Nanaimo Bars

[SusanL]

This is from the enchilada sauce thread. What are they, a dessert?

[lindrusso]

They are a layered, no-bake cookie/bar-type sweet - a tradition of Canada. I tried one recipe and didn't care for them, but upon further investigation I think the recipe I tried was not the most popular version - it used oats in the base instead of the apparently more traditional graham crackers. They are made with custard powder which someone mentioned is hard to find for Americans. I've never tried to find it, so I don't really know.

[SusanL]

Emilycat, do you have a recipe to share for nanaimo bars? I would love to try them. A no bake recipe would be appreciated. Lindrusso, would Penzey's have custard powder? I will have to look and see. Thanks in advance!

[lindrusso]

SusanL - I checked Penzey's and King Arthur Flour - no luck. I did find this site - www.britishgourmet.com - and they carry Bird's Custard Powder. Maybe someone else will have a different suggestion.

If you don't get a response on a tried and true recipe for these bars (I think the Canadian members were trying to keep them a secret - come on you guys, out with it! ), I can give you the recipe I found - the one WITHOUT the oats! I compared it to several other recipes on the web and they all seemed pretty similar.

As for me, I probably won't end up going to the trouble of hunting down the custard powder - I have enough recipes to keep me fat as it is !

[Grace]

Here is a recipe from the new Better Homes and Gardens Christmas Cookie supplement. They look like they'd be good to me...

Better Homes and Gardens Christmas Cookies
December 2000

Nanaimo Bars

These rich no-bake squares come from the city of Nanaimo in western Canada.

1/2 cup butter (no substitutes)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 beaten egg
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups graham crakcer crumbs (36 crackers)
1/2 cup chopped nuts
1/4 cup butter (no substitutes), softened
1/4 cup half and half, light cream or milk
3 tblsp. vanilla custard mix (haf of a 2.9 oz. package)
2 cups sifted powdered sugar
6 ounces semisweet chocolate, cut up
4 tsp. butter (no substitutes)

For Crust: Combine the 1/2 cup butter, granuylated sugar, cocoa powder, egg and vanilla in a saucepan. Cook and stir till butter is melted and mixture is well combined and just starts to bubble. Remove from heat. Stir in graham cracker crumbs, cocounut and nuts. Press onto the bottom of a 9x9x2 inch baking pan. Set aside.

For Filling: Beat together the 1/4 cup softened butter, half and half, and vanilla custard mix in a medium mixing bowl. Beat in powdered sugar till light in texture. Carefully spread filling evenly over crust. Cover and chill till firm (about 1 hour).

For Topping: Heat and stir semisweet chocolate and the 4 teaspoons butter in a small saucepan over low heat till combined. Spread over filling. Cover and chill till firm. Cut into squares. Makes 25.

Sorry, they don't give any nutritional information, but you can just look at them and know they're fattening!! But that's why they're just for Xmas??!!

Let me know if any of you try them out - maybe I'll make some for Xmas this year...

[emilycat]

SusanL,
I'd love to share my recipe, but I'm at my mom's house, and my recipe is at home (I confiscated hers, so there's not a copy here). I'll be back tomorrow, so I'd be happy to post it then. They are sooo good!
Really rich, but incredible.

[SusanL]

Thank you Grace, it looks delicious.Do we have something like this called by another name in the US?
Lindrusso, I will email that website, I also tried Penzey's with no luck. I have a large spice cabinet so one more container can't hurt!
Yes, Emilycat, I would love to see your recipe to compare to Grace's. I was thinking along the line of making these bars for a Holiday Cookie exchange.They do sound so incredibly good. Thanks again!

[lanie]

Hi Susan - I am a 'Canadian' however, not much of a sweet eater - but here is a recipe for Naniamo Bars:

Naniamo Bars
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup white sugar
5 tablespoons cocoa
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups crushed graham crackers
1 cup shredded coconut 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup unsalted butter
2 cups confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons vanilla custard powder
3 tablespoons milk
4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate
1 tablespoon unsalted butter


Directions:

Mix 1/2 cup unsalted butter, white sugar, cocoa, egg and vanilla in a heavy sauce pan or double boiler. Stir over low heat until mixture is of custard like consistancy. Combine graham crackers, coconut and walnut and add to the melted mixture. Mix well and pack into buttered 9 inch square cake pan. Cream 1/4 cup butter, confectioners' sugar, vanilla custard powder and milk. Beat until creamy and spread over melted base. Refrigerate till hardened. Melt semi-sweet chocolate with 1 tablespoon butter and drizzle over custard icing. Refrigerate. When totally hard cut into squares.

[jd]

Here's my favourite from my mom. I can't make them because I would eat the whole pan!

Nanaimo Bars

Put in top of double boiler:
1/2 C butter
1/4 C w sugar
1 square unsweetened chocolate
1 tsp. vanilla
1 beaten eagg
Cook 5 minutes and remove.

Add: 2 C graham crackers crumbled
1/2 C chopped walnuts
1 C coconut
Pour into buttered pan, chill 5 minutes.

Cream: 1/2 C butter
2 tbsp vanilla pudding powder
3 tbsp milk
2 C icing sugar
Beat until smooth. Pour over first mixture and chill 15 minutes.

Melt 4 squares semi sweet chocolate.
Pour on top and chill.

As I read this, some details appear to be missing. Mom always made this in a 8x8 square pan. The chill timings are minimums of course. These can be made ahead and frozen. When cutting them into squares, use a very sharp knife, warmed under hot water to help prevent cracking the chocolate topping.

Enjoy!

[buddie]

THESE ARE SO EASY!!!!

Nianamo Brownies

preheat oven to 350
1 package of bettycrocker brownie mix
1/2 cup coconut (sometimes i leave this out depending who i am serving)
1/2 cup chopped nuts (always leave out..not a nut fan)
1/3 cup butter softened
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp milk
3 cups powdered sugar
2 squares (1 oz each) of unsweetened chocolate
2 tsp butter or margarine

Prepare brownies according to directions on box. stir in nuts and coconut and bake according to directions on box and cool

mix powdered sugar, marg and vanilla. stir in milk, 1 tsp at a time, spread on cooled brownies. refrigerate until topping is firm approx 30 minutes

heat chocolate squares and 2 tsp butter or margarine over low-medium heat until melted. drizzle over brownies. spread evenly.

refrigerate until chocolate is firm. cut and eat.

[This message has been edited by buddie (edited 11-07-2000).]

[emilycat]

I'd been planning to post my Nanaimo cookie recipe, but as it turns out, it's exactly the same as jd's only my recipe calls for pecans rather than walnuts...I'm from Georgia, so go figure. The measurements, ingredients, are all identical, except for the nuts, so I suppose mine's pretty authentic, after all!

[cookingmonkey]

I agree with jd...this recipe is close to the one I have and if I make them, I have to take them out of the house immediately because I will eat the whole tray!!! My SO and I had to move to the States for work, and the thing I miss most is sitting at the Planet Roasters in Calgary, sipping my latte and eating one of these wonderful things while the snow fell outside.....now I'm homesick.

[Gilgamesh37]

Mmmm! Love Nanaimo Bars! have a number of different recipes, and of course you can (though this would perhaps offend traditionalists) flavor the custard layer with mint, coffee, orange.....

For the US folks, if you can't find Bird's Custard (does it still come in the happy red yellow and blue box?) Jello makes an instant "American Custard" that's a powdered mix just like Bird's and works perfectly in these. It's in the aisle with the puddings.

[kima]

Nanaimo is a small city on Vancouver Island-about 1 1/2 hours north of Victoria.
These bars are way too rich for me. I ODed on them once after spending a week hiking the West Cosat where we had only grains and dried foods. We got on the boat to take us to civiliation and they had these on board. I was so sugar starved I ate two pieces right away and felt so sick. Too much sugar rushing into my system. Since then I can't touch them!
Cut into very small pieces! These are great at Xmas time!

(there was no point to this post.. )

[Natasha3]

Originally posted by kima
Nanaimo is a small city on Vancouver Island-about 1 1/2 hours north of Victoria.
These bars are way too rich for me. I ODed on them once after spending a week hiking the West Cosat where we had only grains and dried foods. We got on the boat to take us to civiliation and they had these on board. I was so sugar starved I ate two pieces right away and felt so sick. Too much sugar rushing into my system. Since then I can't touch them!
Cut into very small pieces! These are great at Xmas time!

(there was no point to this post.. )

Maureen,

There was so a point to this post - it made me laugh because I did the same thing recently! We went canoeing this past weekend and it was a pretty strenuous trip (though not a whole week like your hiking expedition). Like you, we lived mostly off dried foods and such and finished every last bit of food we had before reaching shore. I was reading this book, Bill Bryson's A Walk in the Woods, and they kept mentioning Snickers, and I developed a bit of a craving, though I rarely end up eating Snickers bars. I got out of the boat at the outfitters', ran to the car and grabbed a loonie and some dry shoes, and ran over to the little tuck shop for a sugar fix!! I was so happy that they had Snickers there (The difference is, I don't think I'll be turned off Snickers for good. )

Personally, I love Nanaimo bars, but they are definitely seriously sweet. Oh Maureen, you would probably know about this: my colleague went to Nanaimo with her family a few years ago, and said they couldn't find Nanaimo bars ANYWHERE there!! Isn't that funny? Have you ever heard that before?

[kima]

Funny you should mention Snicker bars Natasha because that is the other sweet I have ODed on.
I'll make it short-when I was a kid a friend and I put some money in a candy machine (next to the cigarette one ) and instead of getting one Snickers bar we got a shower of them! No one was around so we grabbed them all, hid in some bushes and gorged ourselves. That was 1968-still can't bear the thought of eating one!

No I haven't heard that about Nanaimo-too weird. pretty well every bakery sells them here!

[lonetree1353]

Got this recipe off the tourism Nanaimo website below. It is the recipe our family has been making for years.
I usually only make this at Christmas as it is very rich and I have overindulged myself on these on more than one occasion.

http://www.tourism.nanaimo.bc.ca/vis...nanaimobar.asp

The Nanaimo Bar

The ever popular Nanaimo Bar, known internationally and a favourite dessert in many restaurants, has a notable thermal significance. During Nanaimo's heyday as an international coal provider, families of miners sent care packages which often included this sweet treat. Dubbed a Nanaimo Bar, the cake travelled well on its journey from the United Kingdom and brightened the spirits of our courageous underground workers.

Encouraged by the memories of family and friends, Nanaimo miners worked hard to provide coal for many a hearth. Sample the variations of this popular Nanaimo tradition in any of our fine restaurants.

THE ORIGINAL NANAIMO BAR

BOTTOM LAYER

1/2 c. unsalted butter (Euro-style cultured)
1/4 c, sugar
5 tbsp. cocoa
1 egg, beaten
1 3/4 c. graham wafer crumbs
1/2 c. finely chopped almonds
1 c. coconut
Melt first 3 ingredients in top of a double boiler. Add egg and stir to cook and thicken Remove from heat. Stir in crumbs, coconut and nuts. Press firmly into an ungreased 8 X 8 pan.
SECOND LAYER

1/2 c. unsalted butter
2 tbsp. and 2 tsp. cream
2 tbsp. vanilla custard powder
2 c. icing sugar
Cream butter, cream, custard powder and icing sugar together well. Beat until light. Spread over bottom layer.
THIRD LAYER

4 squares semi-sweet chocolate (I oz. each)
2 tbsp. unsalted butter

Melt chocolate and butter over low heat. Cool When cool, but still liquid, pour over second layer and chill in refrigerator.
by Joyce Hardcastle

[Gilgamesh37]

Okay.....so, let's just pretend that despite 2 English degrees I still can't decipher those $&(@&( pronunciation marks in the dictionary.....can someone explain to my dumb butt how one pronounces "Nanaimo"? As in, "first syllable rhymes with xxx..."?

(p.s. please don't tell my mother that I'm 40 years old and she helped pay for all those years of college and grad school and I still can't read pronunciation marks. Thanks.)

[lonetree1353]

It is pronounced Nah - ni (eye) - Mo
The i is pronounced eye

[Gilgamesh37]

Again, Maureen, thank you--is the emphasis on the "Nah" or the "neye"?

[badunnin]

On the second syllable - the eye

[Gilgamesh37]

Thanks Badunnin--and may I just say, it's a privilege to get an answer from a fellow Get Fuzzy fan (just bought DBF a coffee mug of his favorite strip for his birthday....one of the "mmmm, monkeys....." strips)

[badunnin]

LOL! I love Get Fuzzy! Mary Kate (MKSquared) will chat on Yahoo in the mornings and read the daily Get Fuzzy together. "And don't try to slip some cheap LEMUR in on me! I know monkey substitute when I smell it!"

[Middydd]

Accent is on the second syllable, Na-Nime'-O.

[MKSquared]

Originally posted by Gilgamesh37
Thanks Badunnin--and may I just say, it's a privilege to get an answer from a fellow Get Fuzzy fan (just bought DBF a coffee mug of his favorite strip for his birthday....one of the "mmmm, monkeys....." strips)

monkey, monkey, monkey, monkey, monkey, monkey ....


really, i'm reading this for the bar recipes. i promise.

[boisewinesnob]

I made these last Christmas and they were OK, but not like the ones I used to get where I worked (puget sound area). The creamy layer in the ones I made came out too much like frosting and the ones I used to buy were more like a really thick pudding. Maybe I'll try lonetree's recipe this year as it looks like it has a bit more cream than I used--otherwise, it looks the same as the recipe I had.
BTW, the local paper here in Boise ran a little story about these things a while back and the food writer or editor or whoever she is spelled Nanaimo wrong . I think that was the only time I actually sent an email to the newspaper to correct them on something (any other mistakes I either don't catch or don't care about ).