Nanaimo Bars have been on my list of recipes to try for about a year now. However, I've never gotten around to making them, so I was excited when they came up as part of the Daring Baker's challenge this month. I was impressed at how easy they came together, and how delicious they were. The recipe is definitely a keeper; however I think I am going to tweak the vanilla filling in my next try at these. I didn't have the Byrd's Custard Powder called for in the recipe, so I tried subsituting 2 tablespoons of cornstarch, 2 teaspoons of sugar and 2 teaspoons of vanilla instead. This made the filling VERY vanilla tasting and super-thick - I was expecting a creamier filling. I'm thinking of trying a strawberry or raspberry flavored filling next time as well. I think that would be good and offset the sweetness and richness of the rest of the bars.
The graham crackers were extremely difficult to make. I did not make them gluten free, for the simple fact that the additional flours needed would have broken my budget month. Also, I had everything else necessary for the bars and graham crackers already in my pantry. I found the dough was very sticky and messy, and I ended up with globs of dough on the nice hardwood floors of my kitchen! However, these homemade graham crackers were the best I have ever had - my husband could not stop eating them! I'm unsure if I will ever attempt to make them again, but I have a feeling that a s'mores on these graham crackers would be pure sin!
Here are some photos from the making of the graham crackers and Nanaimo bars:
The ingredients for the graham crackers: flour, brown sugar, butter, baking soda and vanilla. Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures of the rest of the graham cracker process!
Bottom layer of the Nanaimo Bars: chocolate, coconut, almonds, sugar, butter and the aforementioned graham crackers, crushed.
Middle layer of the Nanaimo Bars: powdered sugar, butter, vanilla, sugar, cornstarch (substituted for custard powder)
Top layer of the Nanaimo Bars: chocolate and butter, melted, cooled and poured on top.
