How to Make a Dessert Platter: 50 Easy Ideas

A sweet party platter is guaranteed to be hit when entertaining! Learn how to make a dessert platter with tons of easy ideas, themes, and style tips to put together the ultimate dessert charcuterie board!

Dessert Platter for sweets

A dessert platter always impresses at a party. Guests love being able to graze on a variety of sweet treats and pick out their favorites. Plus, nothing says celebration more than sugar!

Play off the popularity of meat and cheese charcuterie boards, and make a dessert platter to go along with it. Dessert plates can be styled to pair with different themes, such as birthdays, baby or wedding showers, Christmas, or Valentine’s.

Dessert boards are easy to assemble, but always look so impressive. Read below for a variety of creative theme ideas, what to put on a dessert board, and how to add unique decorative touches.

Easy Dessert Platter Ideas

The possibilities are practically endless of sweets to include on a dessert board. If you want to focus on a group of desserts for the charcuterie, pick one of these categories.

• Cookie Platter – Don’t forget the milk or hot chocolate to serve along with it!
• Chocolate Board – Pick a variety of milk chocolate, white chocolate, and dark chocolate to appeal to all guests.
• Fruit and Cheese – Fresh fruits, nuts, cheeses, and cured meats (or try this Chocolate Salami) are perfect for a dinner party or throwing a wine tasting party.
• Hot Chocolate Bar – Keep hot chocolate warm in a crockpot and pair with marshmallows, churros, peppermint sticks, chocolate dipped spoons, and booze, like Kahlua, Baileys, Rumchata, Fireball, or Godiva chocolate liqueur. Don’t forget the cookies for dipping!
• Chocolate Fondue Bar – Serve with a dessert platter of fruits, cookies, cubed cake, rice krispie treats, marshmallows, pretzels, cream puffs, and brownies for dipping.
• Candy Bar – Head to your local bulk candy bar to pick out gummies, suckers, M&Ms, taffy, rock candy, malted milk balls, mints, and licorice.

Dessert Serving Platter Themes

A grand dessert spread is the perfect way to celebrate any occasion! Dessert boards can be stylized to fit a variety of parties and holidays by using color coordinated baked goods, candies, and dipped chocolates.

1. Baby Shower Dessert Board – Pick candies and dessert colors to pair with gender. Add baby themed toothpicks and cake decorations to desserts.
2. Wedding or Wedding Shower Dessert Table – Choose elegant desserts such as petit fours, cream puffs, french macaroons, mini cupcakes, and dipped strawberries.
3. Book Club – Think afternoon tea with sweet scones, shortbread, cream puffs, jam cookies, biscuits, devonshire cream, and lemon curd.
4. Valentine’s Day Dessert Plate – Serve heart-shaped cookies, red and pink candies, chocolates, candy hearts, and brownies cut into heart shapes.
5. Christmas Dessert Platter – Display all that holiday baking with Christmas cookies, fudge, gingerbread men, spice breads, truffles, dipped pretzels, candy, and peanut brittle. 
6. Cookie Exchange – This also works for a Christmas dessert board or just an excuse to have friends come together and bake! Put out small to-go containers for guests to bring home their own party gift.
7. Wine and Cheese – Pair lighter desserts, such as fresh fruit, chocolate dipped dried fruit, shortbread cookies, fresh honeycomb, and jams with a variety of cheeses.
8. Birthday – Bring out the funfetti desserts and lots of sprinkles. Display fun and whimsy treats for kids, like cotton candy, cupcakes, candy bar, or dipped marshmallows. For adults, think throwback desserts, like old fashioned candy, Little Debbie’s snack cakes, or vintage recipes for cakes, cookies, and bars.

Types of Platters to Use for a Sweet Dessert Board 

If you don’t have a large serving platter there are other household items that may be used such as a pizza paddle, wooden cutting board, or serving tray.

If you have a big spread, simply lay sweet treats on a table covered with parchment paper or variety of smaller plates grouped together.

What to Put on a Dessert Platter

• Fresh fruit – blueberries, strawberries, grapes, raspberries, blackberries, kiwi
• Cookies – oreos, circus animal cookies, shortbread, Nutter Butters or any homemade cookie.
• Dipping Sauces – caramel sauce, hot fudge, chocolate syrup, peanut butter dip, marshmallow creme, frosting, or a cream cheese fruit dip
• Crackers – animal crackers, graham crackers, sweet goldfish crackers (smore or cupcake flavored), Teddy Grahams, tea biscuits
• Nuts – salted, candied, toasted coconut, or chocolate covered
• Dried Fruits – apricots, figs, bananas, mangoes, or freeze dried strawberries and apples
• Chocolate dipped pretzels
• Brownies and Bars, such as Rice Krispies Treats, Banana Bars, Scotcheroos, and Sugar Cookie Bars
• Candy – gummies, jelly beans, M&Ms, marshmallows, mini candy bars
• Popcorn, Chocolate Covered Popcorn or Microwave Caramel Corn
• Chocolates – truffles, buckeyes, chocolate bark, chocolate covered nuts, white chocolate bark, turtles, candy bars, and cake balls
• Bakery – check your local grocery store for mini cupcakes, mini fruit tarts, loaf cakes, bundt cake, or mini muffins
• Trail Mixes – store bought mixes, Puppy Chow (aka Muddy Buddies), or a sweet and salty mix

Decorating Sweet Party Platters

Whether you’re serving a smaller dessert plate or a charcuterie board loaded with sweet party platter ideas, it’s easy to add a little pizazz. Take the dessert board to the masterpiece level by adding any of these festive touches.

• Flowers
• Sprinkles
• Mint
• Fancy picks

Chocolate Dessert Board

Celebrate Valentine’s day or a chocolate lover with a chocolate dessert platter. Use a variety of candies and truffles. Then add treats dipped in milk, dark, or white chocolate such as…

• Rice krispie treats
• Oreos
• Pretzel rods or twists
• Nutter butters
• Dried fruit
• Marshmallows
• Graham crackers
• Strawberries

After dipping, sprinkle on sea salt, toasted coconut, sprinkles, crushed nuts, cookies, or candies.

How To Make a Dessert Platter 

1. First, display and position the largest item on the dessert board. For this platter, I cut a large wedge of watermelon and scooped out the flesh.

2. Next, fill in the cut watermelon with a variety of fresh fruit. Alternatively, pile up heaps of grapes and berries in one corner.

3. Place on small bowls of sauces, candies, chocolates, trail mix, marshmallows or nuts around the dessert board.

4. Arrange the baked goods, candies, cookies, cupcakes, or chocolates in the empty spaces. Group them together in piles or fan them out in curved lines.

5. Finally add the decorative touches. Use fresh or fake flowers, party picks, fresh mint, or sprinkles.

Tips for Making a Sweet Dessert Platter

1. It doesn’t need to be all homemade! Make one or two baked goods and fill in the rest with a variety of store bought candies, cookies, nuts, and fruits.
2. Or make nothing at all! Your homemade touch can be as easy as buy dried fruits, graham crackers, or oreos and dipping them in chocolate.
3. If you plan on dipping desserts in chocolate, plan ahead. It takes at least 12 hours for the chocolate to fully harden.

SAVE THIS Dessert Platter TO YOUR PINTEREST BOARD!

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