Halloween Tricks or Treats — October Board of the Month!

We’re well into fall and in our house, we’ve taken a turn to start incorporating a few Halloween moments. (You can check a full post on EASY Halloween decor ideas HERE.) While we’ve enjoyed bringing Mister Bonejangles out, Eliza isn’t too thrilled — see if you can spy her reaction through the window! haha

Halloween Charcuterie Board

And along with the Halloween decor, we’ve started to tiptoe into some of the Halloween treats. Here’s the end result of assembling all our favorites for the ultimate Halloween charcuterie board (or “trick or treat snack board” ;).

Little eyeball garnishes can be added to so many snacks and spreads this season. You can find some candy eyeballs HERE.

My mom is a board addict (like me) and just scored this black board for her kitchen to compliment her collection of natural toned wood boards — of course, we had to use it for Halloween!

Black Board

A few guidelines I established when concepting the Halloween charcuterie board were:

• General color scheme of orange, black/brown, purple, green
• Keep straight candy to a minimum to make room for goodies you wouldn’t necessarily receive at a neighbor’s house
• Minimize repeating “characters” so each could stand on its own (ex: there are only one type of spider, worm, ghost, etc.)

How to Make “Boo” Cookies for Your Halloween Charcuterie Board

Melt one bag of white chocolate baking chips in top of double boiler. Add 2 tablespoons of butter to melted chips and stir to incorporate. Using a spoon, dip a Nutter Butter cookie in melted chocolate mixture and coat all sides with the chocolate. Remove and place on wax paper (on a cookie sheet.) Quickly add mini chocolate chip morsels to “face” for the eyes and the mouth. Refrigerate until firm.

Note: If needed, you may “thin” the white chocolate baking chip mixture with milk, a spoonful at a time. You may also melt the chocolate chips in the microwave. I used the double boiler for this recipe to have a thinner mixture, which is needed to coat the cookies.

How to Make Halloween Chocolate Cherry Mice for Your Halloween Charcuterie Board

Melt one bag of semi sweet chocolate chips in microwave. Dip maraschino cherry in chocolate and attach an unwrapped Hershey’s kiss to the cherry. Add two sliced almonds for ears. Add large red sprinkle for nose and two smaller sprinkles for eyes. Let set on waxed paper (on a cookie sheet.) Refrigerate until firm.

Note: When applying the sprinkles, I dip the tip of a toothpick in a little bit of the melted chocolate to use as the “glue” a tiny dot of chocolate will do. You can even use the end of your toothpick to “pick up” the sprinkle off the counter to apply it directly to the Hershey kiss.

How to Make Haystacks for Your Halloween Charcuterie Board

This is an oldie, but goodie!

Melt one bag of peanut butter baking chips in microwave. Add 2 tablespoons of butter to melted chips and stir to incorporate. Add approximately ½ bag of crunchy chow mein noodles to melted mixture. Working quickly, drop a tablespoon sized mound on wax paper (on a cookie sheet). Refrigerate until firm.

Note: Semi-sweet chocolate or butterscotch chips may be used in placed of the peanut butter chips.

You can get really elaborate with dirt pies and pudding displays but I did a simpler, pared down version for the Halloween charcuterie board in bite-size morsels.

How to Make Dirt Cups for Your Halloween Charcuterie Board

Mix one small box of instant chocolate pudding with two cups of milk. Pour pudding into quart sized plastic bag. Snip corner and pipe pudding into small cups (or the size of bowl you desire.) Add crushed Oreo cookies on top of the pudding as “dirt.” Garnish with a gummy worm.

Note: If you’re trying to create mini dirt cups, piping the pudding in is key — spooning will likely get messy around the sides of the cups. If using larger bowls, the boo cookies may also be added as a spooky garnish. 

If you have any favorite Halloween props, see what you can incorporate. I used a skeleton hand to hold a fist full of Heath bars…

The Martinelli’s apple juices are basic, but feel so festive — especially with Halloween straws.

Halloween Charcuterie Board Ingredients

Here’s a full list and layout of the board ingredients…

I hope you all find ways to celebrate the Halloween season, even if it may look a little different this year. For future boards (November will have a little bit of a different take!), make sure you’re subscribed to emails at the bottom of the post.

Sources & Board Essentials

Halloween Charcuterie Board Sources

Charcuterie Board Favs

A FEW OTHER BOARDS YOU MAY LIKE

Check out the full gallery of charcuterie board ideas HERE.

• January Board of the Month: Wings n’ Things
• February Board of the Month: Valentine’s Treats
• March Board of the Month: Rise & Shine Breakfast Board
• April Board of the Month: Easter Candies
• May Board of the Month: Nacho Bar Fiesta
• June Board of the Month: Barbecue Charcuterie Board
• July Board of the Month: Red, White & Blue Board
• August Board of the Month: Build Your Own Burger
• September Board of the Month: Back to School
• November Board of the Month: Bagel Breakfast
• December Board of the Month: Santa & Reindeer Board
• Shrimp Charcuterie Board
• Crudités Charcuterie Board
• St. Patrick’s Day Boards — 3 Ways
• Caramel Apple Board
• Fondue Dessert Board