Fudge Favors

Originally Dave and I were going to make truffles to use as favors; we know that everybody likes edible favors, and chocolate is a big hit with Dave.

When this all started we weren't even going to do favors! But decided that by making them at home it would be worth the small expense and effort to give our guests something.

Well, our truffles were a giant FAIL. They were sloppy, and melted on the plate in the kitchen when the outdoor temperature raised above 75 degrees. I spent days debating what to do about this mess, when Kirstin and I ran into a DIY wedding book at (yes) Michael's!

I opened it up right to a page with mini wedding cakes in the photo; only they were made with fudge! We loved this idea, because then I get to satisfy my urge to decorate a wedding cake (ok, well about 70 of them. . .) and we get to give our guests an overload of sugar and chocolate. Fabulous!

So, I set out to do a trial of one, to work out the kinks before I invited Kirstin and Theresa over for a fudge-making day. I determined that if I buy supplies in bulk at Sams Club (my parents have a membership) I can make 70 of these for less than $30.00. Not bad considering that most packaged wedding favors cost $1.75 or more each!

The process:

I made a batch of fudge. For this to work, I will have to spread the fudge mix about 1/2 thick - so instead of using the recommended 13x9 pan I will spread it out on a cookie sheet.

I will use two different sized cookie cutters, and a plastic film roll container for the 'top layer'.

I also found that by warming the set fudge a little bit it was more pliable and less likely to crumble. This is literally 5 seconds in the microwave, no more!

I stacked the three pieces and secured them with a toothpick down the center. The flowers on top are wedding flower picks from Michael's.

On our mock up wedding table, Dave and I LOVED how they matched our brown napkins, and how the flowers on top gave some color to the centerpiece and added to the wildflowers feel.

I then made chocolate butter cream frosting, and used a decorators piping tool to add decoration to the 'wedding cake'.

Home made butter cream is so simple to make, and doesn't have any of the garbage in it that you get from store bought icing!

Melt some butter and milk in the microwave in a mug or measuring cup. The more butter, the richer the frosting!

Then, mix some powdered sugar and unsweetened cocoa in another bowl. You don't need to measure, taste it!

Add the milk mixture bit by bit and stir until you reach the desired consistency. It's that simple :) You can substitute vanilla or cinamon for the cocoa for variations.

Our final product will be a lot neater than the one pictured above. They are cute though!