Fudge Filled Cookie Cutters

These make excellent favors for a Christmas dinner or party.  They're a yummy treat and your guests will get to use the cookie cutter at a later time.

I found these adorable cookie cutters on clearance last year at the Dollar Tree for 50% off - so they were only 50 cents for 6.  Even if you have to pay full price that's only a $1 for 6.

Just a couple easy steps.

1. Line a cookie sheet with wax paper, and flip the cookie cutters over so the top is face down.

2. Make this incredibly easy fudge recipe:
- equal parts vanilla Almond Bark, chocolate Almond Bark, and peanut butter.  Normally I use a package of each type of barks and a 12 oz jar of peanut butter.
- Melt the barks in the microwave on high for 2-3 minutes at a time until melted and stir in peanut butter.
- done.

(I used 4 blocks each of the barks, and 2 large spoonfuls of peanut butter and was able to get 5 cookie cutters out of it.)

3. Fill the cookie cutters with fudge - I use a cookie scoop as it's a big more manageable then pouring from a large bowl. If you have any spillage, once they are cooled you can cut the excess fudge off.

4. Leave sit for a couple hours to set up or to hurry it along you can place the cookie sheet in the fridge/freezer.

5. Decorate and watch the joy on the faces of those you give to. You can decorate them a couple ways - when they are still soft on the side facing up or wait until they are set up and decorate the flat side. Melt extra fudge and using a toothpick, dot your fudge where you would like to place the 'pretties' on them.  Below I used mini-M&M's, but you could use almost anything edible to decorate with.

Allow the decorations to set.  And then you can place them in individual cellophane bags, wrap in plastic wrap and tied with ribbon, placed among cookies on a platter, or in a pretty box/container for gift giving - the options are endless.  

pretty cute!

Or another idea just popped into my head because my mom and I are going to try these out this weekend - homemade marshamallows!!!!  You could pour those into cookie cutters too.  I think I know what I'll be doing on Saturday.

If you don't have any of these items on clearance - it really isn't that expensive to head to the Dollar Tree to buy two packs of cookie cutters and a bag of the cellophane bags would only put you back $3 or $4 bucks.  And for under $5 you could get the ingredients for the fudge. And you'd probably have 12 nice sized favors for under $9 dollars.