This Dessert Charcuterie Board is a play off of a traditional meat and cheese charcuterie board. It's an adorable and FUN way to serve Valentine's Day desserts or to make a sweet statement at any get together!
Valentine's Day is coming up and for me, it's an opportunity to shower my family with adorable little gifts and yummy sweet treats.
One way to do that without breaking the bank or spending hours on end in the kitchen: create a Dessert Charcuterie Board!
Jump to:
- ❤️ Why you'll love this dessert charcuterie board
- 👩🏽🍳 What you need to make a dessert board
- 🍫 Ingredient notes
- ⭐️ Create a themed dessert board
- ❓ Recipe FAQs
- 🍽 What to serve with a dessert board for Valentine's Day
- 🍷 Best dessert charcuterie board wine pairings
- More delicious dessert recipes
- Dessert Charcuterie Board
❤️ Why you'll love this dessert charcuterie board
A traditional charcuterie board is a board of a variety of meats, cheeses, crackers, fruits, veggies, and other food.
A dessert charcuterie board is also an assortment of foods, but it's all about satisfying your sweet tooth.
- A dessert platter is perfect for parties and Valentine's Day. And so much fun!
- You can use a variety of desserts and store-bought items, including some that you may already have on hand.
- If you're making some from scratch, you can make a smaller amount.
- This is a great make-ahead dessert for parties.
- It's the perfect way for guests to help themselves to the desserts they'd like, and they can go back to get more.
- It's an easy dessert that can be as fancy or as simple as you want. My easy recipe can be ready in just 15 minutes!
👩🏽🍳 What you need to make a dessert board
It's so easy to put together a simple dessert charcuterie board with tasty treats you probably already have in your kitchen!
💗 Large board - You can use any large board you have. Typically, dessert charcuterie boards are on a large wooden board. But you can use a large platter or large tray -- anything that is large enough to hold a variety of desserts.
💗 Bowls- Use small bowls of various sizes in coordinating colors to hold food that might roll off the board. Small bowls are a great way to contain food like M & Ms, red hots, sweetheart conversation candy, and other smaller candies.
💗 Serving utensils - Be sure to lay some serving tongs, serving forks, and serving knives for the dips and spreads on the board.
🍫 Ingredient notes
Anything goes on your Dessert Charcuterie Board! Here are some of my favorite treats:
💗 Candies - Some Valentine's Day candies that would be a good choice for your dessert charcuterie board include:
- Conversation Hearts
- Red Hots
- Swedish Fish (look for the Valentine's Day versions)
- Heart gummies
- Jelly beans
💗 Cookies - You can either make your own cookies or add store-bought cookies to your dessert board. If you'd like to make your own, try these Strawberry Crinkle Cookies, Mini Pop Tarts, Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies, or Soft Almond Sugar Cookies.
💗 Cakes - Either make or buy small tea cakes or mini cupcakes that would fit on your board. Another option is to make these easy Valentine's Day Madeleines! They are technically small cakes, but are small and you eat them with your hands, like cookies. Or try these Mini Brownie Bites.
💗 Sweet & Salty Snacks- pretzels are great options, and you can either make or buy chocolate-covered pretzels with Valentine's Day sprinkles. Plus, make this Valentine's Day Popcorn for a sweet and salty snack!
💗 Dips & Sauces - Consider adding a bowl of chocolate dip, Salted Caramel Sauce, or Homemade Nutella Dip. These could be a great addition next to the cookies!
💗 Chocolates - You can't make a gorgeous dessert charcuterie board without some chocolate! Think chocolate truffles, chocolate chips, dark chocolate bars, or even peanut butter cups. There are also some delicious vegan chocolates that are easy to find at the grocery store.
You really have endless possibilities when it comes to what to add to your dessert board. Other sweet ideas: include gummy bears, rice krispie treats, and marshmallow dip.
⭐️ Create a themed dessert board
You can create a theme for your sweet charcuterie board (aside from just Valentine's Day!) if you wish. Here are some ideas for fun dessert board themes:
- Pretty in Pink theme - use all pink candies of varying shades of pink for big impact!
- Red, Red Wine - use a variety of dark chocolates and red candies and sweets that would pair well with your favorite red wine.
- Queen of Hearts - use red, white, and black candies and sweets as your color scheme, and decorate the board with playing cards to create this themed board.
❓ Recipe FAQs
Choose your favorite fruits that have a similar flavor profile and/or similar color as the other items on the board. Strawberries, cherries, and raspberries are especially delicious and pretty on a dessert board. They all go well with chocolate!
This really depends on the specific food you have on your board. In general, if your board consists mostly of candy, cookies, and cakes that do not have any fresh items or items that will spoil, you can make the board the night before. Be sure to cover the prepared board with plastic wrap. Then you can add any fresh items, such as dips, any desserts that have cream cheese, and fresh fruit just before serving.
🍽 What to serve with a dessert board for Valentine's Day
If you're serving this dessert board as the dessert for a full Valentine's Day meal, consider making any of these recipes. They're all great for this special holiday!
Valentine's Day main course recipes:
- Air Fryer Lobster Tails
- Seared Scallops Pasta (dairy-free)
- Herb-Crusted Rack of Lamb
- Prosciutto Wrapped Halibut
🍷 Best dessert charcuterie board wine pairings
A lovely dry chilled Rosé wine or Brut Rosé wine will pair deliciously with almost any Valentine's Day Dessert Board.
For more wine pairing ideas, visit our Best Valentine's Day Wines article.
More delicious dessert recipes
- Strawberry Crinkle Cookies
- Valentine's Day Madeleines
- Korean Strawberry Milk
- Valentine's Day OREO Pops
- Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies
- Air Fryer Strawberry Turnovers
- Chocolate Chip Cupcakes with Cookie Dough Frosting
Did you make this recipe? Don't forget to leave a 5-Star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating in the recipe card, and if you really loved it, please leave a comment further down on the page. Thank you!
Dessert Charcuterie Board
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup Valentine's Day M & M candies
- 1 cup Hershey's heart chocolates
- 8 pieces Valentine's Day Reese's Peanut Butter Hearts
- 8 pieces Valentine's Day Raspberry Coated Mini KitKat bars
- 6 Pink Lofthouse Cookies
- 6 Valentine's Day Madeleine Cookies
- 6 Heart-shaped shortbread cookies
- 6 Chocolate Tea Cakes
- 2 cups White Chocolate Covered Popcorn
- 1 cup White Chocolate Covered Pretzels
Instructions
- Start by placing any dips and sauces you want to include on the board. It's best to place these in small bowls near the edges of the board, so it's easy for people to spoon onto their plate.
- Then place any small candies that need help being contained into small bowls. This would include M & Ms, jellybeans, popcorn, small chocolates, and sweetheart conversation candies.
- Next, start laying out the larger items like tea cakes and cookies on the board. Then place the remaining items like chocolate covered pretzels and crackers.
- Finally, fill in any blank spots with extra candy.
Notes
- Use a color scheme of no more than three main colors. For mine, it's pink, white, and chocolate (brown). Try to create visual "layers" by placing different colored candies and sweets next to each other. Or, you could do the opposite and place all of the same-colored treats together.
- Keep extras of each dessert board item together close by, such as in a basket in your pantry, so you can easily refill the board as needed throughout the party.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is a general estimate. Actual nutrition details may vary depending on the exact foods & brands you use to make this recipe. It does not take into account any substitutions, toppings, or optional ingredients.
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