NANAIMO BARS Bottom layer Original cup unsalted butter 5 tbsp.

. cocoa powder cup sugar 1 egg, beaten 1 cups choc. cookie crumbs1 1 cup shredded coconut cup finely chopped almonds (or walnuts) 1. 2. 3. 4. Espresso cup unsalted butter 5 tbsp. cocoa powder 2 tbsp. finely ground espresso cup sugar 1 egg, beaten 1 cups choc. cookie crumbs 1 cup shredded coconut cup finely chopped hazelnuts (or almonds) Mint cup unsalted butter 5 tbsp. cocoa powder

by Benjamin C. Brown (based on the official City of Nanaimo recipe) Preparation time: it depends (+5 minutes). Usually around an hour.

Maple Walnut cup salted butter 2 tbsp. cinnamon 1 tbsp. nutmeg 1 tbsp. pumpkin pie spice 1 egg, beaten 1 pack vanilla Oreos, crushed, cream removed cup finely chopped black walnuts

Vegan cup vegan butter 5 tbsp. cocoa powder cup sugar cup applesauce 1 cups vegan choc. cookie crumbs2 1 cup shredded coconut cup finely chopped almonds (or walnuts)

cup sugar 1 egg, beaten 1 cups choc. cookie crumbs 1 cup shredded coconut cup finely chopped almonds (or walnuts)

Mix the butter, powders, and sugar in a double boiler. Stir until the mixture is smooth. Remove from heat. Slowly add the egg to the mixture, stirring constantly to prevent the egg from scrambling. Fold cookie crumbs, coconut, and nuts into the mixture. Place the mixture into an 8x8 inch baking pan. Whether its greased or ungreased doesnt really make a difference, so lets go with ungreased. Press the mixture firmly into the pan so that it is compact and flat. 5. Chill in the refrigerator. For how long? Well, the time spent cleaning the dishes from steps 1-4 and making the next layer should be good. Middle layer Original cup unsalted butter 2 tbsp. custard powder3 3 tbsp. heavy cream Espresso cup unsalted butter 2 tbsp. custard powder 3 tbsp. heavy cream 1 packet Starbucks VIA Instant Coffee (Italian Roast) 2 tbsp. fresh, coarsely ground coffee 2 cups powdered sugar Mint cup unsalted butter 2 tbsp. custard powder 3 tbsp. heavy cream 1 tsp. peppermint extract 1 drop green food dye 2 cups powdered sugar Maple Walnut unsalted butter 2 tbsp. custard powder 3 tbsp. heavy cream 1 tsp. (maybe more) maple flavouring 1 tbsp. cinnamon 2 cups powdered sugar Vegan cup vegan butter 2 tbsp. custard powder 3 tbsp. coconut cream

2 cups powdered sugar

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2 cups powdered sugar

Use Nabisco Famous Wafers, if you can find them. Otherwise, get a pack of Oreos, remove and discard the cream filling, and crush the cookies. Oreos are vegan. 3 You need Birds Custard Powder. There is no substitute. No, vanilla pudding mix does not work. Ive tried.

6. Cream the butter and custard powder in a bowl (or mixer) until it is a smooth, yet firm paste. a. Original: Add the heavy cream to the mixture. b. Espresso: Dissolve the Starbucks VIA Instant Coffee in the heavy cream (its harder than you think). Add this to the mixture. c. Mint: Add the heavy cream, peppermint extract, and green food dye to the mixture. d. Maple Walnut: Add the heavy cream and maple flavouring to the mixture. e. Vegan: Add the coconut cream to the mixture. 7. Mix the powdered sugar into the mixture, about 1/3 cup at a time. a. Espresso: Add the ground coffee while mixing in the powdered sugar. b. Maple Walnut: Add the cinnamon while mixing in the powdered sugar. If the resulting buttercream icing is not maple-y enough, add more maple flavouring.4 8. Place the mixture on top of the bottom layer in the baking pan. Using an icing spatula, even the icing out across the bottom layer. 9. Chill in the refrigerator. For how long? Well, the time spent cleaning the dishes from steps 6-8 and making the top layer should be good. Top layer Original 4 oz. semi-sweet chocolate 2 tbsp. unsalted butter Espresso 2 oz. semi-sweet chocolate 2 oz. unsweetened chocolate 2 tbsp. unsalted butter 16 whole roasted coffee beans (optional) Mint 4 oz. semi-sweet chocolate 2 tbsp. unsalted butter 16 Junior Mints (optional) Maple Walnut 1 oz. semi-sweet chocolate 3 oz. unsweetened chocolate 2 tbsp. unsalted butter 16 whole toasted walnuts5 (optional) Vegan 4 oz. vegan semi-sweet chocolate 2 tbsp. vegan butter

10. Slowly melt the butter and chocolate in a double boiler. Remove from heat, continually stirring. 11. Once the chocolate has cooled, but is still liquid, pour it over the middle layer. Using an icing spatula, smooth the chocolate into an even layer. 12. Carefully arrange the 16 garnishes over the chocolate layer. Once the bars are cut, these garnishes should end up in the center of each piece. If you get a fingerprint in the chocolate, just sigh and move on. Trying to fix it will only make it worse. 13. Chill in the refrigerator. For how long? Well, the time spent cleaning all of the dishes should be good if you add five minutes on top of that. Basically the chocolate has to set without getting too hard. 14. Boil some water. Pour the boiling water in a tall glass. Stick a sharp, non-serrated knife in that glass. 15. Use the hot knife to cut the bars into 16 2x2 inch squares, cleaning the knife off and re-submerging it in the hot water after every pass. If youre lucky, the chocolate wont crack on you. 16. Remove the bars with a fork or pie spatula. The first one is almost always destroyed in the process, but its okyou need a taste test anyway. 17. Plate the bars. If youre not serving the bars immediately, wrap them up in Saran Wrap and put them back in the fridge. They tend to melt.
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But dont add maple syrup or maple-flavoured syrup. Doing so will make the icing even sweeter than it already is. 7-10 minutes on a baking sheet at 350F ought to do it. Let them cool.