Peppermint No Bake Nanaimo bars

I’m new to Nanaimo bars and was intrigued at the fact that they’re beautiful and relatively easy to prepare.  


If you’re not familiar with Nanaimo bars, have no fear.  Neither was I so I started to do a bit of investigating after having seen one when perusing the internet and thought, wow, that would make a great Christmas bar cookie.  Even better, these are a no bake bar..  Excellent!

Nanaimo bars are actually named after their namesake town of Nanaimo in British Columbia on Vancouver Island.  They’re quite famed in Canada and from what I’ve read, my “messing” with the recipe may ensure I’m not allowed across Canadian borders ever again.


Being that I really wanted a new and unique Christmas bar cookie, I wanted to take these into another realm by adding a subtle peppermint flavor to the buttercream filling and topping the beautiful ganache layer with crushed peppermint candies.  I imagined adding the peppermint would automatically make you associate this with a holiday cookie. 

THE CRUST IS SO EASY TO PREPARE, THEN PRESS INTO THE DISH AND CHILL

I loved this version that has a slight nutty sweetness in the crust from almond flour, forgoing the more traditional shredded coconut in the crust.  I don’t know about you, but I know so many people that don’t care for coconut so I opted to go a different route.  The bottom is still chocolatey due to the addition of cocoa powder.

FILLING INGREDEINTS READY TO GO

WHIPS UP LIKE A DREAM. YOU KNOW IT'S GOING TO TASTE GREAT ATOP A CHOCOLATEY CRUST

SPREAD OVER THE CHILLED CRUST THEN CHILL AGAIN WHILE YOU MAKE THE GANACHE TOPPING

The center layer is a beautiful buttercream style filling with some help from instant white chocolate pudding.  Again, the traditional recipe calls for custard powder, but I found that difficult to locate easily.  The substitution worked out magnificently and while the authentic recipe boasts a custardy yellow filling, my white filling seems to go well with the hint of peppermint that flows through it.

AFTER ADDING THE GANACHE AND A FEW CRUSHED PEPPERMINTS YOU GUESSED IT.....CHILL SOME MORE

Finally topping with a gorgeous chocolate ganache with a few crushed peppermint candy sprinkles sets it off and says “Hello, it’s Christmas”

Once you experiment with Nanaimo bars (if you dare), you’ll discover that multiple variations await you.  I’m thinking a butterscotch version may be next and hoping my Canadian friends won’t “unfriend” me.

Parchment paper is essential in making sure these bars come out perfectly.

8 x 8 baking pan

Peppermint No Bake Nanaimo Bars

16 bars (or you can cut into smaller pieces since they’re quite rich.


Prepare an 8 x 8 baking dish by overlapping 2 parchment paper sheets in a crisscross pattern.  You can skip this step but it really helps in pulling the bars. You can find my favorite parchment paper HERE or on my SHOP page.



Crust
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter. I love Kerrygolf for it's richness
1/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla (I love to use vanilla paste)
2 cups graham cracker crumbs (fine)
1 cup almond meal flour


Over a double boiler or heat proof bowl placed over slightly simmering water, melt the butter, then stir in the sugar, cocoa powder, egg and vanilla,.  Make sure you beat well when adding the egg so it doesn’t curdle.  The heat of the mixture cooks the egg, so you’ll start to see this thicken up in your bowl.  
Pour in the graham crumbs and almond flour and mix well.
Press evenly into your baking dish.
Chill for about 10 minutes until the crust is set while you make the filling.


Filling
1/4 cup (1/2 stick butter)
2 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons white chocolate or vanilla instant pudding (the white chocolate ensures the color is more white and less yellowish, although yellow is traditional and comes from custard powder)
3 tablespoons full fat coconut milk or cream
2 drops culinary peppermint oil (optional)


With a hand held mixer, cream the butter well then add the powdered sugar, instant pudding, coconut milk or cream and peppermint oil in a large bowl.  Carefully start to cream the mixture.  Go slowly first so powdered sugar doesn’t fly everywhere.

Pull the crust out of the fridge or freezer and spread the filling evenly over the crust.  Place back into your fridge or freezer to chill for another 10 minutes while you make the ganache.


Ganache
4 ounces dark chocolate
2 tablespoonscoconut oil or butter


Place chocolate and butter or coconut oil in a microwave safe bowl or pitcher .  Microwave for 1 minute (depending on your microwave) and stir together vigorously so the oil and chocolate combine and you cool the mixture down ever so slightly.

Pull the bars out of the fridge or freezer and pour the ganache evenly over the filling, moving the baking dish around so the chocolate pools to one side then the other until it’s all evenly coated.  You can also use an offset spatula to assist. 


1 tablespoon crushed peppermint candy


Sprinkle the pepperminty candy over the top then place back in the fridge to set thoroughly.  This will take about 30 minutes.


Pull out of the pan by the overlapping pieces of parchment paper then cut with a sharp knife, wiping off the knife between each cut to keep the layers of the bars clean.


Enjoy and keep refrigerated for up to 1 week (if they last that long)

Hand mixer                                            Pyrex mixing bowls                           Pyrex measuring pitchers