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Join the charcuterie board hype this holiday season and try your hand at making a Christmas Tree Charcuterie board! This delicious spread of meats and cheeses has the shape of a Christmas tree and is sure to delight any crowd!
Cheesy Charcuteries
Many years ago (and I’m talking the “oh! Have you heard of this new site called PINTEREST?” days), I tried my hand at my very first holiday themed cheese platter. It was Christmas Eve and we were hosting a huge multi-family get together. I spent days leading up to the holiday party scouring Pinterest for menu ideas and one of the first things I tried (and then posted about) was a Christmas tree cheese platter. That appetizer was a huge hit! It looked amazing and was really very simple to make.
I used cherry tomatoes, pepperjack, mild cheddar, sharp cheddar and added some fresh thyme for the garnish.
Dessert Boards for All Occasions
In more recent years, my grazing board creations turned decidedly SWEET with several fun dessert board ideas.
Check them out:
- DIY Christmas Holiday Dessert Charcuterie Board
- Hot Chocolate Charcuterie Dessert Board
- DIY Valentine’s Day Dessert Charcuterie Board
- Easy St Patrick’s Day Rainbow Dessert Charcuterie Board
- Easter Candy Dessert Charcuterie Board
Wooden Serving Boards
Follow the directions below for an easy holiday appetizer that combines pepperoni, cheese and crackers in a festive presentation. Besides the ingredients, the main supply you will need for this dish is the actual wooden board that holds the food.
You might already have a wooden cutting board at home that will work great.
If not, here are some options:
- Acacia Wood Live Edge Round Serving Board, Large 15″-18″ Diameter
- Luomal Round Wood Cutting Board with Handle
- Acacia Wood Pizza Peel,12″ Cutting Board
- AIDEA Wood Cutting Board Large Charcuterie Board Serving Tray With Handle (17″x11″)
- Slate Stone Round Gourmet Chalkboard Serving Platter (not wooden, but a neat alternative!)
Christmas Tree Charcuterie Board
This grazing board comes together with minimal prep time and can be made the day before your party if you’d like. (Note: I would recommend waiting to put the bread and crackers out until just before serving. Otherwise, they will start to get stale.) Grazing boards make great snack options for just about any kind of gathering.
Crowd Size: Our version would be a great size for approximately 4-6 guests, assuming you have some other appetizers for them to eat. You can easily adjust the amount of food on this board up or down, depending on crowd size.
Cheese Board Ingredients
Gather up the following ingredients to create your board:
- 8oz Cheddar Cheese Cubes
- 8oz Swiss Cheese Cubes
- 8oz Fresh Mozzarella Balls (the small ones)
- Fresh Rosemary sprigs
- 5oz Pepperoni
- Olives
- Crackers
- Baguette
Easy Prep Instructions
1. Use a shot glass to create your pepperoni “roses.” Fold a pepperoni onto the shot glass and then overlap a new pepperoni with the previous one. Repeat this process with another 4-6 slices until you cannot fit any more inside the glass. Flip the glass over and remove the “rose” from the glass.
2. Arrange cheese cubes, crackers, and pepperoni roses (salami would work, too!) in a Christmas tree shape on your board.
3. Separate the layers of the tree by adding sprigs of rosemary.
4. Sprinkle olives over the cheese layers to look like ornaments.
5. Serve with a baguette. You can add a star-shaped ornament or decoration to the top of the tree if you’d like. Another option that works well is to cut a star out of cheese with a cookie cutter. As are as the tree trunk, I tend to skip that part of the tree. I allow the base of the tree to stop just before the trunk. If you prefer the tree to have a trunk, feel free to create this shape with rectangular crackers.
Printable Version of the Recipe
Christmas Tree Charcuterie Board
Equipment
- wooden cheese board
- shot glass
Ingredients
- 8 oz cheddar cheese cubes
- 8 oz Swiss cheese cubes
- 8 oz fresh mozzarella balls mini
- fresh rosemary
- 5 oz pepperoni slices
- olives
- crackers
- baguette
Instructions
- Create pepperoni roses: Make 2 roses by layering pepperoni slices around the inside of a shot glass. Keep overlapping the slices until you cannot fit any more in the glass. Next, flip the glass over and remove the pepperoni "rose."
- Create a Christmas tree shape by laying the cheeses, roses and crackers.
- Separate the layers with sprigs of fresh rosemary.
- Use olives to create tree ornaments.
- Serve with a baguette (optional).
Additional Ideas for a Christmas Charcuterie Board
Here are a few more ideas you may or may not want to incorporate into your board:
- Spreads: Place a few small ramekins of various spreads on the side. Honey, jams and mustard are all great options.
- Ornaments: While our example used green olives, you can create different looks by using sugared cranberries, nuts, grapes, or black olives as ornaments.
- Sides: Serve various types of crackers, pretzel sticks, or breads on the side of your board to enjoy with the cheeses and spreads.
- More meats: In addition to pepperoni, you can try using salami and/or prosciutto as meat varieties.
- Different cheeses: Give your tree even more colors by adding more layers with additional cheese flavors. We love havarti cheese, smoked gouda, and aged cheddar.
Let me know if you decide to give this charcuterie board a try! Feel free to tag me on social media if you post a picture of your creation – I would love to see it!
