Dessert Charcuterie Board

Learn how easy it is to put together a dessert charcuterie board that’s perfect for sharing with family and friends for a holiday get together! 

 

This post has been compensated by New England Country Mart – all opinions are my own. 

Ok confession time. My name is Heather and I’m a snacker. There I said. I love to snack. I love to nibble. Pick. Stand near the appetizer table, with a glass of champagne in one hand leaving free to sneak a bite of something tasty.

There I said it. So why should dessert be any other way? Listen I love making cakes, cupcakes, and other tasty treats that people can enjoy. But let’s face it, certain desserts just make it harder to enjoy when we’re talking holiday parties. 

So I partnered up with New England Country Mart to bring you the ultimate sweet tooth snacker’s dream: A Dessert Charcuterie Board. 

You could definitely make this for a party, or heck even better for brunch! This board is the perfect brunch treat if I do say so myself. Pair it with some homemade Monkey Bread, pour a mimosa, fry up some bacon, and end with this dessert board and I think you did brunch right. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves…

New England Country Mart

You may or not may not remember but I partnered up with New England Country Mart a little bit ago, to bring you this whole wheat sandwich bread, and all the wonderful possibilities that go with a soft sandwich loaf. 

New England Country Mart is a premium fresh produce and grocery home delivery service in the greater Boston area. I love their focus on quality food and building community, yet without subscriptions or memberships. They use local artisan brands, stock nutrient-rich ingredients, and offer free shipping for orders over $75! Plus everything comes shipped in a temperature controlled box. 

New England Country Mart started providing their grocery delivery service during the height of the COVID-19 crisis, which was a helpful service for many families. On a personal note, I love getting my groceries delivered to begin with (I use Instacart all the time), but I love that this market uniquely focuses on local brands and organic products. Not only can I get my grocery regulars (fresh produce, eggs, bread, etc.), but I can also get wonderful, unique items I have never seen in other grocery stores in the area. 

And for your first order, use the code: bostongirlbakes and they will give you $20 off!

What is a dessert charcuterie board?

First of all, what on earth are we talking about? So a charcuterie board if you have ever ordered one at a restaurant is an assembly of assorted meats, cheeses, some spreads usually, and sometimes some bread. Well a dessert charcuterie board takes that same idea but instead of meat and cheeses it focuses on all things sweet.

Basically it’s a mix and match board of sweet items that everyone can nibble on! Who doesn’t love that? Because I love dessert, but sometimes all I really want is a sweet bite or two. People won’t be able to resist it!

What do I need for a dessert charcuterie board?

I put together one epic dessert charcuterie board with fresh organic produce, sweet local snacks, and more all purchased from New England Country Mart. Since 2020 is like a year no one has ever seen, I wanted an easy dessert for small gatherings that didn’t take a lot of stress to put together, and made with ingredients that I could purchase ahead of time online. I have been doing my grocery shopping online for a couple years now, and I will never go back! 

Aim For Variety!

So for this board you can really customize it to make it your own but here’s what I love assembling when it comes to a dessert board:

• Fresh fruit 
• Something salty to balance out the sweetness 
• Pre-made/Homemade dessert items (like cookie or maybe some fudge, like my Chocolate Fudge Recipe or Old Fashioned Peanut Butter Fudge Recipe)
• Something chocolate of course
• Sauces/spread for dipping
• Coffee and cocoa to go with it!

Don’t Forget The Dishes!

• Large enough platter to hold all of your items
• Small serving dishes for certain items – it’s good to have certain sauces obviously in small bowls, but also to keep certain items for going everywhere it might be helpful to have these in small dishes as well.

You can make your sweet charcuterie board as big or little as you need to depending on the size of your guest list, which is why I love making this right now since my guests list are a bit trimmed like my tree this year.

More Tips For Making A Dessert Board

• Go For Height! – For each item I like to make a big pile of them as opposed to keep it flat. Like making a big pile of strawberries. 
• Use dishes. If items can’t be stacked, I put them in a dish, like blueberries and caramel popcorn.
• Add color. I love choosing items of different colors like the yellow mango, purple grapes, and red raspberries. 
• Pay attention to arrangement. I like to space out the colorful items. So that means I didn’t want the red raspberries next to the red strawberries. And space out one chocolate item from another so they aren’t clustered together.

Homemade Items To Display On Your Board

Of course you don’t have to buy everything for a board but can make a few items yourself! You can make homemade items if you want! For some I would just cut them up small, like the rice krispie treats, or make mini versions like chocolate chip cookies. Here are a few fun recipes to make and add to your board:

• Homemade Vanilla Marshmallows
• 3 ingredient Homemade Turtles
• The Best Rice Krispie Treats Recipe
• Brown Sugar Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Sea Salt Nutella Fudge
• Peppermint Oreo Truffles

Add a fun dip too!

• Salted Caramel Sauce Recipe
• Chocolate Ganache
• Marshmallow Fluff Recipe

Can I use store-bought items for a dessert charcuterie board?

You absolutely can! That’s what make a dessert charcuterie board so easy to put together. But you can also just use store-bought items like cookies and candies. Here are some easy store-bought items that I got from New England Country Mart:

• Chocolate covered raisins
• Chocolate covered pretzels
• Chocolated covered bark
• Candied Pecans
• Caramel popcorn
• Chocolate covered nuts
• Organic Fresh Fruit
• Almond Butter Cookies
• Baked Graham Bites
• Dried Mango (that I dipped in my homemade ganache!)

Don’t forget to use your coupon code: bostongirlbakes for $20 off your first order!

Other ideas of store-bought items you might want to grab:

• Foil-wrapped candies (Hershey kisses, Rolo caramels)
• Meringue cookies
• M&M candies

Add A Theme!

I made this board for a holiday Christmas gathering I kept it simple and just add a variety of fun sweet treats, but of course you can always customize your dessert board for whatever holiday you are celebrating! Here are a few fun ideas on how to make your board have a festive theme:

• Christmas – Add red and green festive cookies, and candies
• New Year’s Eve – Maybe some boozy truffles, or some gold sprinkled treats
• Valentine’s Day – Pink, red, and white treats!
• St. Patrick’s Day – Gold and green of course!
• Easter – Pastel colored treats, Easter candy like Peeps would be fun!
• 4th of July, Labor Day, Memorial Day – Focus on red, white and blue!
• Birthdays! – I love birthday cake everything, and rainbow sprinkles
• Thanksgiving – Think Fall colors – browns, oranges, yellows and red!

How to assemble a dessert charcuterie board

1. Decide on your theme
2. Choose your board and extra dishes
3. Add a centerpiece…but you don’t have to! (My centerpiece was a bowl of New England Country Mart’s caramel popcorn!)
4. Plate your bowls first. Bowls also help add height as well! 
5. Fill your bowls.
6. Add the rest of your treats. 
7. Sprinkle in nuts and candies wherever you see some holes, and as needed. 

Then present and enjoy! Aka eat, eat, eat!

More No Bake Recipes To Enjoy

• Classic No Bake Cookies Recipe
• No Bake Red Velvet Cheesecake
• Reese’s No Bake Peanut Butter Bars
• No Bake Peanut Butter Pie
• Old Fashioned Peanut Butter Fudge Recipe