Christmas Hot Chocolate Charcuterie Board

There’s nothing like the comforting warmth and taste of a steaming mug of hot chocolate, topped with marshmallows, and a drizzle of chocolate syrup. Take your hot chocolate game to the next level with a Christmas Hot Chocolate Charcuterie Board! It’s filled with all the sweets, chocolate, and everything you need to put in your hot cocoa!

Let it snow. Let it snow. LET IT SNOW! For real, for real. Snow is no joke, and as I get older, I enjoy it less and less each year. In my humble opinion, snow can arrive the week of Christmas for a perfect Norman Rockwell snowcapped postcard then disappear completely shortly thereafter.

For me, the day after Christmas should be Spring. Can I get an amen? But there are those moments when I wake up to a freshly snow-covered landscape, and the beauty of the snow-blanketed scenery makes me forget about the drawbacks of living in the Great Lake state. It’s a double-edged sword because I know sooner or later I’ll have to pull on my boots, bundle up as best I can, and grab the snow shovel and get to work removing the white stuff and hating every moment of my one-man snow removal crew. After a few hours spent shoveling snow, thawing out and warming up with a steaming cup of hot chocolate sounds pretty good to me.

Although we are big entertainers, there are those times when I love creating something just for the two of us. I put together this fun and tasty Holiday Hot Chocolate Dessert Board loaded with lots of my lover girl’s favorite treats (and a few of mine) we love nibbling on sweet and delicious goodies while enjoying some homemade hot chocolate and quality downtime together. I actually made this for our couple’s movie night. How “sweet” of me, right?

We both love chocolate, so having lots of chocolate drenched sweets is a must! And if you’ve never had gingersnaps, (they’re perfect for dipping in your hot chocolate), then let me be the first to tell it, you are missing out. The same goes for the yogurt covered pretzels. Too good!

Is it me, or does the ritualistic process of making homemade hot chocolate hold a special place in one’s heart? As a kid, I watched my mom make hot chocolate using shaved chocolate, unsweetened cocoa powder, sugar, and whole vitamin D cow’s milk, and it was like some kind of delicious magic taking place right before my eyes. And then when she sat that big mug of hot chocolate down in front of me, it was the best thing ever! The steam rising up to meet my nose smelled like a kind of heaven, and when she added a couple of big marshmallows, it was even better. Now, I love doing the same for my own family because carrying on the hot chocolate tradition is quite honestly, the best thing about winter! So, go ahead Mother Nature bring on the snow, as long as I have lots of hot chocolate to warm me up I think I’ll be alright.

What You Will Need To Make Homemade Hot Chocolate

Milk. Here you can use whatever kind of milk you like. Cow’s milk, Coconut, Cashew, or Almond. Grab whatever makes you feel good. For this recipe, I used equal parts whole cow’s milk and heavy cream.

Cocoa Powder. I love using Ghirardelli’s Chocolate & Cocoa – Sweet Ground Powder. It’s an all-around great blend for making just about anything that calls for cocoa powder better. But use whatever you happen to have on hand.

Sugar. Granulated sugar works for this recipe. I also love using superfine sugar because it dissolves faster. I also use light brown sugar from time to time, and it gives the hot chocolate a richer flavor profile.

Ground Cinnamon. A little bit of ground cinnamon adds a touch of spice that screams fall and winter.

Pure Vanilla Extract. Adding a bit of pure vanilla extract ups the ante when it comes to making hot chocolate, but be wary, once you try it, it’ll be hard to go back. You’ve been warned.

Homemade Christmas Hot Chocolate Recipe

Ingredients:

2 cups whole milk
2 cups heavy cream
3-4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa (milk chocolate or dark)
1/3 cup superfine or granulated sugar (or light brown sugar for a richer taste)
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Hot Chocolate Toppings

Marshmallows
Chocolate Syrup
Gingerbread Man Sprinkles

Directions:

Place a stockpot with the milk and heavy cream over med-high heat. When the milk begins to steam, don’t let the milk come to a boil, whisk in the unsweetened cocoa, sugar, pure vanilla extract, and ground cinnamon.
Continue to whisk until the ingredients are completely dissolved into the milk and heavy cream mixture.
Remove the stockpot from the heat. Ladle the hot chocolate into mugs and top with marshmallows as you want and drape with drizzles of milk chocolate, dark chocolate, or white chocolate syrup.
Add the gingerbread man sprinkles.
Serve.

You can also check out our other hot chocolate recipes:

Rye + RumChata Hot Chocolate Cocktail with Snicker Marshmallows {adult version}

Hot Chocolate Recipe | The Han Coco + Meteor Meringue

S’ mores Hot Chocolate Shots

Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Caramel Hot Chocolate

What You Need To Make a Hot Chocolate Charcuterie Board

We shopped at Home Goods for all these sweet treats, but you can find them at your grocery this time of the year. You can also shop online with the links listed below.