How to Make a Dessert Charcuterie Board

5 from 3 votes

How to Make a Dessert Charcuterie Board

A dessert charcuterie board is easy and so fun for parties! A nice centerpiece and conversation starter. Sweet dips add variety and flavor!

Prep Time15

Cook Time5

Total Time20

Course: Appetizer, Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Calories: 1480kcal

Author: The Food Charlatan

Ingredients

For the chocolate ganache

1/3 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/3 cup dark chocolate chips
2 tablespoons butter

For the Peppermint Whip

1 (8-oz) tub cool whip*
8 candy canes crushed (about 2/3 cup)

Marshmallow Dip

1 (8-oz) package cream cheese softened
1 (7-oz) tub marshmallow creme
1/2 cup powdered sugar optional
1 teaspoon vanilla optional

Items for the dessert charcuterie board

2 packages Walkers Shortbread Gingerbread Men
2 packages Walkers Shortbread Mini Festive Stars
1 Walkers Shortbread 3D Snowman Carton
2 packages Walkers Mini Shortbread Fingers
marshmallows
pretzels
white chocolate covered pretzels
English Toffee
Almond Nougat Candy
meringues
chocolate covered almonds
non-pareil chocolates
pecans
pistachios
hard shell candy coated chocolates I chose mint (green) ones
fresh cranberries to garnish
fresh rosemary or mint to garnish
crushed candy canes to garnish

Instructions

Make the chocolate ganache:
In a small bowl, microwave 1/3 cup cream in 30 second increments until bubbles form around the edges. Keep checking it. Add 1/3 cup semi sweet and 1/3 cup dark chocolate chips. Let sit for 1 minute, then stir in 2 tablespoons butter. Whisk until it is smooth. It will get thicker as it comes to room temperature, you can just throw it back in the microwave in short increments if you need to reheat it later.
Make the Peppermint Whip: Thaw a tub of cool whip, or see notes for making your own whipped cream. Fold in 8 crushed candy canes, or as much as you like to taste. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Make the Marshmallow Dip. Beat the cream cheese in a bowl or stand mixer until completely smooth. Add in a 7 ounce jar of marshmallow creme and beat until smooth. You can add 1/2 cup of powdered sugar and 1 teaspoon of vanilla if you like. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Assemble your dessert board. I used an 18 inch round board, but you can make your board as large or as small as you want. Start by placing the bowls on the board that you are going to put the dip in, but don't add the dips yet. (I mean, you can, but don't blame me when you drop pistachios in them on accident. Or maybe you aren't as clumsy as I am!)
Add the Walkers Shortbread Gingerbread Men, Walkers Shortbread Mini Festive Stars, Walkers Shortbread 3D Snowmen, and the Walkers Mini Shortbread Fingers. Remember you can add small bowls or bits of parchment paper to add texture and height.
Add any other larger items that you would want to dunk in the dips. Arrange the pretzels, white chocolate covered pretzels, meringues, English toffee, Almond nougat, etc. Other ideas are graham crackers, rice crispy treats, macarons, or any type of fruit.
Add in smaller items like candy, nonpareil chocolates, pistachios and pecans or any type of nut, candy canes, starlight mints, etc.
Garnish with fresh herbs like mint or rosemary, fresh cranberries, and crushed candy canes.

Notes

*You can whip your own cream if you want. I would use about a cup or 1 and 1/2 cups of cream. It will double in volume when you beat it. Add a little powdered sugar if you want.

Nutrition

How to Make a Dessert Charcuterie Board - https://finalstockalert.com/dessert-charcuterie-board/%3C/em%3E%3C/p%3E%3C/div%3E%3C/div%3E%3Cscript%3Ewindow.wprm_recipes = {"recipe-28987":{"type":"food","name":"How to Make a Dessert Charcuterie Board","slug":"wprm-how-to-make-a-dessert-charcuterie-board","image_url":"https:\/\/thefoodcharlatan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/How-to-Make-a-Dessert-Charcuterie-Board-9.jpg","rating":{"count":3,"total":15,"average":5,"type":{"comment":0,"no_comment":0,"user":3},"user":0},"ingredients":[{"uid":1,"amount":"1\/3","unit":"cup","name":"heavy cream","notes":"","unit_id":4728,"id":837,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"1\/3","unit":"cup","unitParsed":"cup"}}},{"uid":3,"amount":"1\/3","unit":"cup","name":"semisweet chocolate chips","notes":"","unit_id":4728,"id":1289,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"1\/3","unit":"cup","unitParsed":"cup"}}},{"uid":5,"amount":"1\/3","unit":"cup","name":"dark chocolate chips","notes":"","unit_id":4728,"id":828,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"1\/3","unit":"cup","unitParsed":"cup"}}},{"uid":7,"amount":"2","unit":"tablespoons","name":"butter","notes":"","unit_id":4727,"id":755,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"2","unit":"tablespoons","unitParsed":"tablespoons"}}},{"uid":10,"amount":"1 (8-oz)","unit":"tub","name":"cool whip*","notes":"","unit_id":4960,"id":3137,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"1 (8-oz)","unit":"tub","unitParsed":"tub"}}},{"uid":12,"amount":"8","unit":"","name":"candy canes","notes":"crushed (about 2\/3 cup)","id":1734,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"8","unit":"","unitParsed":""}}},{"uid":15,"amount":"1 (8-oz)","unit":"package","name":"cream cheese","notes":"softened","unit_id":4896,"id":830,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"1 (8-oz)","unit":"package","unitParsed":"package"}}},{"uid":17,"amount":"1 (7-oz)","unit":"tub","name":"marshmallow creme","notes":"","unit_id":4960,"id":1902,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"1 (7-oz)","unit":"tub","unitParsed":"tub"}}},{"uid":19,"amount":"1\/2","unit":"cup","name":"powdered sugar","notes":"optional","unit_id":4728,"id":836,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"1\/2","unit":"cup","unitParsed":"cup"}}},{"uid":21,"amount":"1","unit":"teaspoon","name":"vanilla","notes":"optional","unit_id":4724,"id":821,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"1","unit":"teaspoon","unitParsed":"teaspoon"}}},{"uid":24,"amount":"2","unit":"","name":"packages Walkers Shortbread Gingerbread Men","notes":"","id":3792,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"2","unit":"","unitParsed":""}}},{"uid":26,"amount":"2","unit":"","name":"packages Walkers Shortbread Mini Festive Stars","notes":"","id":3793,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"2","unit":"","unitParsed":""}}},{"uid":28,"amount":"1","unit":"","name":"Walkers Shortbread 3D Snowman Carton","notes":"","id":3794,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"1","unit":"","unitParsed":""}}},{"uid":30,"amount":"2","unit":"","name":"packages Walkers Mini Shortbread Fingers","notes":"","id":3795,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"2","unit":"","unitParsed":""}}},{"uid":32,"amount":"","unit":"","name":"marshmallows","notes":"","id":1347,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"","unit":"","unitParsed":""}}},{"uid":34,"amount":"","unit":"","name":"pretzels","notes":"","id":826,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"","unit":"","unitParsed":""}}},{"uid":36,"amount":"","unit":"","name":"white chocolate covered pretzels","notes":"","id":3796,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"","unit":"","unitParsed":""}}},{"uid":38,"amount":"","unit":"","name":"English Toffee","notes":"","id":3797,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"","unit":"","unitParsed":""}}},{"uid":40,"amount":"","unit":"","name":"Almond Nougat Candy","notes":"","id":3798,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"","unit":"","unitParsed":""}}},{"uid":42,"amount":"","unit":"","name":"meringues","notes":"","id":3799,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"","unit":"","unitParsed":""}}},{"uid":44,"amount":"","unit":"","name":"chocolate covered almonds","notes":"","id":3800,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"","unit":"","unitParsed":""}}},{"uid":46,"amount":"","unit":"","name":"non-pareil chocolates","notes":"","id":3801,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"","unit":"","unitParsed":""}}},{"uid":48,"amount":"","unit":"","name":"pecans","notes":"","id":1936,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"","unit":"","unitParsed":""}}},{"uid":50,"amount":"","unit":"","name":"pistachios","notes":"","id":1414,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"","unit":"","unitParsed":""}}},{"uid":52,"amount":"","unit":"","name":"hard shell candy coated chocolates","notes":"I chose mint (green) ones","id":3802,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"","unit":"","unitParsed":""}}},{"uid":54,"amount":"","unit":"","name":"fresh cranberries","notes":"to garnish","id":1560,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"","unit":"","unitParsed":""}}},{"uid":56,"amount":"","unit":"","name":"fresh rosemary or mint","notes":"to garnish","id":3803,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"","unit":"","unitParsed":""}}},{"uid":58,"amount":"","unit":"","name":"crushed candy canes","notes":"to garnish","id":1732,"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"","unit":"","unitParsed":""}}}],"originalServings":"15","originalServingsParsed":15,"currentServings":"15","currentServingsParsed":15,"currentServingsFormatted":"15","currentServingsMultiplier":1,"originalSystem":1,"currentSystem":1,"unitSystems":[1],"originalAdvancedServings":{"shape":"round","unit":"inch","diameter":0,"width":0,"length":0,"height":0},"currentAdvancedServings":{"shape":"round","unit":"inch","diameter":0,"width":0,"length":0,"height":0}}}