Last-Minute Valentine’s Day Dessert Platter

No time to bake? No problem. This last-minute Valentine’s Day Dessert Platter is for you. My goal was to be able to buy everything already made at the grocery store—no baking! And then it’s all about presentation. My inspiration was a charcuterie board but instead of salami and cheese I did chocolate and candy. So simple, yet so cute.

What to buy

Pick your favorite store-bought treats, but keep in mind that they should be bite-sized. So if doing cupcakes, do mini cupcakes. If doing cookies, do mini ones. You get the idea. Also, pick different textures, colors and flavors. I did a combo of baked goods, boxed cookies and candy. It’s also good to have about 8-9 things. Here’s what I picked up at Trader Joe’s and Target.

• Mini Cupcakes (grocery stores always have the holiday you need)
• Mini Sugar Cookies (I love Lofthouse style cookies and they are even cuter in mini size)
• Brownie Bites
• Trader Joe’s Dark Chocolate Heart Cookies (seriously good)
• Trader Joe’s Dark Chocolate Covered Pretzel Slims (also seriously good)
• Assorted red, white and pink candy (I used 3 different candies, including 2 types of jelly hearts & valentine candy corn)
• Strawberries (in case someone wanted to be healthy)

Tips for Styling Your Platter

There are so many options for how to serve your goodies. I picked a round, white platter but you could also use a cutting board, cheese plate or cake stand. And if all you have is a dinner plate, that will work too.

As for shape, again anything will do; however, I’ve found that something round takes the guesswork out of plating. All you do is think of your round plate like a ‘pie’ and mentally divide it up into ‘slices’. You then place each item in one of the ‘slices’. If using a rectangle, you could divide it into columns or just group items together at random, similar to a charcuterie board. Have fun with it.

Start by placing the larger items like the cupcakes and cookies on the platter and then fill in the holes with the smaller items like the candies. When placing your items, don’t place the same colors or textures by each other. For example, I used brownies, chocolate-covered pretzels and chocolate cookies—all brown! Therefore, I made sure not to place them next to each other because it would have looked like one big brown mess. And that’s it. Easy peasy.

The platter turns out darling yet has a casual feel to it as well. It’s really perfect for placing on a coffee table and allowing you and your loved ones to graze and enjoy.

Serving a fun cocktail, like these Blood Orange Margaritas, adds another special touch to any occasion.

And that’s a wrap! I love how all my Valentine’s Day creations for 2019 came together to create an ideal space for celebrating the big day. From the decor (my DIY Floral Heart Wreath & DIY Faux Metal Letters) to food and drinks (my Blood Orange Margaritas and this fab dessert tray), it’s all been fun to create and enjoy! I hope it’s inspired you with creative ways to celebrate as well. Happy Valentine’s Day!