Nanaimo Bars

Author: Adell Goff

Recipe type: Dessert

Serves: 12

Ingredients

For the Bottom Layer:
½ cup butter, softened
¼ cup sugar
⅓ cup (5 T.) cocoa powder
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp. vanilla
1 and ¾ cup graham cracker crumbs
1 cup shredded sweetened coconut
½ cup finely chopped almonds
For the Middle Layer:
½ cup butter, softened
3 T. cream
2 T. birds custard powder*
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
For the Top Layer:
4 oz dark or semi sweet chocolate
2 T. butter
1 tsp. corn syrup (optional)

Instructions

For the Bottom Layer:
In a saucepan melt the butter over low heat. Stir in the sugar and cocoa until smooth. Whisk in the beaten egg. stirring constantly until the mixture has thickened (about 1-2 min). Remove from the heat and add the vanilla, graham cracker crumbs, coconut and chopped nuts. Mix together then press into a 8" or 9" square pan. Cover and chill until firm (about 30 min).
For the Middle Layer:
In a mixer (or hand mixer) cream the butter. Add in the remaining ingredients and beat until light and fluffy. (If the mixture is too thick, add another T. of cream) Spread the filling over the bottom layer and chill until firm (about 15-20 min).
For the Top Layer:
Melt the chocolate and butter together in a pan or double boiler. Careful not to burn. Remove from heat and stir in the corn syrup. Gently spread over the filling. Chill until set.

Notes

*If you can't find birds custard powder (I think World Market has it or you could order online) then you can use vanilla pudding powder. I have seen other recipes that use pecans or walnuts instead of almonds but the original bars have almonds. I just put almond slices in a food processor and it worked great. I added the corn syrup to make the chocolate smoother. After I spread it on, I shook the pan back and forth and the chocolate smoothed nicely. Also, you may want to score the chocolate before chilling it the last time to make cutting easier.

Recipe by Baked in AZ at http://bakedinaz.com/nanaimo-bars/