Cheese Pairing Ideas For Festive Desserts: Unexpected Combos that Work

Cheese pairing isn’t just about cheese and crackers as part of your snacks—it can bring an exciting twist to your dessert table, too! Pairing cheese with festive sweets creates unique flavor experiences that enhance both sweet and savory elements.

Explore unexpected cheese pairing combinations like sharp cheddar with apple pie or creamy blue cheese with dark chocolate. Plus, try out a cheerful dessert board.

In this article we share cheese pairing ideas with gingerbread cookies, whipped apple butter, goat cheese (Chevin), candy canes, and seasonal fruits for an easy-to-assemble, crowd-pleasing spread.

A Festive Dessert Cheese Board with Gingerbread, Whipped Apple Butter, Goat Cheese & More

For a truly festive dessert board, bring together traditional holiday flavors with a fun mix of treats. Start with gingerbread cookies for a spiced and sweet base that pairs well with creamy cheeses.

Next, add a small bowl of whipped apple butter for a sweet, smooth spread. This is especially delicious when combined with goat cheese (Chevre). Goat’s cheese has a mild tanginess contrasts beautifully with the sweet apple butter and spicy gingerbread.

Round out the board with some seasonal flair by adding mini candy canes and fresh holiday fruits like pomegranate arils, clementines, and red grapes. These fruits add a burst of color and juicy sweetness that complements the other items on the board.

With these exciting cheese and dessert pairings, your holiday dessert spread will be as unique as it is delicious.

Cheddar and Apple Pie

The pairing of Canadian aged cheddar cheese with apple pie is a classic that has stood the test of time.

The sharp, salty taste of cheddar complements the sweetness and warmth of spiced apple filling. This combination creates a perfect balance of flavors.

For this pairing, go for a sharp or aged cheddar. It offers a strong, complex flavor that won’t get lost against the apple pie’s sweetness.

Serve small wedges of cheddar alongside individual slices of apple pie or mini hand pies for easy enjoyment.

You could also get creative by baking shredded cheddar directly onto the crust for an elevated version of this beloved pairing. Another fun idea is to serve apple and cheddar skewers—alternate cubes of cheddar with apple slices for a tasty, bite-sized treat.

Blue Cheese and Dark Chocolate

Blue cheese and dark chocolate might seem like an unexpected match, but their rich flavors complement each other beautifully. The earthy, slightly tangy flavor of blue cheese plays well with the bold bitterness of dark chocolate.

On your dessert board, break the dark chocolate into small pieces and place them next to a wedge of blue cheese. Or, create small bites by spreading a little blue cheese on top of dark chocolate squares.

You could also get creative by making dark chocolate truffles with a hint of blue cheese in the center—an adventurous twist for your holiday spread!

Beer Cheese and Fig Jam

Beer cheese and fig jam is a gentle, crowd-pleasing pairing that brings joy to any dessert table. The mild, buttery flavor of beer cheese pairs beautifully with the sweetness of our housebrand fig jam, which adds a hint of earthy complexity.

For this pairing, simply place a dollop of fig jam on each slice of beer cheese, or serve the cheese and fig jam side by side for easy spreading.

This combination works beautifully with fresh figs, sliced pears, or crackers.

Wrapping It Up

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