To celebrate our Friend of the Month, Chococat we made a tasty snack board with all his favorite treats and eats. Chococat loves a well balanced meal of healthy and sweet and this board has the best selection.
First meet Jessica:
Hi, I’m Jessica, and I’m the Food Artist, Stylist, and Founder of Luxe and the Lady. On my blog, I create a mix of sweets and healthy treats that are as fun to look at, as they are delicious. I’m a fan of fluffy animals, cute characters (especially Sanrio), and all things food! I have a massive Hello Kitty collection, and when I was younger even started a Sanrio fan club with my brother and sister (complete with its own newsletter). It’s always such a dream come true to now be able to collaborate with Sanrio to bring some of my favorite characters to life through food art. You can find even more cute creations and recipes at luxeandthelady and on my Instagram @luxeandthelady.
Longer days full of lots of sunshine means more time with friends, so I’ve created a snack board that’s made for sharing! Perfect for a picnic, movie/game night, or just a breezy evening spent on the patio, this snack board has everything you could crave! The mix of homemade sweets and savory treats features the ever-adorable Chococat in a variety of options (tons of chocolate, of course) along with some of his cute motifs (the carrots, fish, mushrooms, and, flowers). Feel free to follow along with the tutorial below to make all the themed snacks, choose a few of your favorites, or swap in some of your most loved treats. Grab a friend, and get ready to bake your day a little happier!
Chococat's Snack Board
Ingredients
Flower Sugar Cookie Sandwiches: (Makes about 10 2” cookie sandwiches)
1 cup all-purpose flour (120g)
¼ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temp.
5 tablespoons granulated sugar (63g)
½ large egg (whisk the egg, then weigh and divide. You can also double the recipe to use 1 whole egg instead)
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
2-4” daisy cookie cutters/stamps
Large round piping tip or small circle cookie cutter
Vanilla Buttercream Filling:
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temp.
1 ½ cups powdered sugar (170g)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
Orange & Buttercup Yellow icing gel colors
2 piping bags
2 small piping tips *I used an open star design (and couplers, if using)
Chococat Chocolate Ganache Dip:
1 cup unsweetened coconut cream (measured from the solid portion at the top of the can)
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Chococat Template
Yellow, bright white, black or dark chocolate, and milk chocolate melting wafers
Chococat Peanut Butter Cups: (makes 1 dozen mini cups)
Chocolate Layers & Decorations:
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 tablespoon coconut oil
12 mini cupcake parchment liners
Chococat Template
Yellow, bright white, black or dark chocolate, and milk chocolate melting wafers
Chocolate sprinkle jimmies
Peanut Butter Layer:
¾ cup creamy peanut butter (I like to use the natural kind that you can grind yourself at the grocery). *If using jarred peanut butter, add 1-2 tablespoons almond flour to thicken
¼ teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
Chococat Cucumber Dill Sandwiches: (makes 5)
10 slices dark pumpernickel bread (the mini party bread loaves work great here)
2 slices yellow cheese or yellow bell pepper
2 slices white cheese
3 large black olives
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons sour cream
2 teaspoons ranch seasoning
½ tablespoon fresh dill
1 teaspoon fresh chives, chopped
Salt & pepper to taste
1 English cucumber
Large round or oval cookie cutter
Large round piping tip or small round circle cookie cutter
Small round piping tip
Caprese Mushrooms: (makes 8)
8 mini mozzarella balls
4 cherry tomatoes
1-2 ounces cream cheese, softened
Fresh basil
Piping bag or small zip-top bag
Other Snacks for the Board:
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Black olives
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Goldfish crackers
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Mini carrots
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Graham cracker sticks
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Blue wrapped candy
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Candy coated chocolates
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Strawberries
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Blueberries
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Fresh fruit flowers (cutout with flower cookie cutters)
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Fresh cut veggies – bell peppers and cucumber
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Black sesame crackers
Helpful Tips:
It is easiest to read all the directions once through, before beginning, as some parts of the recipe will need to set or chill while you work on other things.
To bring all chilled ingredients to room temperature remove them from the refrigerator about 45 minutes before beginning.
The cookie dough works best when cold. If it ever gets too sticky you can pop it back into the freezer for 5-10 minutes before continuing.
Method
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Let’s begin with the cookie sandwiches since they will need time to cool before decorating. In a medium size bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
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Fit a stand mixer with the paddle attachment and cream the butter and sugar on medium speed for 3 minutes, until light and fluffy. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl with a spatula.
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Add the egg and vanilla and mix for 1 minute more until fully combined.
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With the mixer on the lowest setting, slowly add in the flour mixture. Scrape the bowl and mix until just combined.
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Roll the dough out to ¼ inch thick, between 2 sheets of parchment paper, and transfer to the fridge for about 3 hours or the freezer for 20-30 min.
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Once ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350ºF. Remove your chilled dough and use the flower cookie stamps or cutters to cut out 10 cookies. Use the piping tip or small circle cutter to punch the middle out of half of the flowers (you can gather this piece with the extra dough to re roll and cut again).
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Transfer the cutouts to a parchment lined baking sheet and place the entire baking pan in the freezer for 15 min. (this helps the cookies to keep their shape when baked).
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Bake for 7-9 minutes or until the edges are just starting to turn golden brown (smaller cookies will need less time). Allow the cookies to cool for 5 minutes on the pan before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.
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While waiting on the cookies we can make the filling. Sift the powdered sugar into a medium size mixing bowl. Set aside.
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Using a stand mixer, beat the butter for 2 minutes, on medium speed, until creamy. Slowly add the powdered sugar (with the mixer on the lowest setting) until incorporated. Add the vanilla, salt, and heavy cream. Cover the bowl, turn the mixer up to medium and continue to beat the frosting for 3 minutes until light and fluffy.
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Divide the buttercream between 2 bowls. Add the Orange coloring to one and the Buttercup Yellow to the other. Stir to combine. Transfer each color to a piping bag prepared with an open star tip. Pipe the buttercream, in 7 dots onto the top of each bottom cookie. Top with a cookie with the open flower center and add one more dot of the buttercream to the center again.
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Now for the super easy chocolate ganache dip! This dip goes great with fresh fruit, cookies, marshmallows, pretzels, and anything else your heart desires. Transfer the chocolate chips to a medium size heatproof bowl and set aside.
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Scoop the coconut cream into a small saucepan and bring to a simmer on medium heat. Pour the warm coconut cream over the chocolate chips and allow to sit for 3 minutes (without stirring). Once the 3 minutes is up, stir with a spatula until smooth and glossy. Pour the ganache dip into the bowl that you will use on your board and allow to set at room temp. for at least 3 hours. Leftovers can be covered and refrigerated for longer storage.
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After the ganache has set you can decorate the top. Print your favorite Chococat image to the size of your ganache bowl. Place it under a sheet of wax paper. Transfer each color of meltable wafers to a microwave-safe bowl and heat in 30 second intervals, at 50% power. Stirring after each interval and repeating until smooth and completely melted. Use a toothpick dipped into each color to create the designs - dark chocolate for the pupils and ear outlines, yellow for the inside of each ear, milk chocolate for the nose, and bright white for the eyes. Set aside to dry and then use a toothpick to carefully transfer the pieces to the top of the bowl to create Chococat.
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Next, we will make those yummy mini peanut butter cups. Line a mini muffin pan with the parchment liners and set aside. Place the chocolate chips and coconut oil into a microwave-safe bowl and heat in 30-second intervals, stirring after each, until smooth and completely melted. Scoop a little less than 1 teaspoon of the chocolate mixture into each liner and spread up the sides. Transfer to the freezer for 5-10 minutes to set.
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In a separate medium size bowl stir together the peanut butter, almond flour (if using), salt and maple syrup. Scoop a little less than 1 tablespoon over the chilled chocolate layer, for each peanut butter cup. Transfer to the freezer for 20 minutes more.
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Reheat the leftover chocolate and scoop 1-2 teaspoons (enough to cover the peanut butter) into each cup. Return to the freezer for 20 minutes.
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While the peanut butter cups set you can work on the decorations. Re print the Chococat template, sized to the peanut butter cups (about 2” wide) and place under a sheet of wax paper. Reheat the melting wafers that you used to the decorate the ganache and use a toothpick to “draw” all the pieces onto your wax paper (minus the whiskers).
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Once the cups are ready use a toothpick to carefully transfer the pieces to decorate them and add sprinkle jimmies to each side for the whiskers. Store in the fridge or freezer until you are ready to assemble your board.
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Time for the savory snacks. To make the Chococat Cucumber Sandwiches cut 10 rounds (or slightly oval shapes) out of the bread using the large cookie cutter. I like to press the bread flat first to make it easier to cut out the shapes. Cut the ears and whiskers out of the scraps (I found the crusts were easier to make the whiskers). Set aside. In a medium size bowl mix together the cream cheese, sour cream, herbs, salt, and pepper. Spread the filling onto both pieces of bread. Thinly slice the cucumber and add on top of one half of the bread. Top with the other piece (so the cucumbers are sandwiched between the herbed cream cheese spread). Add the bread ears and whiskers (I placed mine in between the sandwich using the cream cheese to hold in place). Cut the middle of the ears out of the yellow cheese or bell pepper. Cut the eyes out of the white cheese using the small circle cutters and cut the pupils out of half a black olive using a round piping tip. Assemble and transfer to the refrigerator until you are ready to build the board.
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The final decorative element is also the easiest! To make the mushrooms just slice each cherry tomato in half. Hull the inside (to remove the seeds) and place the “caps” on top of each mozzarella ball. If needed, you can slice the bottom of each mozzarella, so it sits flat. Transfer the cream cheese to a piping bag or small zip-top bag and pipe dots all over each mushroom cap. Serve with the fresh basil leaves.
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Now, let’s build this super amazing Chococat snack board! Remove all the treats you made from the fridge/freezer and gather any other snacks and decorative bowls. I like to start with the bowls to help hold smaller or messy treats and place those on the board first. Then arrange all the other snacks 1 by 1 around them. Decorate as you wish, invite your friends over, and enjoy!
*Leftovers, of the handmade snacks, should be covered and stored in the refrigerator.