Dessert Charcuterie Board

 A Dessert Charcuterie Board may be the best kind of charcuterie board out there! Learn how to use a variety of textures, colors, flavors and a balance of homemade & store-bought treats to make this easy, one of a kind dessert tray! 

Did Someone Say Dessert Charcuterie?

I'm so excited to finally share my take on this fun new trend using all things sweet! Dessert boards are a fantastic idea and a seriously fabulous way to serve dessert at a party or on holidays.

You, as the host, will get to throw together and serve a stunning arrangement of sweet treats, fruits and candied nuts for your guests with minimal work and effort.

Everyone gets a taste of what they love and guests get to nosh on as much or as little as they want. It's a feast for the eyes...literally and figuratively.

Dessert charcuterie boards are truly the best of both worlds for everyone and are a fun way to add that 'sweet touch' to a celebration.

How to Make a Dessert Charcuterie Board

I promise, this beautiful board is so darn easy and fun to make. That's the magic of this dessert idea!

When making a dessert charcuterie board, basically anything goes. If you see it and like it, add it. Just remember to keep your theme and your budget in mind: colors, shapes, occasion, etc.

 

Arranging them on the board was also quite simple. I would suggest planning out the arrangement by sketching it on paper first. While you can certainly start over, you don't want to have to be handling the food too much. Cookies can begin to crumble which can get messy pretty quick. 

Start at one corner of the board and work your way in. 

I think any time you cluster things together in tight, little piles or groups, it's going to look fabulous no matter what. You really can't go wrong!

When Making Your Dessert Board

Dessert charcuterie boards are super easy to throw together. However, there are a few things you should consider before you start

Price - If you're using a fairly large board, be mindful that it could take a lot of different items to fill. I was surprised to see how quickly the costs of pre-packaged cookies and things like that added up.

Flavor/Texture - Be mindful to select a range of items that have different flavor & textural elements. Chocolate, vanilla, fruity, nutty, creamy, salty, crunchy, chewy... you get the idea! Chocolate ganache, for example will make your fruits and other treats glisten and look absolutely delectable.

Shapes - Equally important, when choosing your treats you need to consider the shape of each one and how they'll fit together. It's good to use all kinds of shapes and also mimic them across the board. For instance, the long wafers and chocolate covered sticks mirror each other and break up the look of everything else on the board. Chocolate covered pretzels would also be a perfect addition here!

Height/Containers - The lure of dessert boards is the fact that they're not one-dimensional. With this in mind, stacking the items and using small bowls to hold dips will add more visual interest. Small things like nuts, such as chopped pistachios work great in a small bowl as well. I used a ramekin. I also kept one set of cookies within the paper cup that they came in, adding some charm to this sweet charcuterie board. 

The Look - I'm sure you've come across some stunning dessert boards in your feed, so you know how artistic they can get. Here are two big things to keep in mind when planning the layout of your dessert charcuterie board to keep it as aesthetically pleasing as possible. 

Color is a huge component of charcuterie boards. Some boards contain all food under one color palate (great for holidays and party themes) and others do a range of items. Add some darker and lighter elements with pops of brightness & freshness (mint leaves, fruit, etc) to draw the eye and make the board look more exciting.

Create some composition in a triangle shape using grounding colors like dark brown (chocolate) for a balanced look. You can see below how I created a visual triangle on my dessert board with the Pocky sticks, chocolate cookies and broken up chocolate bars.

Everything I Used For My Board

I used a range of homemade, high, mid AND low cost items for my board. 

Obviously, go with your favorite tastes! The beauty of these boards is that they are totally customizable and you can use whatever you want.

Here is a list of everything I used for my board (including the brands) :

• My homemade almond biscotti (except I just made them mini sized)
• Fresh mandarins
• Tate's Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Pepperidge Farm Chocolate Hazelnut Pirouettes
• Fresh strawberries
• Pepperidge Farm - Brussels 
• Lindt 70% dark chocolate bars
• Generic store brand vanilla Italian wafers
• Fresh blueberries
• Pecans
• Walkers Shortbread Rounds
• Pocky- Chocolate
• My homemade cheesecake dip recipe

For this example, I went with a mix of homemade and store-bought. I made the mini almond biscotti & cheesecake dip which were very quick to whip up.

In addition to that, I was also able to make both of these recipes in advance.

The rest of the items on the dessert board are a mix of whole ingredients like fruit & nuts and store-bought items that I took out right from the package. Easy peasy!

Holiday Themed Boards

There are endless possibilities when it comes to holiday themed boards. You can make a dessert charcuterie board for every occasion.

Below are some other ideas for small treats that will fill your dessert board. For example, when creating an Easter board, you can find so many options for Easter candy and white treats to add the right visual impact.

Valentine's Day- Pink candies, mini red velvet cupcakes, chocolate truffles, mini chocolate donuts with pink sprinkles, chocolate covered strawberries

St. Patrick's Day- Shamrock shaped sugar cookies, chocolate gold coins, green mints, rainbow lollipops

Easter- Candied Easter eggs, Cadbury creme eggs, mini carrot cupcakes, Jordan almonds, macarons, vanilla wafers, pastel mints, Peeps

Halloween- Candy corn, black licorice jelly beans, orange gummy rings, Halloween M&M's, Brach's mellow crème pumpkins, candy apples

July 4th - Marshmallows, assorted graham crackers (honey, chocolate, cinnamon), chocolate bars, peanut butter cups, chocolate chips, chocolate hazelnut spread. A marshmallow dip would be a fantastic addition to this S'mores theme!

Christmas/Thanksgiving/New Years/Other Holidays - Pound cake cut into squares, nuts, dried fruit, citrus, Italian butter cookies

Here Are Some More Dessert Charcuterie Board Ideas

Whether it's a birthday party, the Super Bowl, or a backyard celebration there is a dessert charcuterie board for everyone. Here are some dessert board ideas for other occasions:

• Birthday- Vanilla cake pops with rainbow sprinkles, rainbow sprinkle cookies, birthday cake popcorn, rainbow Rice Krispies treats
• BBQ - Fresh fruit, citrus, margarita cookies, coconut macaroons, lemon or lime cooler cookies, edible flowers
• Baby or Bridal Shower-Assorted donuts, fresh fruit, mini muffins, mini biscotti
• Chocolate Board- If you're not a cake or candy person, a chocolate charcuterie board is another sweet and satisfying way to get in on the dessert board fun! Mixing dark and white chocolate can add visual interest and depth to the board, as well as placing some foil wrapped chocolates or chocolate chips in small bowls or a ramekin type vessel. Nonpareil chocolate would also be a colorful and delicious option here!
• Fruit Board- The vibrant colors and textures will speak for themselves, and you can melt down dark or milk chocolate and white chocolate to make a satisfying dip! Caramel sauce is also a tasty addition, as well as marshmallow sauce. (Don't forget to check out the recipe link for my cheesecake dip!)

I have so many new recipes you can have fun with to customize your dessert charcuterie board. There's something for everyone! I promise they will be instant crowd favorites.

Ingredient Suggestions

There's no true recipe here, just use what you like or what you already have!

Here are some items you could use for a fun dessert board:

Homemade Treats/Recipes

• Almond biscotti
• Soft butter cookies
• Italian butter cookies
• French butter cookies
• Pizzelle
• Rice Krispie Treats
• Chocolate salami

Cookies

• Chocolate
• Shortbread
• Wafers
• Biscotti
• Sandwich cookies

Nuts

• Walnuts
• Pecans
• Cashews
• Peanuts
• Hazelnuts

Fresh or dried fruit

• White and dark chocolate covered strawberries
• Blueberries
• Pineapple
• Orange segments
• Figs
• Dates

Dips

• Cheesecake dip
• Yogurt dip
• Chocolate hazelnut spread
• Whipped cream
• Chocolate ganache
• Cookie butter

Salty

• Pretzels
• Trail mix
• Salted peanuts

Candy

• Caramels
• Truffles
• Fudge
• Marshmallows

Don't forget some pretty bowls or ramekins to hold your treats and elevate the look of your board. Mint leaves or other type of garnish depending on the type of board you're making will also look stunning against the backdrop of the board you choose!

Mint leaves are a great choice for a dessert charcuterie board.

Tips For Making Your Board Beautiful

Always keep the rule of thirds in mind when arranging your dessert charcuterie board to maintain balance. Using different shapes for texture adds dimension and a full board is more visually pleasing.

Creatively placing the sweet treats on the board is quite simple. I would suggest planning out the arrangement by sketching it on paper first.

While you can certainly start over, you don't want to have to be handling the food too much. Cookies begin to crumble which can get messy pretty quick. 

Start at one corner of the board and work your way in. I think any time you cluster things together in tight, little piles or groups, it's going to look fabulous no matter what. You really can't go wrong! Just have fun with it!

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