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Nov 30, 2023
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Delight guests or impress a party host with a festive Cookie Charcuterie Board filled with cookies, candy, dips, and more. It’s the perfect sweet way to celebrate the holiday season! Check out all of the tips, ideas, and even gluten free recipes to make a Christmas dessert platter overflowing with goodies!
Delicious Details at a Glance
Cookie platters have been part of my family’s holiday celebration for years, but lately, dessert boards have become all the rage along with the rise of charcuterie boards and snack boards. Historically, charcuterie was a French term referring to certain preparations of meats, but charcuterie platters expanded upon that to include cheese, dried fruit, nuts, and crackers or breads for snacking. But these dessert grazing boards have taken things in a sweet direction, and I couldn’t be more excited.
Here’s Why You’ll Love Making a Cookie Charcuterie Board
- Variety of treats. You can’t have a cookie dessert board without, well, cookies. But you can also add a selection of different treats like chocolate bark, truffles, chocolate-covered goodies, and more, plus dessert dips for dunking those treats and even fruit for those who want a light option. Add some hot chocolate spoons if you also want to stir up some deliciousness!
- Adaptable for any diet. By choosing your recipes and store-bought treats appropriately, you can modify your dessert platter for gluten free, nut free, vegan, and even low carb diets.
- Adjustable to your skill level. Speaking of store-bought, yes, your entire cookie board can be made from goodies you pick up at the grocery store or bakery. You can make everything form scratch. Or do a little of both. And both baked goods and no-bake desserts are fair game.
- Can be made ahead. If you know you have a number of holiday gatherings during the month of December, you can bake a bunch of cookies and freeze them. Then you can assemble your platters a couple of days, hours, or even minutes before you need them – whatever works for you! After we talk about assembling your platter, I’ll give you information on storing and freezing your treats.
How to Make a Cookie Charcuterie Board
Dessert platters are simple to assemble, but a few simple steps and tips will make them look extra beautiful and abundant!
Make a Dip
While this isn’t necessary, but a festive dip is a great centerpiece to a platter and makes digging into the cookies even more fun and delicious. Plus they are quick and simple to make. You can simply go with some chocolate sauce or a bowl of whipped cream. Or get a little festive with these:
- Peppermint Dip
- Cherry Cheesecake Dip
- Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cheeseball
- Caramel Sauce
- Hot Cocoa Dip
Choose Your Platter
You don’t necessarily have to go out and buy anything special to make a cookie tray. You can use a large cutting board or serving platter you already have in your kitchen. But you also have the option to get creative and choose a platter to create the style you’d like to achieve. It’s also an opportunity to pick up something special and leave the platter as a host or hostess gift. Pictured here is a large slate cheese board, but you can truly use anything.
Gather Your Treats
It’s easiest to first pull out all of the containers and packages of cookies and other treats you plate to use to see what you are working with. This will allow you to arrange them as you like. Keep reading for ideas of what you can include. Then place a bowl of your dip in the center of the platter. You can also offset it for an asymmetrical look, or add a couple types of dip.
Work From Largest to Smallest
Create piles of the different types of cookies surrounding your dip, starting with the largest and working to the smallest. You will also want to mix the more colorful cookies in with the neutral or brown cookies.
Fill in the Gaps
Candies, fudge, and chocolate bark are great for filling in the smaller spaces between the larger cookies. You can also add fruit like apple slices or strawberries for eating with the dip. And ingredients that you might have incorporated into the cookies, like coconut, peanut butter cups, chocolate chips, or candy canes, can add small pops of color or bits of texture here and there.
Dessert Charcuterie Board Ideas
Now you are ready to enjoy your cookie charcuterie board. But if you are stuck for ideas of what to include, here is some inspiration with my favorite festive treats, including what you see in the photos here and more!
Gluten Free Christmas Cookie Recipes
- Peppermint Meringues – light, airy, and so pretty!
- Gluten Free Rainbow Cookies – a colorful bakery-style treat!
- Gluten Free Sugar Cookies – decorated for the season!
- Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies – simple, versatile, and extra peanut buttery!
- Gluten Free Gingersnaps – full of spice and everything nice!
- Gluten Free Snickerdoodles – the cinnamon-sugar coated classic!
- Almond Joy Macaroons – tastes like a candy bar!
- Gluten Free Sugar Cookie Bars – easy to make a big batch!
- Gluten Free Red Velvet Cookies – add a little chocolate and a lot of color!
Christmas Candy and Other Treats
- Buckeyes – a healthier twist on the classic treat!
- Christmas Fudge – love those colorful candies!
- Chocolate-Covered Christmas Marshmallows – decorated like snowmen and cocoa mugs!
- Cranberry Bliss White Chocolate Bark – inspired by a Starbucks treat!
- Peppermint Fudge – two kinds of chocolate and minty candy!
- Cheesecake-Stuffed Strawberries – an all-time favorite with a twist!
- Candied Spiced Nuts – a snack with sweet heat!
- Homemade Peanut Butter Cups – classics with a gourmet twist!
- Salted Caramel Mocha Chocolate Bark – with a little espresso kick!
- Candy Canes – it’s not Christmas without them!
Storing Cookies
Most cookies will keep for up to a week at from temperature in a tightly sealed container or plastic storage bag. They can also be frozen for longer storage.
Making Cookie Dough in Advance
This will vary by recipe, but there is usually an option to make at least some of all of your cookies at least partially in advance.
You can often make the cookie dough several hours or even a day in advance. Just cover it tightly and store it in the refrigerator until you are ready to bake. You may need to let it warm up slightly to be able to scoop, shape, or roll the dough.
Cookie dough can also oftentimes be frozen for up to two months either before or after you roll, shape, or cut the dough. Just thaw in the refrigerator and take out of the fridge shortly before baking.
Freezing Cookies
Many cookies can be frozen for up to about two months after baking and cooling. If it is a cookie that is decorated, covered in chocolate or frosting, or rolled in powdered sugar, you may want to consider doing that step after thawing the cookies.
When freezing gluten free cookies, I like to put them in a plastic freezer storage bag and press out all of the air before sealing. Then place the bag inside a cookie tin or plastic storage container. This helps keep them from getting crushed and crumbly while you have them in the freezer because many gluten free cookies do have a tendency to be a bit more crumbly or tender than their traditional counterparts.
Making a Cookie Platter in Advance
If you make a cream cheese or other dairy-based dip for your charcuterie board, you’ll need to keep that covered and refrigerated until you are ready to serve it. However, other than that, most types of treats you would include will keep well at room temperature for up to 2 or three days, as long as you keep it tightly wrapped.
