Find out how to make a dessert charcuterie board for Christmas that is quick, easy, and both mess-free and hassle-free! It will free up your time and kitchen to cook your roast turkey with this best turkey brine or honey glazed ham and sides… and to arrange this meat and cheese platter as an appetizer. Your family and friends will love it!
Merry Christmas, everyone!
It's the most wonderful time of the year… yet the busiest time for many of us as well!
With time in mind, and with a stress-free holiday as a goal, I put together this dessert board that you can assemble with store-bought or semi-homemade treats that your guests will enjoy.
The end result is fewer dishes to wash, a free oven, and more time on your hands to do other chores or to spend time with your family. Cool, right?
So let’s do it together!
Table of Contents
- 1 What is a dessert charcuterie board?
- 2 What do I need for a dessert board?
- 3 Dessert Board Ideas (Theme)
- 4 Tips For Making A Dessert Charcuterie
- 5 Homemade Items to Display On Sweets Charcuterie Board
- 6 Can I use store-bought items?
- 7 How to assemble a dessert charcuterie board
- 8 How to make and arrange a dessert charcuterie board
- 9 Christmas Dessert Board
- 10 What do you serve it on?
- 11 Dessert Charcuterie Board
What is a dessert charcuterie board?
I know you have heard of a cheese tray or traditional charcuterie board. The latter basically contains a variety of cheeses and cold meats plus other complementary items such as crackers, nuts, fruits, and dips.
Well, the idea behind a dessert tray or board is the same, but the items that you arrange on the board are different.
As the name says, a dessert charcuterie board contains desserts. They can be homemade, semi-homemade, store-bought, or a mix of both.
It is all up to you!
Mine was assembled with store-bought desserts in less than 10 minutes. I only had to decorate some plain treats for Christmas, giving them a special holiday touch.
I also arranged the board as a Christmas wreath, but you can do a Christmas tree, a snowman, or anything else you want.
What do I need for a dessert board?
First of all, it will depend on the theme and, of course, the season of the year. A Christmas dessert board won’t have the same treats as one for Valentine’s day, for example!
Then, you have to consider the following:
- The time you have available for arranging (if you have little time on your hands, store-bought treats will fit your schedule perfectly!)
- How many people will be partaking (small, medium, or large sweets charcuterie board)
- What they enjoy eating (knowing your guests is the best way to pick what to display there. You don’t want to waste food, do you?)
- How much you'd like to spend on it (It has to fit your budget).
For our Christmas dessert charcuterie board, I chose:
- Hot chocolate bombs and marshmallows (to serve with our holiday beverage)
- Peppermint kisses and candy canes
- Meringues (decorated for the holidays)
- Macaroons, yogurt dipped pretzels, and assorted cookies (decorated for Christmas)
- Little Debbie Christmas Tree Cakes
As a final touch, you garnish the dessert board with fresh herbs to convey the idea of a wreath. This was a medium board, but if you’ll be receiving more people you can add more items such as chocolate candies, brigadeiros, beijinhos, cupcakes, sliced panettone and/or fruitcake, mini chocolate mousse, fresh berries, wafer cookies, chocolate hummus, or any chocolate dip, marshmallow dip, and other sweet bites.
There are endless possibilities to satisfy your sweet tooth!
Variety is essential; otherwise, it will be boring!
Also, keep in mind the dishes to wash later on!
Dessert Board Ideas (Theme)
I made this board for a small Christmas party, keeping it simple! As I mentioned earlier, the items, color, and shape will depend on the theme of your board.
Here are a few fun dessert platter ideas:
- Christmas– Assemble the board as a wreath or Christmas tree! Add some holiday sugar cookies and other things you’d enjoy at holiday parties.
- New Year’s Eve– Incorporate some of your traditions or New Year’s Eve superstitions: golden coin chocolates (for prosperity), red or pink desserts (e.g. macarons that attract love), etc. Add some seasonal items such as boozy truffles, fresh fruit (berries), gold sprinkled treats, and more.
- Valentine’s Day– Add pink, red, and white treats! Add anything chocolatey (e.g. Valentine’s brownies) or fresh strawberries. Moreover, you can melt chocolate chips to dip pretzel rods in or drizzle some items with melted chocolate and add sprinkles!
- St. Patrick’s Day– Gold and green treats for your dessert tray!
- Easter– Pastel-colored treats, Easter chocolate eggs, Peeps marshmallows, any type of chocolate treats, or sliced braided pastry.
- Birthdays – Pick a b-day theme and choose desserts accordingly (e.g. everything Disney or princess-- such as these Frozen cupcakes)
- 4th of July, Labor Day, Memorial Day– Focus on red, white, and blue!
- Thanksgiving– Fall colors, apple hand pies, Halloween rice Krispie treats, and other things related to the holiday season.
Tips For Making A Dessert Charcuterie
- Go For Height!– Instead of keeping the items flat, make a pile. This will save space and will be more appealing to the eyes!
- Use dishes if needed – A few items such as chocolate truffles and fruits may need to be served in a bowl instead of being stacked directly on the board.
- Add color – Make it colorful but keep in mind the theme of your dessert charcuterie board and the season. Pick items with different shapes and colors!
- Pay attention to the arrangement – space out things that have the same color (e.g. white marshmallows and meringues), or sometimes things that have the same shape or belong to the same category (e.g. cookies). This makes the dessert board more visually appealing!
Homemade Items to Display On Sweets Charcuterie Board
If you have some time on your hands, you can mix and match homemade desserts with store-bought ones.
Some simple desserts that you can make at home: fudges, rice Krispie treats, chocolate-dipped strawberries, mousses, mini chocolate chip cookies, brownie bites, sliced fresh produce (apple slices), sandwich cookies,
Here are a few homemade Christmas desserts for boards:
- Coconut sugar cookies
- Brigadeiro cookies
- Camaféu de nozes
- Peanut butter cups
- Nutella dip
- Ginger molasses cookies
- Cinnamon cookies
- Chocolate chip coconut cookies
- Hot chocolate fudge
Can I use store-bought items?
Yes! Ours is made with store-bought items only. Basically, you don’t have to make anything.
You only have to plan what to buy, perhaps decorate a few items to emphasize your theme, and arrange them on the board.
Assorted chocolates (dark chocolate, white chocolate, milk chocolate, truffles, bonbons, etc.) fill the gaps, adding contrasting flavors, shapes, and color to the board).
If you prefer, you can even make a chocolate board instead (or a cookie platter).
How to assemble a dessert charcuterie board
- Pick a theme!
- Make or buy items with different colors and according to your theme.
- Choose your board and extra dishes according to the number of people you will be serving.
- Add a centerpiece: this helps you to arrange the board easily. I placed an empty bowl in the center in order to arrange the items and convey a wreath.
- Plate your bowls first as symmetrically as possible. Bowls also help add height as well!
- Arrange the larger items or the ones that have a larger amount first (they will take up more space) and then add the rest of your treats.
- Try to place same category items (e.g. different types of cookies) on opposite sides. This helps the flow when it is time for people to serve themselves.
- Fill some holes or tiny spaces with small items.
How to make and arrange a dessert charcuterie board
- Start by arranging larger items first, including any bowls that you’ll be using for serving (e.g., chocolate truffles). Make sure to pile some items and S-curve or fan others out, depending on the shape of the board.
- Fill in the gaps or holes with mini items or sprinkles.
- Garnish with fresh herbs to convey color and freshness.
Christmas Dessert Board
- For our holiday dessert charcuterie board, we placed a small bowl in the center in order to mimic the shape of a wreath, and then arranged the sweet treats.
- We placed the Little Debbie Christmas Cakes on the board first because they were the larger items, and then we piled up some other spacious items like marshmallow pops, cocoa bombs, and candy canes.
- Next, we arranged other medium and small items such as meringues, macaroons, and pretzels.
- Finally, we filled in a few empty spaces with peppermint kisses, and also arranged fresh basil and rosemary around the board and in the center to form a wreath.
- We tried to separate items that had the same/similar colors.
What do you serve it on?
You can use a wooden or marble cutting board, preferably. But a nice platter will do too!
It will depend on how many people you’re serving (use a small, medium, or large-sized board as appropriate).
PIN & ENJOY!
Dessert Charcuterie Board
Equipment
- Wooden or marble board, or a platter
Ingredients
- 8 hot chocolate bombs decorated for Christmas (To serve with hot milk for a drink)
- 8 large meringues decorated for Christmas
- 8 French macarons decorated for Christmas
- 16 yogurt dipped pretzels decorated for Christmas
- 4 Little Debbie Christmas Tree Cakes add 4 more or cut them in half
- 8 candy canes
- 8 large marshmallows
- 8 peppermint kisses
Instructions
- For our holiday dessert charcuterie board, we placed a small bowl in the center in order to mimic the shape of a wreath, and then arranged the sweet treats.
- We placed the Little Debbie Christmas Cakes on the board first because they were the larger items, and then we piled up some other spacious items like marshmallow pops, cocoa bombs, and candy canes.
- Next, we arranged other medium and small items such as meringues, macaroons, and pretzels.
- Finally, we filled in a few empty spaces with peppermint kisses, and also arranged fresh basil and rosemary around the board and in the center to form a wreath.
- We tried to separate items that had the same/similar colors.
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
- Go For Height!– Instead of keeping the items flat, make a pile. This will save space and will be more appealing to the eyes!
- Use dishes if needed – A few items such as chocolate truffles and fruits may need to be served in a bowl instead of being stacked directly on the board.
- Add color – Make it colorful but keep in mind the theme of your dessert charcuterie board and the season. Pick items with different shapes and colors!
- Pay attention to the arrangement – space out things that have the same color (e.g. white marshmallows and meringues), or sometimes things that have the same shape or belong to the same category (e.g. cookies). This makes the dessert board more visually appealing!
- Pick a theme!
- Make or buy items with different colors and according to your theme.
- Choose your board and extra dishes according to the number of people you will be serving.
- Add a centerpiece: this helps you to arrange the board easily. I placed an empty bowl in the center in order to arrange the items and convey a wreath.
- Plate your bowls first as symmetrically as possible. Bowls also help add height as well!
- Arrange the larger items or the ones that have a larger amount first (they will take up more space) and then add the rest of your treats.
- Try to place same category items (e.g. different types of cookies) on opposite sides. This helps the flow when it is time for people to serve themselves.
- Fill some holes or tiny spaces with small items.
Nutrition
** Nutrition labels on easyanddelish.com are for educational purposes only. This info is provided as a courtesy and is only an estimate, since the nutrition content of recipes can vary based on ingredient brand or source, portion sizes, recipe changes/variations, and other factors. We suggest making your own calculations using your preferred calculator, based on which ingredients you use, or consulting with a registered dietitian to determine nutritional values more precisely.
Please note that health-focused and diet information provided on easyanddelish.com is for educational purposes and does not constitute medical advice, nor is it intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent disease. Consult with your doctor or other qualified health professional prior to initiating any significant change in your diet or exercise regimen, or for any other issue necessitating medical advice.
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