Fall Dessert Board With Pumpkin And Hot Cocoa Dips Recipe

Classic charcuterie boards with various cured meats, cheeses, and crackers certainly have a place in this world, but what if you're looking for something on the sweeter side? Enter, the dessert board, a beautiful platter often arranged in a similar fashion to a charcuterie but with various sweet treats, fruits, and decadent dips. Recipe developer Patterson Watkins took the idea of a classic dessert board and ran with it, transforming it into a festive fall feast. Her take on a fall dessert board, which comes with all sorts of sweet dippers and both a pumpkin and hot cocoa dip, is any snack lover's dream. And, considering Watkins is a self-proclaimed snack enthusiast herself, it's safe to say that this board covers a wide range of flavor profiles and sweetness levels.

"I like the seasonality of this sweet snack board," Watkins tells us, explaining that her intentional choice of fall-geared goodies — apples, pears, cinnamon cookies, and even caramel popcorn — helps add to the autumnal nature of this board. "I also like how the board can be morphed to feed a group or scaled to satisfy a hearty sweet tooth," she adds, meaning that you can whip up an extravagant fall dessert board for a movie night or party, or you can scale it down to accommodate you and you alone.

There are three components to this dessert board: the pumpkin dip, the hot cocoa dip, and the dippers/fruits/snacks that make up the board itself. For the pumpkin dip, you'll need pumpkin puree, softened cream cheese, powdered sugar, pumpkin pie spice, and vanilla extract. For the hot cocoa dip, you'll need more softened cream cheese, a packet of dry hot cocoa mix, and marshmallow fluff.

As for the various snacks on the board, that's where you can get really creative and fill it up with your favorite fall goodies. Watkins adorns her board with graham crackers, Biscoff cookies, gingersnap cookies, yogurt-covered pretzels (or white chocolate ones), wafer cookie twists, dark chocolate (broken into chunks), red grapes, caramel popcorn, both red and green apple slices, and pear slices. You can follow Watkins' recipe to a T and adorn your board with the exact same snacks, or you can pick and choose different options depending on personal preference.

To make the pumpkin dip, place the cream cheese, pumpkin puree, powdered sugar, pumpkin pie spice, and vanilla extract in the bowl of a food processor.

Blend until smooth.

Transfer the dip to a serving bowl, cover, and refrigerate for 30 minutes to chill and set.

To make the hot cocoa dip, place the cream cheese and hot cocoa mix in a mixing bowl fitted with the whisk attachment.

Beat until smooth and fluffy.

Add the marshmallow fluff and whipped topping to the bowl and, using a rubber spatula, gently stir until combined.

Transfer the dip to a serving bowl, cover, and refrigerate for 30 minutes to chill and set.

Once they're chilled, place the dips on a large serving platter.

Decorate the platter with the assorted dippers: graham crackers, Biscoff cookies, gingersnaps, pretzels, wafer twists, dark chocolate, grapes, caramel corn, apples, and pear. Serve immediately.

Despite not involving any cooking, there is still some level of intimidation in making and decorating this dessert board. Adorning any charcuterie board can be a daunting challenge, as striking a perfect aesthetic balance can be more difficult than it initially seems. Watkins says, "Seasonality, colors, textures, and pair-ability are the rules I follow when assembling my dessert boards." If you keep this tip in mind, you too can successfully arrange a stellar dessert board.

When placing snacks on the board, Watkins makes sure there's plenty of assortment, and she likes to break up where she puts certain items. For example, you don't need to put a single, giant cluster of pretzels in one area — you can have a couple of smaller piles across the board, which will keep it from looking too bulky and will help ensure that everyone can reach each snack easily. "When putting everything together, I like to spread the love," Watkins says. She does so by "dividing and distributing the different shapes, textures, colors, and flavors." Also, try to avoid gaps or blank spaces on the board — the best way to ensure a beautiful finished product is to cover every inch in colorful goodies.

As for what to avoid, just consider keeping "wet" ingredients away from the dry ones. For example, the apple slices might not work well right next to the Biscoff cookies unless you enjoy slightly soggy cookies.

We've already established that there's plenty of room for creativity when selecting which snacks can go on a dessert board. When it comes to assembling a fall board, you are a little more limited in what you add so as to stay on theme with the season. But, even if you aren't fully on board with Watkins' seasonal snack selections, there are still plenty of other dips or dippers that you could bring to the table (er, platter). "Any sweet seasonal dips would work well on this dessert board (store-bought or homemade)," Watkins says. "Rehashed cake icing, seasoned with baking spices, would be fun. Ice cream toppings, too — try warm caramel or chocolate sauce."

As for other dippers or snacks, just because this is a dessert board doesn't mean you can't incorporate a charcuterie favorite: cheese. Watkins specifically suggests soft cheeses, such as Brie or goat varieties, to pair well with the sweet elements of the board without clashing. Or you could add even more fruit, like dried apple chips or apricots. Finally, double down on the cookies and add biscotti to the mix to keep on theme with the dessert nature of the board.