Hot Chocolate Charcuterie for Christmas

Story by: Chef Julie Culpepper

This colorful presentation at your gathering will attract a crowd of all ages and set the tone for a fun festive atmosphere.

There is a craze going around with charcuterie and we thought it would be fun to adapt the concept to bring a little holiday cheer! I chose a hot cocoa theme but you may like coffee if you are pleasing an adult crowd.

It's also a great idea to bring out treasures from the past like these heirloom Santa mugs. My mom painted them in the 1970's and for this special occasion my sister let me borrow them. SO break out those holiday mugs you have been collecting and have a little trip down memory lane.

So anything or any flavor you love in hot chocolate, mound onto your platter with plenty of serving spoons available. You could label each ingredient individually or list them all together as I have done here. I used dehydrated marshmallows buy you could make homemade marshmallows in any flavor of your choosing.

I do caution you to add some inexpensive filler items to help keep this tray budget friendly. This can be done by getting most of your ingredients from the local grocery and dollar stores, but if there are a couple of treats that are worthy... go for it the only limit is your imagination! You can make it quite extravagant with as many specialty items as you would like.

There are all kinds of cute edible or chocolate dipped spoons and fancy chocolate and toffee in holiday shapes but the cost will add up quickly after you have online shopped and placed all your choices in your cart. Trust me, I've been there and done that even while preparing for this article.

So just be mindful of your budget and make your own chocolate dipped spoons if time permits. Just be creative with your accessories and generous with your ingredients so anyone can spoon an extra bite to pop into their mouths!

Ingredients used

Cinnamon Sticks

Peppermint crumbles

Milk chocolate chips

Semisweet chocolate chips

Butterscotch chips

Mint chocolate chips

Dehydrated marshmallows

English toffee crumbles

Rock candy stir sticks