Christmas Jarcuterie

If you want to wow your guests this holiday season with a spectacular appetizer, then you need to make these Christmas Jarcuteries. They are individual festive charcuterie boards served in a cup and are a winner in both presentation and flavor.

Jarcuteries for Christmas

This past spring I created and shared a blog post all about jarcuteries. You all loved it so much that I knew I had to do it again for Christmas (my favorite time of year)!

While the general idea behind these handheld charcuterie boards is the same as before, I wanted to adapt them to the upcoming holidays. One thing I did was switch up my container. Instead of using a small mason jar, I'm using these fun paper cups. I also swapped out a few of the ingredients for more seasonal goodies. (I'll share more about that below.)

If you're hosting a gathering for the holiday season, I highly recommend you give these Christmas jarcuteries a try. I promise that you'll get a "wow" or two from the crowd.

What's a Jarcuterie?

Jarcuteries are single-serving charcuteries assembled in small jars, glasses, or cups. They typically contain things like cured meats, cheeses, olives, fruits, berries, nuts, and crackers arranged in a pleasing way.

Jarcuteries are a beautiful gourmet appetizer idea that can be served at potlucks, celebrations, or even small get-togethers at home. They can be made with a variety of ingredients so you can customize them to suit your party and menu.

I tailored my jarcuteries to Christmas by adding in a few seasonal elements like sugared cranberries and cheese slices cut into festive shapes. I even found some mini gold forks that I just had to use.

What to Put in Christmas Jarcuteries:

You'll most likely want to stick to things you'd find on a charcuterie or grazing board, but in the end, you could do whatever you'd like. Since it's the holiday season, think about seasonal flavors such as cranberry, figs, citrus, etc. If you're looking for a little more guidance, here are some of the things I included with some additional suggestions as well.

• Cheeses: Use what you love. I find harder cheeses a bit easier to manage, but you could certainly make anything work. I used cheddar, pepper jack, and mini mozzarella balls. I love the mini mozzarella balls on the fork.

Want to make it extra festive? Use small cookie cutters like THESE to cut festive shapes from cheese slices. I used a star and a snowflake, but any holiday shape would work.

• Meats: Charcuterie literally translated means "the products of a fancy pork butcher," so including cured meats is a must. Prosciutto, salami, pepperoni, soppressata, capicola, etc. are some of my favorites. I like to skewer these on a toothpick or decorative wood pick.
• Berries and Fruits: Berries and fruits add freshening sweetness. Try blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, grapes, apples, and/or pear slices. With these Christmas jarcuteries I added my sugared cranberries for the perfect festive touch.
• Veggies: I didn't use any here, but sugar snap peas, carrots, radishes, etc. would be lovely. You can even use pickled vegetables like carrots, onions, gherkins, etc.
• Nuts: Pistachios, walnuts, almonds, pecans, etc.
• Dried Fruit: Raisins, Craisins, figs, apricots, etc.
• Olives: Kalamata, stuffed olives, etc. (I recommend using pitted olives.)
• Crackers/Bread: Tall and thin works best. I really love La Panzanella crackers. The tall thin crusty breadstick-style crackers work great too.
• Fresh Herbs (to garnish): A sprig of fresh herbs makes any dish look gourmet. Rosemary, thyme, or sage is perfect here. I especially like rosemary for Christmas.

Other Christmas Jarcuterie Ideas:

If you're looking to break the jarcuterie rules and really want to switch things up, try one of these unique ideas:

• Christmas Cookie Jarcuterie - Fill with a selection of homemade Christmas cookies.
• Christmas Breakfast Jarcuterie - Fill with breakfast favorites like fruit, mini pancakes, bacon, etc.
• Candy Jarcuterie - Fill with your favorite holiday sweets and candies.
• Berries and Chocolates Jarcuterie - Fill with fresh berries and assorted chocolates.

Toothpicks for Jarcuteries:

Toothpicks are great for skewering items to give them height, thus allowing them to "spill" out of your jars. They also make things look fancier! There are so many beautiful toothpicks, forks, and skewers to choose from. Since you are working with small jars, you'll want to get many of your items up and out while still being contained within the jar.

Here are a few of my favorites for the holidays:

• Mini Gold Forks
• Looped Bamboo Picks
• Cocktail Tasting Forks
• Bamboo Cocktail Picks
• Faux Pearl Wooden Picks

How To:

Here's a quick rundown of how to assemble jarcuteries. A detailed recipe with an ingredient list is available as a printable recipe card at the end of this post.

1. Begin by filling your containers (I used THESE paper cups) with smaller items like nuts and grapes.
2. Tuck in your crackers toward the back of the container.

1. Using the toothpicks, skewer a few of your ingredients such as cheeses, meats, olives, etc.
2. Place the toothpick-skewered items into your container. Vary heights and colors to create interest.

1. Fill in with extra ingredients to hold things in place.
2. Garnish with a sprig of fresh herb and cheese slices cut from mini Christmas cookie cutters.

And you're ready to serve.

Are these not the most fabulous Christmas appetizer you've ever seen? I think they are pretty darn special. I may even like them more than my original version.

Happy Holiday Entertaining!

I hope you've enjoyed this festive holiday recipe.

Want more Christmas snacks? You've got it! I have a full post of all my favorites that you can find HERE.

Enjoy!

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Christmas Jarcuterie

• 12 ounces assorted cheeses
• 24 slices/pieces cured meats
• 1 cup mixed berries
• 1/2 cup grapes
• 1/2 cup sugared cranberries**
• 1/2 cup olives
• 1 cup nuts
• 16 long thin crackers
• 8 pieces fresh herbs

Recipe Tools:

• various toothpicks
• mini Christmas cookie cutters

1. Begin by filling your containers with smaller items like nuts and grapes.
2. Tuck in your crackers toward the back of the container.
3. Using the toothpicks, skewer a few of your ingredients such as cheeses, meats, olives, berries, etc. Use a mini gold fork to present a piece of cheese or other specialty item.
4. Place the toothpick-skewered items into your container. Vary heights and colors to create interest.
5. Fill in with extra ingredients to hold things in place.
6. Garnish with a sprig of fresh herb and cheese slices cut from mini Christmas cookie cutters.

*Please note that I'm somewhat generalizing with the amounts listed above. You may need a little more or a little less depending on the size of your containers. I always err on the side of having more than enough. (I'm never one to complain about having extra cheeses and meats on hand.)

**You can find my sugared cranberries recipe HERE.

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