5 Ways to Elevate Homemade Fudge Into Super Cute Gifts

Oh, fudge! It’s that time of year when we turn our kitchens into Santa’s sweet workshop, making batch upon batch of creamy rich homemade fudge to bestow upon family, friends, and lucky neighbors. Since unadorned fudge can look pretty plain, here are some of our favorite ideas to turn homey fudge into gift-worthy mini masterpieces.

1. Fudge Wreath

Butter up a Bundt pan to make this centerpiece-worthy Rocky Road fudge wreath created by Phoodie, an Australian food blogger with an eye for great design. Show up at a holiday potluck with this sensational dessert only if you want to win Christmas forever. You know what else would be pretty as a wreath? This White Cranberry Walnut Fudge.

Photo by Phoodie

2. Fudge On a Stick

These individually wrapped bites of caramel and sea salt-topped fudge are the brainchild of Centsational Girl, a budget-minded food blogger from Northern California. We love how she inserts a lollipop stick into the squares and wraps up each treat in clear cellophane cake pop bags to turn them into hot chocolate stirrers for mugs of steaming milk. Ideas: Use wooden popsicle sticks or small wooden spoons for the stirrers, and top chocolate fudge with store-bought or homemade marshmallows.

Photo by Centsational Girl

3. Cookie Cutter Fudge

Who says fudge has to be cut out in squares? Try using cookie cutters to turn your fudge into all kinds of festive shapes. Here are two way to do it; either way, the cookie cutter ends up being part of the gift.

A) Cut simple shapes out of a cooled slab of fudge (make sure it’s no thicker than your cookie cutter). You could dress up the cut-outs with frosting or candies, and save the leftover fudge scraps to top ice cream.

Photo by Meredith

OR

B) Pour warm fudge into the shapes and decorate with candies before cooling, the way blogger Chocolate and Carrots did. Check out her tutorial for how-to tips.

Photo by Chocolate & Carrots

4. Fudge Sauce Gift Box

Not going to lie — I’m stealing this idea. Homemade fudge sauce and all the fixings for a sundae, nestled into a serving tray. This would make the most amazing hostess gift, don’t you think?

Photo by Meredith

5. Frilly Fudge

Here’s an easy, low-cost way to dress up a simple batch of fudge. Put a doily on it. #putadoilyonit. Make a batch of peanut butter fudge in a disposable pan. After cooling, cut into squares and embellish each square with an unwrapped peanut butter cup candy. Wrap the pan with plastic and use tape to adhere two doilies to the bottom of the pan, positioning them so they overlap slightly when you fold them over the top. Tie the whole thing off with a ribbon. Whoa. That was simple!

Photo by Meredith

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Tips for Wrapping, Storing and Mailing Fudge

1. Wrap It Right
Unlike harder candies, soft fudge can dry out and get hard and crumbly when it’s exposed to air. To keep it soft and fresh longer, wrap fudge tightly in plastic after it cools.

2. Cold Storage
Well-wrapped fudge will stay fresh for one to two weeks in a cool, dry pantry. For longer storage, keep it in the fridge for two to three weeks, or in the freezer for two to three months.

3. It’s In the Mail
Soft, dense fudge survives the mail better than many of its cookie cousins. Like all homemade food gifts, it’s smart to let the recipient know what’s coming in the mail so it doesn’t accidentally languish under the tree for a week or more before it’s opened.

Related

• Learn how to make homemade fudge.
• Get all the rich and creamy fudge recipes you need.

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