Holiday Greetings, Crunch Crew! It’s the most wonderful time of the year, and we are ready to celebrate with you! We have curated a step-by-step guide to building a charcuterie chalet—our savory take on a classic gingerbread house! This is the perfect centerpiece and appetizer for all of your holiday gatherings that is sure to impress your guests!
A Smooth Start
The first step to building a charcuterie chalet is to start with your base. Find a flat surface like a platter, wood cutting board, or sheet pan. Spread a thin layer of cream cheese on your surface. The thickness of the cream cheese will help secure your house and also look like snow on the ground! Next, grab some John Wm. Macy’s Cheesesticks to start assembling your walls! For best results, layer these like Lincoln Logs. Place a cheese stick on your base for each of the front and back walls. Spread a generous amount of cream cheese towards the end of each wall, where the cheese sticks will meet the connecting walls. Then, lay the pieces for the side walls perpendicular to the front and back walls, resting them directly on top of the ends of the first layer. Continue this process until you have at least four layers or the desired height is reached.
Up on the Rooftop
Once your walls are constructed, it is time to move on to your roof! If you are open to a nonedible option, cardboard is a great choice. If you are looking to have an entirely edible chalet, you can go for longer, thin crackers, like flatbread or matzo. Apply a thin layer of a soft goat cheese to your roof pieces. Then, grab a thinly sliced meat like salami and starting from the bottom edge of the roof, lay the slices in an overlapping row, mimicking the look of shingles! Apply a thick layer of cream cheese on the top of the side walls, as well as on the top of your roof pieces. Lay the roof pieces on your side walls at an angle, with the ends of the pieces meeting at a perfect angle at the top.
Deck the Cheesestick Walls!
Now that your house is built, it is time to decorate! Use some of our deliciously crunchy John Wm. Macy’s Cheesecrisps to create windows! Apply a thick layer of cream cheese to the back of your desired flavor of cheese crisps and stick two to each side wall of your chalet. You can stack two cheese crisps vertically on the front of your chalet to make a front door!
Lay crumbled goat cheese or feta along the base of your house to look like small snow banks. Grab some sprigs of rosemary or thyme and stick them in the cream cheese at the base of your board with the leaves pointing down to look like trees. You can even create a path off the front door of your chalet using nuts or sliced cheese! The opportunities are endless!
We hope you feel inspired to build your own charcuterie chalet this holiday season! Tag us on social media @johnwmmacys and show us your charcuterie creations! We here at John Wm. Macy’s wish you and your family a very Happy Holidays! Until next time, Crunch Crew!
