CHRISTMAS NANAIMO BARS

Christmas Nanaimo Bars image

We spent 10 years stationed at Fort Drum in New York, and we loved it. We made quite a few forays into Canada and tried some different kinds of things. These little decadent yummy bars were one of them. The first time I made them was for Santa, we barely had enough for him. They freeze well. They are pronounced Nah-nye- mo and...

Provided by Cathy Smith

Categories Cookies

Time 30m

Number Of Ingredients 24

Ingredients

CRUST
2 Tbsp finely chopped crystallized ginger
1 Tbsp rum
3/4 c butter, cut in cubes
1/3 c cocoa
1/4 c sugar
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 c crushed graham crackers (may use vanilla wafers)
1 c flaked coconut
1/2 c chopped walnuts (may use pecans etc)
1/2 c finely chopped red and green candied cherries
FILLING
1/4 c butter, softened
3 Tbsp half and half or milk
2 Tbsp instant vanilla pudding mix
2 1/2 c powdered sugar
1/2 tsp almond flavoring
TOPPING
4 oz semisweet chocolate chopped
1 Tbsp butter
1/2 c powdered sugar
2 tsp half and half or milk
1/4 tsp vanilla

Steps:

1. In a small bowl, combine ginger and rum and set aside. Line a 9 inch pan with a foil sling.
2. In a large heavy saucepan, combine the butter, cocoa, and sugar. Cook and stir over medium low heat until melted. Whisk a small amount of hot mixture into egg. Return all into pan, whisking constantly. Cook and stir over medium low heat until mixture reaches 160 degrees F.
3. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Stir in graham crumbs, coconut, walnuts, cherries and ginger mixture. Press into a foil lined 9 inch square pan.
4. For the filling, in a large bowl, beat the butter, half and half/milk and pudding mix until well blended. Gradually beat in powdered sugar until smooth,add in almond flavoring and spread over crust. Freeze for 15 minutes or until set.
5. In a microwave, melt chocolate and butter, stir until smooth. Stir in vanilla. Spread over the top. Combine confectioner's sugar and half and half/milk, drizzle over the top. Refrigerate for 1 hour or until set. Cut into bars.
6. Christmas is coming and I am looking over my recipes, this is one of them. These are kicked up Nanaimo bars. You can omit the ginger, rum, and cherries and have everyday Nanaimo bars. You can also add mint and pink tinting to the filling and crushed candy canes on top. The way I chose to serve them for "Santa Claus" since we barely had two left was, I left off the white icing on top, and placed them on a black plate, dusted it heavily with powdered sugar to look like snow and arranged some mini marshmallows around the plate so Santa wouldn't know he was shortchanged.