S'Mores Board

The summer months are upon us, so it’s time for me to share (another!) fun twist on charcuterie boards!

If you follow my other blogs, you’ve probably come across one of my seasonal boards:

Game Day Charcuterie Board
Valentine's Day Charcuterie Board
St Patrick's Day Charcuterie Board
Easter Charcuterie Board
Rainbow Charcuterie Board
Canada Day Charcuterie Board
Thanksgiving Charcuterie Board
Halloween Charcuterie Board
Christmas Charcuterie Board
Charcuterie Wreath
Charcuterie Tree

... all savoury charcuterie, though!

Today’s post is all about designing a DESSERT board, featuring all the best s’mores flavors!

It’s a fun addition to the dessert table at pool parties and summer barbecues, and the perfect way to get a little extra when planning camping desserts.

The best thing? It’s just fun to do.

Making one of these s’mores platters does double duty, as both a dessert and an activity!

It’s also so much fun to plan for one of these boards, going over the options and designing your ideal spread.

Anyway, lots to discuss, so let’s get to it - you’ll be one step closer to elevating your next party or campfire!

S’Mores Ingredients

I like to include a good variety of ingredients when designing my dessert charcuterie board.

More variety = endless combinations. Endless combinations = more opportunities to perfect your dream s’mores creations!

Here are some of my go-to options and tips for taking simple s’mores to the next level:

Cookies

Cookies are the literal foundation of this sweet treat, so don’t mail it in when choosing your s’mores cookies.

Going beyond the classic graham cracker, I like to have a variety of flavours, textures, and appearance. Just keep in mind that people will generally be eating 2 of them - plus a marshmallow and chocolate!

So, try not to go TOO thick or crumbly!

Some good basic options to consider:

Graham Crackers
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Shortbread Cookies
Ginger Thins
Biscoff Cookies
Oatmeal Cookies

For gluten free, I recommend my recipes for Gluten Free Graham Crackers, Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies, Gluten Free Peanut Butter Cookies, and Gluten Free Chewy Chocolate Cookies. They're just WAY better than anything you can buy!

Some of my favorite cookies to use are the ones that have a layer of chocolate on one side, like Fudge Stripe Cookies.

Theoretically, you can skip a piece of chocolate and just use these cookies as a simplified smore - just add a toasted marshmallow... but where’s the fun in that?

Anyway, Celebration Cookies are another great option, and they come in a few different varieties!

Chocolate

As with cookies, I like having variety!

I like to aim for some kind of Dark Chocolate, Milk Chocolate, AND White Chocolate Bars... though they don’t have to be straight-up, plain versions of each.

Milk is my favourite kind of chocolate, dark is my husband’s, and there’s ALWAYS someone that’s into white for some reason.

A good way to meet my “minimum” of covering the 3 types? Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.

You can use Reese's Thins Milk Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups, Reese's Thins White Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups, and Reese's Thins Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups... and you’ve got the bases covered!

Beyond the peanut butter cups, some of my favourite options are:

Ferrero Rocher Milk Chocolate Hazelnut Bar
Ferrero Rocher Dark Chocolate Hazelnut Bar
Ghirardelli Chocolate Squares
York Peppermint Patties
Andes Mints

Here in Canada, I’m OK with using Hershey Bars - Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Bars, Hershey’s Special Dark Chocolate Bars, Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Bars with Almonds, and even Hershey’s Cookies N Creme White Chocolate Bars are all fun options.

I just can’t handle American Hershey chocolate. Chocolate isn’t supposed to be grainy, or have *that* aftertaste, IMHO!

Marshmallows

You can’t make s’mores without toasted marshmallows, so you’ll need some kind of Large Marshmallows.

If you go properly wild on your cookie and chocolate selection, you can totally just go for basic marshmallows, it’s all good.

At its very base level, your roasted marshmallow is more of a heat source and texture thing, anyway!

That said, I love including maple marshmallows (we get them at any of the Loblaws grocery stores), because they go really well with almost every kind of cookie.

Pro Tip: Canadian Tire is actually a really great place to get campfire marshmallows. They’ve even got these rainbow twist ones that I LOVE.

... but they threw off the aesthetic of my s’mores board, so I left them out! Food blogger problems, LOL.

Spreads

At the very minimum, I like having exactly 3 small ramekins of some kind of spread.

1 is too lonely on the board, 2 isn’t aesthetically pleasing (odd numbers = better for visual interest. Fashion design basics!), and 4 is overkill.

The lineup I usually choose from is:

Nutella
Raspberry Preserves
Peanut Butter
Cookie Butter
Caramel Sauce
Marshmallow Fluff

When choosing my 3, I try to aim for 3 very different colours / textures, to keep it visually interesting.

Extras

My final category is for whatever else I feel like adding, whether it’s bits of candy (in ramekins), or garnish.

In terms of candy, M&M’s Minis, Mini Chocolate Chips, Rainbow Sprinkles are all fun options to add a little crunch to a smooshed roasted marshmallow.

Beyond that, sometimes I like to add a bit of fresh garnish, to bring some pops of color to my board - strawberries and mint, usually.

Fresh fruit has the added benefit of doing double duty - bringing that colour to the board, AND being a bit of a palate cleanser / brightener to cut all that chocolate and cookie richness.

S’mores Charcuterie Supplies

Aside from the actual ingredients you’ll be serving to your guests, there are a few other supplies you’ll want for your s’mores platter.

A Serving Board

A S’mores Tray can be almost anything, as long as it’s food safe.

The size and shape you get are pretty wide open, and will depend on how many people you’re serving, the amount of space you have to serve it on, etc. I like to use a rectangular snack board, you may prefer round trays. It’s all good.

A Large Wooden Cutting Board will work for smaller displays, and most party supply and dollar stores have plastic platters that work really well for mid range charcuterie displays.

Using a baking sheet is a great way to keep things economical and utilitarian - which can be important on a camping trip!

Note: You can even make your own serving board - see our Cutting Boards 101 post, and our two wooden board tutorials:Colourful Squares Cutting Board & Log Cabin Cutting Board!

In terms of colour, I like using a very neutral coloured tray in general. Using a clear board works fine, but I like the way a bright white lets the colours of the food stand out.

Dip Bowls, Ramekins

If you’re serving dips or spreads, you’ll want some sort of small bowls on hand - I recommend using small ramekins.

2 oz Ceramic Ramekins work perfectly!

Serving Utensils

Have some small spoons on hand for things like sauces and dip - Espresso Spoons are perfectly sized for this..

If you’re serving to a crowd - rather than, say, a small board for 2 - I recommend having several Cocktail Tongs on hand.

This will help people keep their fingers out of food that others will be eating, as they’re choosing items for their own s’mores creation.

Be sure to be prepared with some sort of skewers, for everyone to roast their marshmallows with.

Anyway - finally - having small plates and napkins on hand is always a great idea! We ARE dealing with gooey marshmallows and melted chocolate, after all.

Indoor S’Mores Board

Traditional s’mores may be made over backyard fire pit or campfire, but you can enjoy your favorite fire-roasted treat indoors, too!

Using a Table Top Fire Pit is my favorite way to make perfect s’mores, when the weather isn’t agreeable.

The best part? It takes up very little space!

Ours is a Small Concrete Table Top Fire Pit , and we love it.

There’s nothing like enjoying a mini smores board for 2, while listening to a thunderstorm happening *outside* your tent or trailer!

How to Make an Epic S’mores Charcuterie Board

In just a few simple steps, you can work up a beautiful presentation of delicious s’mores ingredients. Here’s how I do it:

1. Place the ramekins of sauces or dips, spaced out on the board. This time around, I did raspberry preserves, Nutella, and peanut butter.

Arrange your cookies roughly where you’d like them to be - you can fuss with them later. I like to start by arranging the larger items in a creative manner first, and working my way down to smaller items.

Note: Be sure to leave areas for your marshmallows and chocolates!

Fill in the remaining empty spaces with your marshmallows.

Arrange your items more artfully, if desired, filling in any sparsely covered areas with more cookies, chocolate, marshmallows, etc.

Add dips to the bowls, if you haven't already, then garnish as desired.

Give everyone a long skewer, and enjoy!

Tips for S’mores Charcuterie Success

While making a s’mores dessert board is far less involved than making traditional charcuterie boards - in terms of food safety, food preparation at room temperature, etc - there are some things that are good to keep in mind.

1. Don’t feel like you have to put everything on the board at once.

There are bound to be items that are more popular and go faster - I like to keep extras in ziplock baggies, for refills. Make note of which s’mores combinations are most popular, and keep that in mind for next time!

2. You can assemble the cookies and chocolates even hours ahead, and cover them with plastic wrap.

If you’re doing this, I recommend putting empty ramekins in place, then just filling them with your sauces when you’re getting ready to serve it.

Add the marshmallows and garnish right before serving.

Have a plan for the leftovers

If you’re not serving a large group of people - and still want a good variety of items - you’re going to find yourself with leftovers. There are two ways I deal with this, and both involve dividing up the items:

a. Keeping in mind approximately how much we used, I’ll package up containers of “s’mores board in a box” in airtight containers, for easy assembly next time. This works best if you’ll be having another s’mores night within the next few weeks. It’s the perfect way to have another round of this fun dessert board, without more expense and extra fussing!

b. Dividing everything up into disposable leftovers containers - pictured above - and distributing them to friends or fellow campers. They can have their own delicious treats, without me having to worry about storage!

4. Make sure your charcuterie tray itself is food safe.

Some charcuterie boards are meant more for display, using woods or finishes that aren’t food safe.

That’s not to say you CAN’T use them for your s’mores charcuterie - just be sure to line them with parchment paper, so the food doesn’t actually touch the surface.

5. Observe good food handling hygiene

Wash your hands frequently and/or wear gloves while preparing your charcuterie board. Change gloves / wash hands after touching your face, using the washroom, touching your phone, etc.

6. Try to be inclusive, when you’re serving a mixed crowd.

If you know that some people are gluten free, it’s usually best to make a separate board entirely, to avoid cross contamination.

Just be sure to check that your chocolates for the GF S’mores Board are actually gluten free!

More Camping Recipes

Looking for great ideas to cook on a campfire, or in an RV? Here's a few simple recipes to start with!

Banana Protein Pancakes
Cabbage Roll Soup Mix [Just Add Meat and Water!]
Camping Breakfast Skillet
Camping Tacos, 2 Ways
Dutch Oven Pulled Chicken
Egg Roll Soup Mix [Just Add Meat and Water!]
Gingerbread Latte [Protein Powder Mix]
Hobo Eggs
Homemade Mushroom Jerky
Hot Chocolate Mix [Protein Powder Mix]
Instant Camping Pancake Mix
Instant Cream of Chicken Soup [Protein Powder Mix]
Italian Wedding Soup Mix
Pepperoni Jerky
Pumpkin Chai Latte [Protein Powder Mix]
Smoky Campfire Chili
Traditional Bannock
Vegan Tofu Jerky