Valentine’s Day is right around the corner and along with it comes all things pink, white, red and sugary. I don’t know about you, but I’ve been OBSESSING with charcuterie boards for the last couple of years… so I thought I’d try my hand at a perfectly pink, Valentines-inspired charcuterie board filled with candy, marshmallows, chocolate-covered pretzels, circus cookies, and fresh strawberries (ya know, for a healthy balance). Ha!
So stick with me and I’ll tell you what you need to recreate this perfectly pink charcuterie board just in time for Valentines Day.
The Shopping List for Your Valentines-Inspired Charcuterie Board
To recreate this pink charcuterie board of sugary goodness, you’ll need:
- Strawberries
- Chocolate covered pretzels
- Gummy Hearts
- Mini marshmallows
- Strawberry marshmallows
- White chocolate chips
- Circus cookies (Divided into white and pink)
- Strawberry wafer cookie
- Lindt strawberry and cream truffles
- Strawberry Pocky
- Pink Starburst candies (buy the all pink pack)
Do What Tastes Yummy!
Again, this is the list that I used , based on some of my favorite pink treats. If you like other candies like Swedish Fish (yuck!) or Sour Power Watermelon Belts (Yum!), add them! You are in complete control here friends. Feel free to get creative and use the treats that you, your family, and your lover love to eat.
PRO TIP: Don’t forget a couple bottles of Martinelli’s and champaign flutes (if you don’t already own a set).
How to Arrange Your Charcuterie Board
I know that this may look like the type of thing that you just dump all the ingredients out on a board and call it good. While that might work, there really is a science to making it look full and bounteous. Following these simple steps, you’ll be the girl known for making the prettiest charcuterie boards in all the land!
1. Make sure you have enough ingredients.
There is nothing worse than a charcuterie board that is sparse. Period.
Anytime you start out seeing the bottom of the board or platter it means you did not add enough. For starters, when it looks like there isn’t enough food, it feels like (as the guest eating said charcuterie board) that there isn’t enough to even take any of the board. The whole point of a charcuterie board is to encourage grazing and allow the guests to pick freely off the board. When there is more than enough, it doesn’t feel like the guest is “taking the last one” and it’s just more inviting.
PRO TIP: Make sure to have extra ingredients in the pantry to refill your piles when they start to get low.
2. Pile High and Tight
I attended culinary school about 10 years ago, and this “high and tight” concept helped me understand how to better present food, especially for a charcuterie board. When you’re building a charcuterie board, you want the food to be in piles that are high and piled up like a little hill. This is the number one tip to looking like a professional when building a charcuterie board. It will also help to make your spread more bounteous, which is more inviting to pick from.
3. Dry vs. Wet Foods
One thing to keep in mind when mixing candy and fresh fruit is the dry and wet factors. You need to wash your fresh produce and fully dry it before adding it to your charcuterie board. If you add wet ingredients to dry ones (especially sugary ones) they’ll get stained, discolored and soggy. Gross.
Another trick is to arrange the foods right before your ready to serve, this will keep things fresh and make sure the ingredients don’t go stale. Are you planning to make a Valentine’s Charcuterie Board? Tell me in the comments what you plan to put on it!