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How to Make a Dessert Charcuterie Board – Learn our easy tips to load a fun and delectable dessert board with candy, cookies, sweet dips, and savory treats for a shareable snack everyone will love!
Why We Love This Dessert Charcuterie Board Idea
What are you to do with all your leftover holiday candies, cookies, and gift basket snacks? Well, skip the baking and set out a gorgeous Dessert Charcuterie Board!
There’s no easier dessert than the one that is made with pre-purchased ingredients. Although we love freshly baked cookies and homemade candies, when the holidays get crazy, it’s handy to just open a few packages and lay out the sweets… Then you can whip together a Christmas dessert charcuterie board that feels super festive for your guests but takes barely any effort. Now that’s nice!
PS – Sweet Boards are great for all occasions. Consider making one for Valentine’s Day, Halloween, Easter, movie night, and birthday parties as well!
This dessert charcuterie board with candy is so easy to make with either homemade or store-bought treats, or a combination of both.
The key is to balance various types of sweet treats, and then just to lay them out in a visually appealing way. Get creative here! You’ll want to pick a minimum of 1-3 different snacks from each category listed below to make a board to impress.
Ideas for What to Include on a Dessert Board
Fresh Fruit
- Variety of berries like strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, etc
- Sliced apples
- Grapes
- Bananas
- Peaches and plum slices
- Fresh pineapple
Pro Tip: Any fruit that starts to brown quickly when sliced should be tossed and lemon juice before placed on the board.
Cookies
Select a balance of soft and crisp cookies that are good for dipping.
- Shortbread
- Peanut butter cookies
- Butter cookies
- Ginger snaps
- Pirouette cookies
- Milano cookies
- Pecan sandies or Chocolate Chip Walnut cookies
Really, any type of homemade cookies are great to include on your Christmas dessert charcuterie board!
Pastries
- Frozen cream puffs
- Small powdered donuts or donut holes
- Miniature danishes or cupcakes
- Macaroons
- Puff pastry twists like these easy Cinnamon Twists
Salty-Sweet
Select items that balance well with sweets, or are both salty and sweet together!
- Kettle Corn
- Cinnamon sugar pretzels
- Graham crackers
- Regular butter pretzels
- Cinnamon sugar potato chips
- Cinnamon Pita Chips
- Nuts like pistachios or candy pecans
Candy
Select several options so you have a balance of chocolate, caramels, marshmallows, and fruit-flavored candies. I like to include a combination of packaged candy and some homemade goodies. Here are a few of our favorites:
- Mexican Chamoy Candies
- Buckeyes (no-bake peanut butter balls)
- Cinnamon Pecan Praline
- Brigadeiro (Brazilian truffles)
- 3-Ingredient Chocolate Truffles
- Candied Orange Peels
- Vanilla Orange Candied Cranberries (great for Christmas dessert boards!)
Dessert Dips
Although you don’t have to provide a dip on a desert board, it is a nice touch!
Open up a jar of Nutella, or use a good quality salted caramel dip, dark chocolate ganache, peanut butter, or almond butter as a sweet dip. Even a cream cheese base for a dip is a great option. Give any of these easy recipes a try:
- Cream Cheese Caramel Apple Dip
- Retro Cream Cheese Fruit Dip
- Chocolate Dipping Sauce
- Nutella Chocolate Fondue
- Salted Caramel Sauce
- Homemade Hot Fudge Sauce
How to Make a Sweet Dessert Charcuterie Board
Select 1-3 items from each category, or up to 5 for an extra-large desert board: fresh fruit, cookies, pastries, candies, salty sweet, sweet dips.
Slice the fresh fruit if needed, and toss it with lemon juice to keep it from browning.
Set out a large cutting board or decorative tray.Place the dip(s) in a small serving bowl(s) and place them on the tray. Then arrange all other items around the dip bowls. Be creative and make it beautiful!
Pro Tip: Any dry crisp items that are touching fruit may become soft over time. Keep this in mind as you are arranging the items. If making in advance, keep the sliced fruit in baggies and add it at the very end.
Get the Complete (Printable) Dessert Charcuterie Board Recipe Below. Enjoy!
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the key to a good charcuterie board?
For a candy charcuterie board with a real wow-factor, you want to load the tray up so that it’s practically overflowing. Offer a variety of options, but of all items that belong together… I.e. I don’t suggest trying to pair bananas with hummus.
How do you arrange a dessert platter?
Place the dips towards the outside of the tray, and try to position similar items at both ends of the dessert board. That way people aren’t having to reach over the entire sweet charcuterie board to help themselves.
Be sure to keep wet and dry items away from each other. Either separate them by hearty “food barriers” like apples and candies, or place foods in individual bowls if they are very moist.
Can you make a charcuterie board ahead of time?
This dessert idea can be made a day or two in advance. Again, remember that items that are meant to be crisp will pull moisture from the fresh fruits and softer baked goods. To protect the texture of each item, you can prepare and wrap each grouping individually, or leave a little space on the board to add the fruit at the very end.
Looking for More Easy Dessert Recipes? Be Sure to Also Try:
- How to Make Edible Cookie Dough
- Old-Fashioned Peaches and Cream
- Maple Walnut Fudge
- Easy Magic Custard Cake
- Strawberry Pretzel Salad
Print Recipe
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Dessert Charcuterie Board Recipe
Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes minutes
Learn our easy tips to load a fun and delectable dessert board with candy, cookies, sweet dips and savory treats for a shareable snack everyone will love!
Servings: 12 – 20 servings
Ingredients
- Fresh Fruit – a variety of berries. Sliced apples, grapes, bananas, peaches and plums slices, fresh pineapple – Any fruit that starts to brown quickly when sliced should be tossed and lemon juice before placing on the board.
- Cookies – select a balance of soft and crisp cookies that are good for dipping. Shortbread butter cookies, ginger snaps, pirouette cookies, Milano cookies, pecan sandies, and any type homemade holiday cookie.
- Pastries – full size or mini goodies. Frozen cream puffs are great option. Small powdered donuts or donut holes, miniature danishes, macaroons, puff pastry twists.
- Salty-Sweet – select items that balance well with sweets. Kettle corn, cinnamon sugar pretzels, regular butter pretzels, cinnamon sugar potato chips, cinnamon pita chips, nuts like pistachios or candy pecans.
- Candy – select several options. Chocolate, caramels, and fruit flavored candies.
- Dips – although you don't have to provide a dip on a dessert board it is a nice touch! Nutella, good quality salted caramel dip. Even a cream cheese base for a dip is a great option.
Instructions
Select 1-3 items from each category, or up to 5 for an extra-large dessert board: fresh fruit, cookies, pastries, candies, salty-sweet, sweet dips.
Slice the fresh fruit if needed, and toss it with lemon juice to keep from browning.
Set out a large cutting board or decorative tray.
Place the dip(s) in a small serving bowl(s) and place it on the tray. Then arrange all other items around the dip bowls. Be creative and make it beautiful
Notes
This dessert idea can be made a day or two in advance. Again, remember that items that are meant to be crisp will pull moisture from the fresh fruits and softer baked goods. To protect the texture of each item, you can prepare and wrap each grouping individually, or leave a little space on the board to add the fruit at the very end.
Course: Dessert, Holiday, Snack
Cuisine: American, Holiday
Author: Sommer Collier
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