I often joke that hosting book club every month is as close as I’ll ever get to owning a restaurant.

It’s fun deciding what to feature after reading the novel we plan to talk about. But unlike, say, working the line at the local fine dining establishment, there’s infinitely less pressure. And I can cook at my own pace.

I like to shake things up menu-wise, so instead of a fancy plated dessert this time around, I kicked the cheese board to the curb and went with a sweets board instead. I made the brownies and the oatmeal butterscotch cookies, but the rest was a collection of goodies from the grocery store.

Since our story took place in San Francisco, I leaned into the Ghirardelli chocolate with the brownies and featured candy. And because it’s fall, honeycrisp apple chips seemed like a good pick. Of course after I placed them next to the cookies of a similar color, I wish I, well, hadn’t. But hey, not everything is always perfect, right?

What would your dream dessert board include?