Nanaimo Bars

Nanaimo Bars

Three Layers of yumm!

If you are from British Columbia then you will be familiar with Nanaimo Bars, a three-layer sweet treat named after a town on Vancouver Island. 

We always ate Nanaimo bars when I was a kid. They have a crust of graham cracker and chocolate, followed by a layer of buttery icing sugar with vanilla pudding, and finally, a thin layer of chocolate on top. I hadn’t had a Nanaimo bar in decades and was excited to make them after I found an old recipe in one of my mother’s recipe books. They tasted exactly as I remembered!

Nanaimo Bars

 Nanaimo Bars

Makes about 48 bars

Bottom Layer

1/2 cup butter

1/4 cup granulated sugar

3 tablespoons cocoa powder

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups graham wafer crumbs

1 cup sweetened coconut (fine or medium)

1/2 cup walnuts, ground or chopped fine

Middle layer 

1/4 cup butter

2 tablespoons vanilla instant pudding powder

3 tablespoons milk

2 cups icing sugar

Top layer

2 squares semi-sweet chocolate

2 squares unsweetened chocolate

1 tablespoon butter

Directions:

Melt butter on stovetop or in the microwave, then add sugar, cocoa, egg and vanilla. Mix together with a whisk or fork then stir in graham wafer crumbs, coconut and walnuts. Spread mixture in bottom of greased 8 x 8-inch pan.

With a mixer cream together butter, vanilla instant pudding powder and milk. Slowly add in icing sugar. Spread over bottom layer. Chill.

Melt chocolate squares with butter in a small bowl set over a small pot of hot water. Spread onto the chilled mixture. Chill until chocolate firms up and then serve, cut into small squares.

Store in the refrigerator.