Love is in the air. Or maybe it's all the sugar.
There seems to be a board for everything these days: meat and cheese, chips and dips, fruit and, you guessed it, dessert.
The traditional "charcuterie board" style of eating has taken a sweet turn, with dessert boards ranging from chic to rustic to thematic.
Robin Plotkin of Dallas is a registered dietitian nutritionist and founder and chief board maker at Board Mama, a charcuterie and grazing board business that she just launched this year.
"I've been building boards for many years for various occasions. I'm generally not allowed into parties without a board in hand," Plotkin says.
Dessert boards happen to be her favorite type of board because "it's a perfect way to display sweet, salty and fresh all at the same time. Fresh fruits, dark chocolates, cheeses, nuts and seeds are all that's needed for an impressive dessert with something everyone will love."
Building your own board
Keep these tips in mind when building your dessert board:
* Dessert boards can get pricey pretty quickly, so remember that a little bit can go a long way.
* Don't limit yourself to a rectangular board. Try different shapes and textures.
* Add cookie cutters to hold items. Use white icing to secure the cookie cutter to the board, let it dry, and then fill the cookie cutters with favorite candies.
* Offer a variety of desserts, like cookies, petit fours and macarons from favorite locations, either specialty bakeries or grocery stores.
* Don't just stick with cookies. Use candies (sweet or sour), chocolates, etc.
* Make dessert boards a bit healthier with nuts and fresh fruit.
* A homemade dessert board makes a great gift. Check out more dessert boards here.
Rebecca White of Plano blogs at apleasantlittlekitchen.com.
Valentine's Dessert Board
6 petits fours from Stein's Bakery in Dallas
12 macarons from Chelles Macarons in Dallas and Plano
1 (11-ounce) bag Starburst jelly beans (Valentine's themed)
1 (14-ounce bag) Skittles (Valentine's themed)
1 (14-ounce) bag Trader Joe's XO gummies
1 (10-ounce) box Trader Joe's heart-shaped cookies
1 (6.5-ounce) box Girl Scout's Tagalongs
Squeezable white frosting
3 heart-shaped cookie cutters
Large wooden cutting board
Coat the bottom rim of the cookie cutters with a generous amount of frosting. Place them on three points on the cutting board. Secure with additional frosting as needed. Wipe away any excess frosting. Let dry for 10 minutes. Fill with the jelly beans and Skittles.
Place the remaining ingredients throughout the board. Arrange them by color, size, texture, shape or however you prefer.
Makes 12 servings.
Sweet and Salty Board with Honey Cinnamon Mascarpone Dip
Pastry chef Kristen Massad likes to start her boards with a flavor profile and a dip that goes well with all the items. Honey Cinnamon Mascarpone Dip can be whipped up quickly and has a touch of sweet, perfect for fresh fruit, cookies and wafers.
Assortment of chocolate-dipped fruits (strawberries, bananas, orange slices or dried apricots, figs and candied lemons)
Assortment of cookies and wafers (lemon, caramel-filled, hazelnut pirouettes)
Assortment of candies (gummies, caramels, nougat, brandied cherries, chocolate truffles and peanut butter cups)
Assortment of salty snacks (chocolate-dipped potato chips or chocolate-dipped pretzels)
Honey Cinnamon Mascarpone Dip: In a food processor combine 1 (8-ounce) package mascarpone cheese, 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream, 2 tablespoons honey and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon. Pulse until fluffy. Transfer to a serving dish and refrigerate until ready to serve.