With summer quickly coming to an end, we were looking for ways to celebrate with our kids. Not to mention, we are kicking off of a new school year that will look completely different for all of them. What better way to celebrate than with Hudsonville Ice Cream and a super creative dessert board to tie it all together? Did we mention it’s local to Michigan? We love supporting local brands!
Dessert boards are all the rage lately, so we decided to make an ice cream dessert board loaded up with some of our favorite goodies. You might be surprised at how simple it is to make one of these boards. You can add as little or as much as you want, making it the talk of the party. Watch as the kids’ faces light up and let the fun begin!
Materials Needed:
- A board of some kind. This can be a wood cutting board or charcuterie tray, a serving platter, or even a cookie sheet covered in foil. Can’t find anything suitable? Hit up the home improvement store for a large ceramic tile or cover a piece of cardboard with wrapping paper.
- Topping vessels. You’ll want some sort of small cups for toppings on your dessert board. Ice cream cones make a super cute presentation, as well as Mason jars in the four-ounce or eight-ounce size. You could even use fun little Dixie cups or clear plastic cocktail cups. You could even grab silicon baking cups to place your items in.
- Ice cream spoons. Of course, your normal spoons work just fine, but if you want to kick it up a notch, check out these edible chocolate spoons or these candy cane spoons. How fun is that? These will give your dessert board an extra fun aesthetic!
- Ice cream cones and bowls. You can go with a variety here if you like, with everything from cake cones to sugar cones to waffle cones. Your local grocery store may even carry a waffle cone bowl, and you can’t go wrong with an edible bowl!
- ICE CREAM! Obviously, you need delicious ice cream to round out your dessert board. Hudsonville Ice Cream carries the cutest little pint-sized cartons that work perfectly for this. They come in a variety of flavors to give your guests an array of options. We used Hudsonville’s Dairy Free Cherry Fudge, Chocolate, Mint Fudge Cookie, and S’mores. If you’re still looking for the pint-sized containers Hudsonville launched an Extra Indulgent line this year with extra pieces and swirls in every bite. You could also use the 48-oz cartons and scoop them into cute containers. The possibilities are endless here. Use the Scoop Locator to find all of the delicious choices near you!
Dessert Board Topping Ideas
Now for the fun part: the toppings! Who could forget visiting the ice cream shop as a kid, and getting starry-eyed over all of the topping choices? This is what makes this dessert board so much fun—there is no limit to what you can add to your board, and the only limit to what you add to your sundae is the size of your belly! Here are a few fun ideas to choose from:
- Candy bar pieces
- Chocolate, white, or butterscotch chips
- Cookies or cookie sticks
- Gummy bears and worms
- Sour candies
- Skittles, M&Ms, or Reeses Pieces
- Chopped nuts
- Sprinkles
- Cherries or other fruit
- Whipped cream
- Marshmallows
- Cereal
Once you have all of your materials, it’s time to start building! Have a little fun with this. There really are no rules. Fill up your cones or bowls with toppings and start placing them around the board. Lay out cookies and other items directly on the board to give it a little flair. Leave a spot for the ice cream, and then line up the kids to dive in!
This summer has been one of the sweetest for our family. We were unexpectedly given the opportunity to slow down and be present. To create sweet and memorable moments with the ones we love the most. We were able to create a nostalgic summer that we grew up with…one that wasn’t packed with all the things and schedules that were tailored to the craziness of the world. We lived the summer on our time filled with lots of ice cream, sprinklers, bike rides, and all the outdoor fun. We pushed pause on the chaos and enjoyed each and every moment together.
