Nanaimo Bars Recipe

Have you heard of Nanaimo bars?  I have had quite a quite a few guests from the U.S. that have mentioned they have never had them before. These are a big deal in Canada. Make them and you will find out why.

Here is a little history lesson on the Nanaimo Bar (courtesy of Wikipedia)...

The Nanaimo bar is a dessert of Canadian origin popular across North America. The Nanaimo bar is a bar cookie which requires no baking, and is named after the West-Coast city of Nanaimo, British Columbia. It consists of a wafer crumb-based layer, topped by a layer of light vanilla or custard flavoured butter icing, which is covered in chocolate made from melted chocolate squares. Many varieties are possible by using different types of crumb, flavours of icing (e.g. mint, peanut butter), and types of chocolate. Two popular variations on the traditional Nanaimo bar involve mint flavoured icing or mocha flavoured icing.

If you have never had a Nanaimo bar - this is a recipe you have got to try. Only try this recipe if you love chocolate, love sweet things, and if you don't mind NOT turning your oven on. I got this recipe from my sister - which is weird - because she doesn't bake. I think she got this recipe from my Aunt. The Nanaimo bar pictured here has a green center - but the center is usually creamy yellow(custard). You can make a mint Nanaimo bar - but I prefer the custard center - so I just added food coloring to go with our St. Patrick's Day meal. 

Here is the recipe for the custard center Nanaimo Bar....

Nanaimo Bars

Base:  Melt together 1/2 cup margarine, 1/4 cup brown sugar and 5 tablespoons cocoa. Add 1 tsp. vanilla, 2 eggs, 2 cups graham wafer crumbs and 1 cup coconut. Mix thoroughly and press into greased 8x8 inch pan. Cool.

Filling:  Mix together 1/4 cup softened margarine, 3 tablespoons cream, 2 tablespoons custard powder and 2 cups icing sugar. Mix thoroughly and spread over cooled base.                                        

Topping:  Melt 3 squared semi-sweet chocolate and 1 tablespoon margarine. Spread over filling and refrigerate. Cut into squares.

Here is the recipe card...

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