Valentines Day Sweets and Treats Charcuterie Board- How to make your charcuterie board pretty.

I love making charcuterie boards because they look pretty and taste delicious! Making your charcuterie board will always turn out amazing- All you really need to do is place your sweets in piles, cute little dishes or arrange in a layer. There's really no right or wrong way to do it! Who doesn't love a board filled with chocolate covered anything to eat?!

I think some people may stay away from making charcuterie boards because they feel it needs to look perfect.... probably from all the beautiful pics on Insta and Pinterest!! But, I am telling you - it's pretty simple to do! I'll give you some inspiration so you can make yours too!

First, I like to figure out what kind of dish or board I will be serving on because that will tell me how many sweets I need. Meaning, if Im just doing a small plate- you can get a way with a few items being served. If your using a much larger dish or board then you will need to use more of the same item or a bigger variety!

Then, I like to figure out if Im going with a color scheme. Any color works- but if you want it to be decorative, I would stick to a theme of 2 to 3 colors. After that, I decide on what sweets I'll be using on the board. I like using a variety of items because it adds texture and makes it look full.

I also suggest using different sizes of items too. Sometimes there are gaps that need to be filled in on the tray and smaller candy or treats are the perfect item to use.

Lets just say, I am a big fan of using store bought items along with home-made sweets!! First, it cuts down the time on making your board in half. Not to say you can't use all home made sweets or store bought too, you totally can! It's really just your own preference. I happened to have a lot of these items in my pantry to begin with, so thats why I had more home-made sweets than store bought ones. Though, I did buy cookies to put on the board but, I hid them so no-one would eat them and then of-course I completely forgot I bought them! Lol.

I love making chocolate covered sweets and always add some to my charcuterie board. Plus, if my kids are around they love helping me with making and eating the chocolate dipped sweets : )

Before I start coating everything in chocolate- I lay out all the sweets and treats on the wax paper and get ready to melt the chocolate. I use the microwave to melt the chocolate, it works just as well as a double boiler- again its your preference. But, I do recommend using a microwave safe dish. I follow the instructions on the bag, and usually melt about 1-cup of chocolate at a time in 30-45 second intervals. Each time, taking it out and stirring the chocolate really well. If the chocolate is a little too thick after its been completely melted, you can add 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil to it and that will give it more of a smooth consistency.

A few tips:

If your looking for a quicker process when dipping your treats in chocolate- definitely just dip half of the item in instead of the entire piece.

I let the chocolate covered sweets sit for about 15 minutes, that way I know its completely dry. But, if I'm in a rush or making a lot a once- I do place the items in the refrigerator or freezer. It works just as well and dries much faster!

Before you grab your board and start making piles of the sweets, just make sure all your items are dry. If your using fruits and have washed them, you want to make sure they are completely dry when arranging it on the board. Otherwise, water and fruit juice can possible mix with all the dry sweets that you worked so hard on arranging. Another thing I do, is to add a little wax paper or doilies under the chocolate covered strawberries because they tend to melt alittle!

Now putting it all together is the fun part! There's no right or wrong way to arrange your sweets and treats! Just start by making small piles and adding enough until the pile is high and looks full! Sometimes, I even use little dishes on the board to put candy or a dipping sauce in!

Take a picture before you set it down, because you know it will never stay as pretty as you made it!! Have fun making and eating your Valentines Day Charcuterie board!

Items I used:

Wax paper

Chocolate melts (pink and white)

Ghiradelli chocolate chips

Sprinkles

Oreos

Pretzels

Candy

Strawberries

Rice Krispie treats

Vanilla Wafers

Mini Marshmallows

Store bought Items:

Powdered donuts

Cookies (I actually forgot I bought these- so they're not on the board!)

Making things pretty💗