Introducing: Our Number One Fall Snack

That Cheese Plate is a column by Marissa Mullen—cookbook author, photographer, and Food52’s Resident Cheese Plater. With Marissa’s expertise all things cheddar, comté, and crudité—plus tips for how to make it all look extra special, using stuff you probably have on hand—we’ll be crafting our own cheesy masterpieces without a hitch.

The air is getting crisp and the days are getting shorter. Autumn is here and we’re ready for it. As Food52’s Resident Cheese Plater, I’m here to bring you some creative ways to up your Fallcuterie game (fall + charcuterie = fallcuterie)

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I love everything about autumn: The foliage, pumpkin spice, apple picking, and hot cider all make for a perfect afternoon. When I create a cheese plate, I love to find inspiration through colors, scents, seasons, and feelings. Let’s capture this essence of fall and express it on a cheese plate!

• Play around with a warm color palette, using items with shades of yellow, red, orange and brown. Add some herbs for a green pop.
• Start incorporating aged cheeses with more intense and interesting flavor profiles.
• Tie in seasonal produce, like apples, figs, or pears.
• Add a classic autumn snack like candied nuts, dried figs, or even apple cider donuts!
• Make a homemade fig and almond cake like the one here.
• Garnish with food grade dried flowers, dried citrus, and a mini pumpkin.

With this plate I wanted to focus mainly on dried fruits, since many fresh fruits are heading out of season. So I naturally thought of Wensleydale with cranberries first and foremost. Wensleydale is a cow’s milk cheese from Upper Wensleydale, England. It’s a relatively young cheese aged for three weeks, and has a mild and slightly sweet flavor. The cranberries add a bit of tartness and a beautiful red color to the plate.

We always want a variety on our cheese plates, so I added in a contrasting cow’s milk Brie. This Brie in particular has notes of mushrooms, sautéed butter, and cream, offering a decadent and earthy bite.

Last, I added in a sharp cheddar colored with annatto for the rustic orange pop of color.

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To accompany the three cheeses, I added some seasonal produce, including slices of apple and fresh figs. Instead of meat on this plate (as “charcuterie” would normally imply), I created a dried apricot river for a fun orange focal point. Every Fallcuterie plate needs some autumnal spice, so I sprinkled in candied pecans and a homemade fig cake with cinnamon.

For the crackers, I went with some thick multigrain crackers to tie into the warm color scheme. And s for the dip, I added an apple and cranberry chutney, serving as a wonderful sweet contrast to the sharp cheddar, and a complement to the Wensleydale with cranberries.

What’s more autumnal than a mini pumpkin?! These cute gourds add a pop of color and really tie in the overall theme. Other fun garnishes include dried citrus, food-grade dried flowers, and fresh herbs.

The only thing left to do is curl up with your favorite hot apple cider and enjoy your autumnal creation!