Nanaimo Bars

You can tell we're living in darkness here because my food pictures are so grim. Nothing like photographing a noodle under a flickering incandescent bulb to make it look unappealing.

But I think you still get the general idea and I'm willing to brave sad photography for the sake of these amazing treats. I came across a recipe for Nanaimo Bars (of Canadian fame) and couldn't believe I'd never heard of them before. Because, you know, I can see Canada from my house.

The story goes that these are a common delicacy from our neighbors to the east and there were so many raves about how wonderful they were that I just had to try them. When was the last time you heard anyone raving about Canadian cuisine? Brings out the curiosity, doesn't it?

So I figured it would be irresponsible not to give these a try and, I assure you, the effort was well worth it. Don't let the list of ingredients put you off, there aren't that many things as so many are repeated in the list and, not having to bake them, they're not very time consuming or hard to make. The biggest thing is that you must chill them before cutting and that might take some time. Because heaven forbid you get a giant chewy, eewy, gooey mess that sticks to your fingers and coats your fingers with chocolate ecstasy.

The square pan ends up making quite a few bars because they're rich enough you'll want to cut them small. Plus, cutting them small has the added benefit of making you think you're not consuming any calories of note and therefore you can eat these babies in bulk--and trust me, you'll want to.

With a brownie-ish no-bake bottom layer that incorporates walnuts, coconut and graham cracker crumbs followed by a middle custard-frosting layer and a top coating of chocolate they're half-way between a brownie and a candy bar and Andrew claimed that they have officially made it into the "top five best desserts you've ever made." They'd be great to make with kids because they're so easy and I suspect that they'd also be easy to convert to a gluten-free version because the cracker crumbs are the only objectionable ingredient.

Impressive, eh?

So tell me . . . anyone out there have any kind of a clue as to how to pronounce "Nanaimo"? And where on earth did it come from?

Bottom layer:
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

Second layer:
1/4 cup unsalted butter
3 tablespoons skim milk
2 tablespoon cook-and-serve vanilla pudding powder such as Jello brand
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups powdered sugar (I used 1 cup and it made the frosting slightly less firm)

Top layer:
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate, chopped (or use chocolate chips)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Grease a 9x9 square pan.

In a sauce pan melt the butter over a low heat, stir in sugar, cocoa powder and then slowly whisk in the beaten egg. Cook, stirring constantly, 1-2 minutes until the mixture thickens. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla, graham cracker crumbs, coconut and nuts (I used 1 cup graham cracker crumbs because I was a little short and it still worked but the full amount would be better).

Press evenly into the pan. I usually slip my hands into plastic sandwich bags for this kind of thing, using them like plastic gloves so that my hands don't get all dirty. Just a tip. Allow the crust to cool slightly.

For the second layer, cream the butter then beat in the milk, pudding powder, vanilla and sugar. You can thin it down if you must with a bit more milk. Spread custard frosting over the bottom layer and refrigerate until cool, 30 minutes.

For final layer, melt the chocolate in the microwave on a low power (taking care that it doesn't burn) and add the butter to smooth it and thin it a bit. Then spread over bars and allow it all to cool again. Once it's firm, cut with a knife into bars. I got 25 out of my pan.

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