Christmas Cookie Charcuterie Board (w/ leftover cookies!)
Learn how to make a Christmas cookie charcuterie board with leftover homemade cookies and Christmas treats! You’ll be shocked at how you can transform some leftover goodies into a gorgeous dessert charcuterie board!
I know, this isn’t a traditional charcuterie board (there’s no meat or cheese, so, charcuterie purists: you may just want to close your eyes and ears for this 😆), but it could easily turn into one by adding in those ingredients!
However, my whole goal for this tutorial is to show you how you can turn a hodge podge of leftover/extra homemade treats (cookies, fudge, candies, breads – you name it!) into a beautiful Christmas dessert board for your next holiday party!
Go from this:
To this!
Seriously: the easiest dessert board ever! What a fun way to use up all of those homemade treat gifts you received and leftovers you have from making your own goodies at home for parties, gifts, and such!
I raided my freezer (I keep some frozen Christmas cookies in there), and then the top of my fridge (where all of our leftover baked goods go to get consumed throughout the week), I went through my pantry to see what other goodies I had, and then I got JUST A FEW store-bought items (chocolate-covered almonds, candied pecans, the white chocolate nut clusters) and put this together!
YOU CAN DO THIS TOO!
Just when you thought all those random scraps had no potential. 😉
Tips for creating your Christmas Cookie Charcuterie Board:
- Use up all your extra desserts and Christmas goodies! Set them out and evaluate what you have.
- Add in any extras that you have from your fridge and pantry (you might be surprised at what you have!) – nuts (pecans, walnuts, almonds, pistachios), apple slices, any other fresh fruit such as strawberries, orange slices, raspberries, blueberries, or blackberries, etc.
- Fill in the gaps with some store-bought items – candy canes, Hershey’s kisses, mini marshmallows, chocolate-covered nuts, gummy bears, etc.
- If you’re creating this for a Christmas party, invite others to bring their leftover Christmas treats and make a HUGE cookie board!! SO FUN.
You’re aiming for a variety of textures, colors, and flavors, which is pretty easy to accomplish when you have a random collection of different sweet treats!
Items you’ll need:
- Large wooden cutting board (HomeGoods is my favorite place to go for this!) or large cookie platter
- Small bowls – if you have them – for smaller pieces like candy and nuts, and/or spreads such as Nutella or caramel sauce
Types of sweet treats to include in your easy dessert board:
Variety of cookies:
(really, the options here are endless!)
- Sugar cookies (cutout sugar cookies or chewy sugar cookies; decorated with buttercream, royal icing, or just plain!)
- Chocolate chip cookies (classic chocolate chip, chocolate chip with pecans, “brookies,” etc.)
- Peppermint cookies (these dark chocolate peppermint cookies are divine!)
- Gingerbread or molasses cookies
- Spiced chai cookies
Use what you have, and then if you WANT to, make and add in your favorite Christmas cookies!
Other homemade sweet treat ideas to include:
- Mini cupcakes
- Fudge (chocolate peanut butter fudge, cranberry pistachio fudge, dark chocolate peppermint fudge, Christmas cookie fudge)
- Christmas puppy chow
- White chocolate popcorn
- Chocolate-drizzled popcorn
- Chocolate-covered pretzels
- Nut clusters
- Rice Krispie treats
- Divinity
- Peppermint bark
Items from your fridge or pantry:
- Fresh fruit: strawberries, orange slices, raspberries, blueberries, apple slices
- Nuts: pecans, almonds, pistachios, walnuts
- Snacky items such as pretzels, trail mix with dried fruit, etc.
Obviously you could get any of those items from the grocery store, too, but if you have little bits of this and that, this is a great way to use it up!
Store-bought treats you could include:
- Cookies: Oreos, shortbread, Milanos, and Pirouettes
- Sweet dip such as Nutella, cookie butter, or caramel sauce
- Something for dipping – pretzels, wafer cookies, graham crackers (and apple slices are great for this, too)
- Chocolate truffles
- Chocolate-covered pretzels
- Christmas candy: candy canes, Kisses, Reese’s (and this is a great way to use up bags of candy you may have gotten as little treat gifts!!)
- Chocolate bars or chocolate squares (like Dove chocolates or Ghirardelli squares)
If you have empty spaces that you want to fill, I like to use:
- Candy canes
- Mini marshmallows
- Chocolate chips
- Nuts
If you have a lot of leftover goodies, you really don’t need to buy much from the store – seriously; these boards get filled pretty easily! Just raiding your pantry might be an easy way to fill the entire board! 😆
Again, options are endless here! USE WHAT YOU HAVE FIRST!
Let me show you how easy it is to put this together!
How to create your Christmas Cookie Charcuterie Board
I walk you through the simple steps below, but check out this diagram I made to help you think through how to place things. 😉
Step 1: Place your small bowls (if you’re going to use these)
Step 2: Place larger items (i.e. probably most of your cookies – you can play around with this a bit!) – make your prettiest cookies the star of the show!
Step 3: Fill in with some other homemade smaller pieces – popcorn, fudge, puppy chow, etc.
Steps 4 & 5: Cover the gaps with items such as nuts, candies, candy canes, etc.
If you feel like your board needs to look a little more festive, you can easily add some Christmas sprinkles to white chocolate popcorn, sprinkle in some red & green M&Ms, and place some candy canes here and there. All of those would be a great addition to a festive board!
What a fun, gorgeous, and sweet snack board for the Christmas season! The absolute perfect addition for holiday parties and gatherings! 🙂