Sticky Toffee Pudding Trifle, above left, £12.00 (serves 8). Good Housekeeping winner, BBC Good Food highly commended. Rich toffee sauce, cream, custard, sticky toffee sponge and a topping of chocolate curls, this is a generous, show-stopping trifle.
• Morrisons Salted Caramel, Pecan & Pavlova Wreath, above right, £6.00 for 435g, serves 6. Which? Magazine Winner. Perfect mix of sweet and salty, with crunchy pecans and toffee. < BEST VALUE WINNER
• Sainsbury’s Taste The Difference Triple Chocolate Puddings, £12.00 for 6. Good Housekeeping 2nd place. Intensely chocolatey, topped with a silver pewter star sprinkled in silver lustre.

Best of the rest:

• Sainsbury’s Taste The Difference White Chocolate & Raspberry Snow Dome, above left, £12.00 (serves 12, not suitable for vegetarians). BBC Good Food highly commended, Olive magazine silver medal, Which? Magazine 4th place. Layers of tasty raspberry compote and raspberry mousse in a crisp white chocolate and feuilletine geometric shell. Pre-order for Xmas pickup here.
• Co-op Irresistible Spiced Salted Caramel Roulade, above right, £4.00 for 420g (serves 6), in store only. Which? Magazine 2nd place, Good Housekeeping 11th place. Flavourful meringue that will work for both adults and kids. < PENNY’S PICK
• ASDA Extra Special Millionaire’s Winter Village Dessert, £8.00 for 775g (serves 8), in store only. Quality Food Awards commended, Good Housekeeping 8th place. Mini chocolate houses nestled in Belgian white chocolate mousse.
• Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Lemon & Passion Fruit Buche, £10.00 for 672g. BBC Good Food highly commended. Zesty and sharp with modern-retro feel, stylish and light dessert.
• Lidl Deluxe Espresso Martini Roulade, £4.99 for 529g, in store only (frozen). Quality Food Awards highly commended, Which? Magazine 7th place. Boozy, showy and with a hit of alcohol, best for adults-only gatherings.

Other sweet treats

Chocolate and sweet canapés for festive nibbling.

• Co-op Irresistible Belgian Chocolate Cups, above left, £3.50 for 214g, in store only. BBC Good Food Awards winner (sweet canapés), also a PENNY’S PICK. Tasty nibbles with choice of creamy milk chocolate and white chocolate with tangy passionfruit.
• Aldi Moser Roth Giant Chocolate Nutcracker, £19.99 for 1kg, in store only. Quality Food Awards highly commended. Large hollow figurine made from fairtrade milk chocolate.
• Aldi Specially Selected Exquisite Florentines, above right, £4.99 for 220g, in store only. Attractively presented nuts and fruit half-covered in quality chocolate in several different flavours. < PENNY’S PICK, a lighter alternative to a heavy pudding and excellent with after-dinner coffee.

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That’s the final article for my Best Christmas Supermarket Food 2019 roundups – hope you’ve enjoyed reading all of them.

Do you want me to bring these guides back next year? If so, leave a comment below to show your interest, or share on social media.

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Other Christmas 2019 food & drink guides you might like:

• BIG list of best value Christmas drinks: Champagne, prosecco, cava & other sparkling wines
• BIG list of best value Christmas drink: Wines, spirits, liqueurs and non-alcoholic drinks – useful if you’re looking for something good to drink with your turkey
• BIG list of best value Christmas food: Smoked salmon, party food, turkey & alternatives
• BIG list of best value Christmas food: Mince pies, Christmas cake & alternatives

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Full disclosure: I am not working with any of the above supermarkets in a professional capacity although I have worked on a collaboration with Morrisons in the past. I’ve attended a number of PR events and wine tastings during 2019 and these are my honest opinions, combined with awards from official tasting panels.