The Daring Bakers

Graham Crackers and Nanaimo Bars

Before this Daring Bakers challenge, I had never heard of a Nanaimo Bar before. They were originally made in the city of Nanaimo, which is in British Columbia, Canada. I had a really fun time making these.... especially the graham cracker part. Even though the graham crackers were good, I probably won't make them from scratch next time I make these bars (and there definitely will be a next time). I'll probably just grind up the ones straight from the box because it's quicker that way. I'm just being honest.

Once I made the bottom layer, I was in love. If you like those Girl Scout cookies called Samoas, you will also be in love with these. That's what the bottom layer tastes like.
You could easily make these gluten free, but to save money, I just used the wheat flour that I already had on hand. I'll post the gluten free recipe if you'd rather make them that way.

.... Now on with the recipe:


Graham Crackers

*To make these gluten free, replace the wheat flour with the following:
1 cup Sweet rice flour (AKA glutinous rice flour)
3/4 cup Tapioca Starch/Flour
1/2 cup Sorghum Flour

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups plus 2 Tablespoons wheat flour
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
7 Tablespoons unsalted butter (cut into 1-inch cubes and frozen)
1/3 cup honey
5 Tablespoons whole milk
2 Tablespoons pure vanilla extract

Directions:
In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade, combine the flours, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt. Pulse on low to incorporate. Add the butter and pulse on and off, until the mixture is in the consistency of a coarse meal. No chunks of butter should be visible.

In a small bowl or liquid measuring cup, whisk together the honey, milk and vanilla. Add to the flour mixture until the dough barely comes together. It will be very soft and sticky.

Turn the dough onto a surface well-floured and pat the dough into a rectangle about 1 inch thick. Wrap in plastic and chill until firm, about 2 hours or overnight.

Divide the dough in half and return one half to the refrigerator. Sift an even layer of flour onto the work surface and roll the dough into a long rectangle, about 1/8-inch thick. The dough will be quite sticky, so flour as necessary. Cut into 4 x 4 inch squares (I did some rectangles, too). Gather the scraps together and set aside. Place wafers on one or two parchment-lined baking sheets. Chill until firm, about 30-45 minutes. Repeat with the second batch of dough.

Adjust the rack to the upper and lower positions and preheat oven to 350-degrees.
Gather the scraps together into a ball, chill until firm, and reroll. Dust the surface with more flour and roll out the dough to get a couple more wafers.
Prick the wafers with toothpick or fork, not all the way through, tin two or more rows.

Bake for 12-25 minutes (wheat flour will cook quicker than the gluten free flours), until browned and slightly firm to the touch, rotating sheets halfway through to ensure even baking.
When cooled completely, place enough wafers in food processor to make 1 1/4 cups of crumbs. Another way to do this is to place in a large ziplock bag, force all air out and smash with a rolling pin until wafers are crumbs.
Once you've make the graham cracker crumbs, you are ready to make the Nanaimo Bars....


Nanaimo Bars

Ingredients:

Bottom layer
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup granulated sugar
5 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
1 large egg, beaten
1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup almonds, finely chopped
1 cup coconut (I used unsweetened because it's what I had on hand)

Middle layer
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 Tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons heavy cream
2 Tablespoons vanilla custard powder (I used vanilla pudding mix)
2 cups confectioner's sugar

Top layer
4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter


Directions:

Bottom layer
Melt butter, sugar, and cocoa in top of a double boiler. Add egg and stir to cook and thicken. Remove from heat. Stir in crumbs, nuts and coconut. Press firmly into an ungreased 8 x 8-inch pan.

Middle layer
Cream butter, cream, custard powder, and confectioner's sugar together well. Beat until light in color. Spread over bottom layer.

Top layer
Melt chocolate and butter over low heat. Cool. Once cool, pour over middle layer and chill.

These bars freeze very well.
Also, the graham crackers may be kept in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

The January 2010 Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Lauren of Celiac Teen. Lauren chose Gluten-Free Graham Wafers and Nanaimo Bars as the challenge for the month. The sources she based her recipes on are 101 Cookbooks and http://www.nanaimo.ca/.