Thanksgiving Jarcuterie Individual Appetizer Cups

A charcuterie board is a great way to serve appetizers and Thanksgiving jarcuterie makes a cute individual appetizer that everyone will love.

Everybody loves a charcuterie board! Bite-sized meats, cheeses, and veggies are one of my go-to party appetizers any time of year. For a fun twist, try jarcuterie – basically a charcuterie board in a jar.

I first heard about “jarcuterie” from Living Locurto, who made these cute veggie flower bouquets.

Jarcuterie is such a clever way to serve appetizers without setting up a buffet. They’re perfect for individual servings and they look so fun too, so I decided to come up with the perfect Thanksgiving jarcuterie.

You can make these cute paper turkey cups and fill them with your favorite appetizers on skewers to resemble the turkey’s feathers.

And if you’re hosting Thanksgiving dinner, jarcuterie cups would be cute on the kids’ table. Bonus: no kid fingers touching everything on the appetizer trays either.

Individual appetizer cup assembly tips

• The turkey’s head doesn’t have to be a perfect circle, but if you want it to be then find a small item (like a quarter or a bottle lid) to trace.
• If the glue isn’t holding the paper pieces of the turkey together, add more glue then clamp a few kitchen clothespins on to hold it together. Let it set for at least 5 minutes.
• The skewers can be a bit top heavy, so make sure you have some snacks in the cup too to keep it from tipping over. You can also cut your skewers shorter, relative to the cup size. (Mine are 12:6)
• Choose items for the skewers that are soft enough to stab easily, but avoid cheeses that are too soft and won’t hold their shape.
• When adding the food to the skewers, blot anything that’s wet (like pickles or olives) on a paper towel so it doesn’t drip and make your cups messy.
• Thanksgiving jarcuterie cups are freshest when made shortly before serving, but food skewers can be made in advance. Assemble the skewers, then cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. The turkey cups can be made any time.

How to make Thanksgiving jarcuterie cups

Supplies

• 16-ounce paper coffee cups with sleeves
• craft paper – kraft brown, orange and yellow
• scissors
• glue stick
• 12-inch wooden skewers
• assorted foods to serve:
  • pretzel rods or skinny breadsticks
  • rolled up turkey or ham slices
  • cubes of cheese, such as gouda or colby-jack
  • cherry tomatoes
  • skinny cut carrots
  • pickles
  • olives

Instructions

1. Cut out the paper turkey pieces.

For each turkey: Trace the flat coffee cup sleeve onto the brown paper. Cut it out and fold it in half.

Draw the profile of a turkey on the folded paper. Give it a bit of body, a neck, and a head. Then cut it out.

Cut a small orange blob shape for the waddle and a yellow triangle for the beak. Fold the beak in half.

2. Assemble the turkey.

Layout the turkey, then glue it together. Center the turkey on the paper sleeve, then add the waddle and beak. The waddle is glued flat against the turkey face, but the beak is only glued on the ends so that it can stick out.

Draw a pair of eyes and fill them in with a pen. You could also use wiggly eyes instead!

Let the paper turkey sleeves dry for a few minutes while you prep the food.

3. Prepare the food for skewers.

Roll sliced deli meat into tubes and cut cheese into cubes. Open jars and drain the pickles and olives. Peel and cut carrots into sticks.

4. Assemble the appetizer skewers.

Carefully stick a skewer through several pieces of food and slide them down. Hold the skewers up to the paper cups to make sure the food is above the rim.

5. Fill the jarcuterie cups.

Slide a paper turkey coffee sleeve onto each paper cup. Add several skewers and other long foods to the cups to resemble the turkey’s feathers.

What’s next? Try these other fun and creative ideas on One Mama’s Daily Drama:

• Fall Party Printables with Woodland Creatures
• Pumpkin Centerpiece Thanksgiving Table Decorations
• 20 Pumpkin Pie Hacks for Homemade or Store-Bought Pies