Hot Chocolate Charcuterie Board

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This Hot Chocolate Charcuterie Board is such a fun way to serve hot cocoa for Christmas parties, holiday movie nights, or a cozy evening at home! Loaded with marshmallows, candy canes, chocolate, hot cocoa bombs, and all kinds of delicious toppings, this festive hot cocoa board lets everyone create their own perfect cup of hot chocolate.

My boys absolutely loved this when we made it, and I can already tell it’s going to become one of our favorite Christmas traditions. It’s basically a miniature hot chocolate bar, with everything arranged on one beautiful board for everyone to enjoy!

The best part? You can customize your board with your family’s favorite hot chocolate toppings, and it only takes a little time to put everything together.

What to Put on a Hot Chocolate Charcuterie Board

The fun thing about making a hot cocoa charcuterie board is that you can use just about any of your favorite hot chocolate toppings and treats! Here’s what I recommend including:

• Hot chocolate mix: Start with your favorite powdered hot cocoa mix, either store-bought or homemade.
• Marshmallows: Mini marshmallows, jumbo marshmallows, or fun Christmas-shaped marshmallows are perfect.
• Chocolate: Chocolate chips, chocolate chunks, peppermint bark, or chocolate candies add extra sweetness.
• Peppermint treats: Crushed candy canes, peppermint sticks, and mini candy canes make the board extra festive.
• Fun extras: Hot cocoa bombs, chocolate stirrers, wafer cookies, and holiday sprinkles make your board feel special.

You don’t need every single ingredient on this list. Choose a variety of your favorites and arrange them together for a fun, festive hot chocolate board!

Ingredients for Our Christmas Hot Cocoa Board

• Swiss Miss Hot Chocolate Mix- you’ll need 10-12 servings, and you may need to add just some of this to your board, and refill as it runs out.
• 1 cup Semi-sweet chocolate chips or chunks (we used chunks, but the smaller the better for melting- miniature chocolate chips would be perfect!)
• ½ cup Brach’s crushed candy canes, or you can crush your own
• 4-5+ Chocolate and peppermint hot cocoa stirrers (We found these at Target! You could also make your own chocolate spoons.)
• 10 Ghirardelli peppermint bark squares – These are so delicious. Add them to your chocolate or just enjoy as-is.
• About 1 cup of peppermint Hershey kisses
• 2-3 Hot Chocolate Bombs (Our star shaped ones came from Target, but you can use any cocoa bombs.)
• ¼ cup Christmas sprinkles
• 10-12 Pirouline wafer cookies
• About 24 miniature candy canes (This is a lot but they are beautiful on the board!)
• About ½ a bag of miniature marshmallows
• About ½ a bag of Christmas shaped marshmallows (These were also a Target find!)
• 1-2 Snowman Hot Cocoa cup toppers (These, too!)
• 10-12 Paper straws for stirring

You’ll also need an assortment of small bowls.

Directions:

To build this board, we started with our cocoa as the centerpiece. We filled the bowl with Swiss Miss hot cocoa mix, and will refill, if needed. 

We also placed our other two items that we wanted in bowls- the chocolate chunks and crushed peppermints, and our smaller cup of sprinkles.

You can place things and rearrange, as needed. The bowls gave us a nice starting point, and make it easy to tuck things around them.

We added our longer ingredients, spreading them out around the board (straws, Pirouline wafers, and cocoa stirrers). 

Then, we filled in around those with our Ghirardelli chocolate squares, mini candy canes, and Hershey kisses. 

Next, we filled in all of the outer spaces with our marshmallows. We used fun Christmas shaped ones, as well as miniature marshmallows. If you can’t find the fun shapes, you can just use mini marshmallows all around, or even make your own homemade marshmallows.

Then, we positioned the hot cocoa bombs and cocoa toppers around the board.

Finally, we went around the board filling in wherever needed with more candy canes, straws, marshmallows, candies, etc… to give the board a really full appearance. We also filled in any empty space we saw with more ingredients.

Once your board is built it is ready to enjoy! You just need warm milk or water. You could keep this warm in thermoses near the board, or even in a crock pot.

Even more yummy hot chocolate toppings you could include on your Hot Chocolate Charcuterie Board-

• Caramel sauce or chocolate syrup
• Cinnamon sticks
• White chocolate chips
• Peppermint sticks
• Chocolate bars
• Whipped cream
• Caramel candies
• Anything else you consider to be your favorite toppings for hot chocolate!

This is definitely going to be a new tradition for us during the holiday season. It would be perfect for Christmas Eve, a family movie night, or your next holiday party. This board makes for a miniature hot chocolate bar, and it will be a huge hit! There isn’t much better in the cold weather than a cup of hot cocoa.

Tips for Making the Best Hot Cocoa Board

• Start with small bowls. Place your hot cocoa mix, chocolate chips, crushed candy canes, and sprinkles into small bowls first. Arrange the rest of the ingredients around them.
• Use different shapes and sizes. Tall wafer cookies, candy canes, small chocolates, and fluffy marshmallows create a pretty arrangement and help fill the board.
• Keep wet toppings separate. Whipped cream, caramel sauce, and chocolate syrup are best served in separate containers alongside the board.
• Prepare ahead when possible. You can arrange most of the dry ingredients ahead of time. Cover the board until you’re ready to serve, and add any fresh or refrigerated toppings at the last minute.
• Keep your milk or water warm. A slow cooker set to warm or insulated thermoses are convenient for serving hot chocolate at parties. Keep milk at a food-safe serving temperature.
• Have extra ingredients ready. Keep extra marshmallows, candy canes, and hot chocolate mix nearby so you can easily refill the board as everyone enjoys it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I make a hot chocolate charcuterie board ahead of time?

Yes! You can arrange the dry ingredients on your board several hours before serving. Cover everything to keep it fresh, and add whipped cream or other refrigerated toppings right before serving.

What size board should I use?

The best size depends on how many people you’re serving and how many toppings you want to include. A large wooden serving board, tray, or platter works well. You can also use a smaller board for a family movie night and refill ingredients as needed.

Do I need to use all of these ingredients?

Not at all! This hot cocoa board is completely customizable. Start with hot chocolate mix, marshmallows, and a few favorite toppings, then add extra treats based on your budget and what you already have.

How do I serve hot chocolate with a charcuterie board?

Set mugs beside your board and offer warm milk or water in an insulated pitcher, thermos, or slow cooker. Everyone can prepare their hot chocolate and choose their favorite toppings, candies, and stirrers.

More Hot Chocolate Ideas

• Hot Chocolate Sticks
• Hot Chocolate Snowman Toppers
• Gingerbread Hot Chocolate
• Peppermint Hot Chocolate in a Jar – easy DIY gift!
• Baileys Hot Chocolate

We have so many fun ideas here, and we are a little obsessed with these fun dessert charcuterie boards, and hope to make lots more to share. For a printable version of how to set up this board, see the recipe card below.

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