These tricks will help you create a truly unforgettable Halloween treat board, with Jack-O-Lantern caramel apples taking center stage.
By Amanda Gryphon
Step aside, meat and cheese; it’s candy’s season to shine in this sweet spectacle of a board.
Choose a base that feels appropriately sinister for your celebration — keep it simple with a dark, weathered sheet pan or cast iron skillet, or go extra eerie and arrange your treats inside the rib cage of a skeleton from the party store. Prefer to keep the goodies in personalized portions this year? Arrange candy in small cauldrons or mini skillets for each ghoul and goblin attending.
The best way to ensure your board is a treat for the eyes? Limit your color palette to a few options like orange, black, green and white, and spread out similar colors for balance.
Go wild with the Halloween shapes when selecting your sweets! Classic candy pumpkins, ghost-shaped peanut butter cups and sour gummy skulls and frogs are all begging to adorn your char-BOO!-terie board.
Everyone has different candy preferences, so make your board a friendly mix of textures that will cater to any crowd by including a spectrum of chocolate, cookies, caramel popcorn, gummies and beyond.
Shine a spotlight on the center of your board by preparing a special homemade treat like caramel apple jack-o-lanterns. Shrouded in a pumpkin spice caramel, these grinning gourds are bound to put a spell on your party guests.
Continue building your scene by placing bowls (or cauldrons) of smaller sweets on the board next, keeping symmetry in mind. This will also prevent tiny items like jelly beans from rolling around and running amok.
Bring in any oversized items next, like long swirled lollipops, chocolate-covered pretzel rods or an artfully arranged arc of chocolate sandwich cookies (a nod at the fancy salami spirals you’d find on a meat-based charcuterie board).
Time to unleash the final spirits! Fill in every last nook and cranny by stacking, swirling and fanning your sweets in eye-catching patterns, covering any holes with tiny pumpkins or colorful popcorn.
The final touch? Add a skeleton crew to haunt over your hard work and enjoy your new title of “ghostess with the mostest.”
