NANAIMO BARS - THE DARING BAKERS

This month has been quite hectic for me and being able to complete my Daring Bakers' Challenge has been more than testing. Anyway, no matter how things have been for me lately, I was not going to miss the opportunity of letting the healing powers of baking soothe my body and soul...

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

"Nanaimo Bars" originate from Canada. This no-bake confection is named after the West-Coast city of Nanaimo in British Columbia. This wonderfully rich dessert item consists of a wafer crumb-based layer, topped by a layer of light vanilla or custard flavoured butter icing, which is covered in chocolate made from melted chocolate squares.

Just like any bar, "Nanaimo Bars" are not for the faint of heart when it comes to calories. This easy to make chocolaty, nutty, coconutty, vanilla goodness is irresistibly decadent. They are so bad for your cholesterol, but oh so good for your spiritual health!

Many thanks to Lauren for introducing me to the gluten-free world and for making me realise that baked goods which contain no gluten are as delicious as the gluten-ladden ones.

~ Nanaimo Bars ~

Preparation time:
• Graham Wafers:
30 to 45 minutes total active prep, 2 ½ hours to overnight and 45 minutes inactive prep.
• Nanaimo Bars:
30 minutes.

Equipment required:
• Food Processor
• Bowls
• Parchment paper or silpats
• Cookie sheets
• Double boiler or pot and heatproof bowl
• 8 by 8 inch square pan
• Hand mixer or stand mixer (You may use a wooden spoon, but this makes it much easier!)
• Saucepan For Gluten-Free Graham Wafers

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GRAHAM CRACKERS

Ingredients:
1 Cup (138g/4.9 ounces) Sweet rice flour (also known as glutinous rice flour)
3/4 Cup (100g/3.5 ounces) Tapioca Starch/Flour
1/2 Cup (65 g/2.3 ounces) Sorghum Flour
1 Cup (200g/7.1 ounces) Dark Brown Sugar, Lightly packed
1 Tsp (5ml) Baking soda
3/4 Tsp (4ml ) Kosher Salt
7 Tbs (100g/(3 ½ ounces) Unsalted Butter (Cut into 1-inch cubes and frozen)
1/3 Cup (80ml) Honey, Mild-flavoured such as clover
5 Tbs (75ml) Whole Milk
2 Tbs (30ml) Pure Vanilla

Method:
1. 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 the consistency of a coarse meal. If making by hand, combine aforementioned dry ingredients with a whisk, then cut in butter until you have a coarse meal. No chunks of butter should be visible.
2. 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.
3. Turn the dough onto a surface well-floured with sweet rice flour and pat the dough into a rectangle about 1 inch thick. Wrap in plastic and chill until firm, about 2 hours, or overnight. 4. Divide the dough in half and return one half to the refrigerator. Sift an even layer of sweet rice 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 by 4 inch squares. Gather the scraps together and set aside. Place wafers on one or two parchment-lined baking sheets. Chill until firm, about 30 to 45 minutes. Repeat with the second batch of dough.

5. Adjust the rack to the upper and lower positions and preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius).
6. Gather the scraps together into a ball, chill until firm, and reroll. Dust the surface with more sweet rice flour and roll out the dough to get a couple more wafers.
7. Prick the wafers with toothpick or fork, not all the way through, in two or more rows.
8. Bake for 25 minutes, until browned and slightly firm to the touch, rotating sheets halfway through to ensure even baking. Might take less, and the starting location of each sheet may determine its required time. The ones that started on the bottom browned faster.
9. When cooled completely, place enough wafers in food processor to make 1 ¼ cups (300 mL) 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.

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NANAIMO BARS

Ingredients for the "Bottom Layer":
1/2 Cup (115g/4 ounces) Unsalted Butter
1/4 Cup (50g/1.8 ounces) Granulated Sugar
5 Tbs (75ml) Unsweetened Cocoa
1 Large Egg, Beaten
1 1/4 Cups (300ml/160 g/5.6 ounces) Gluten Free Graham Wafer Crumbs (See previous recipe) 1/2 Cup (55g/1.9 ounces) Almonds (Any type, Finely chopped)
1 Cup (130g/4.5 ounces) Coconut (Shredded, sweetened or unsweetened)

Method for the "Bottom Layer":
1. Melt unsalted butter, sugar and cocoa in top of a double boiler.
2. Add egg and stir to cook and thicken. Remove from heat.
3. Stir in crumbs, nuts and coconut.
4. Press firmly into an ungreased 20x20cm (8 by 8 inch) pan.

Ingredients for the "Middle Layer":
1/2 Cup (115g/4 ounces) Unsalted Butter
2 Tbs and 2 Tsps (40ml) Heavy Cream
2 Tbs (30ml) Vanilla Custard Powder (Such as Bird’s. Vanilla pudding mix may be substituted.)
2 cups (254g/8.9 ounces) Icing Sugar

Method for the "Middle Layer":
1. Cream butter, cream, custard powder, and icing sugar together well.
2. Beat until light in colour.
3. Spread over bottom layer.

Ingredients for the "Top Layer":
115g (4 ounces) Semi-sweet chocolate
2 Tbs (28g/1 ounce) Unsalted Butter

Method for the "Top Layer":
1. Melt chocolate and unsalted butter over low heat.
2. Cool.
3. Pour over middle layer and chill.

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REMARKS

These bars freeze very well, so don’t be afraid to pop some into the freezer.
The graham wafers may be kept in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.
If making the graham crackers with wheat, replace the gluten-free flours (tapioca starch, sweet rice flour, and sorghum flour) with 2 ½ cups plus 2 tbsp of all-purpose wheat flour, or wheat pastry flour. Watch the wheat-based graham wafers very closely in the oven, as they bake faster than the gluten-free ones, sometimes only 12 minutes.
For the Nanaimo Bars, if making with wheat, replace the gluten-free graham wafer crumbs with equal parts wheat graham wafer crumbs.

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Etant donné la longueur du texte original, je n'ai malheureusement pas pu faire une traduction française de ce billet et je m'en excuse auprès de tous mes amis lecteurs et blogueurs francophones!

C'est pourquoi je vous suggère de vous rendre sur le blog mentionné ci-dessous. Vous y trouverez cette recette en version française.

Chez Isa de "Les Gourmandises d'Isa" (Canada)

HONEY CINNAMON GRAHAM COOKIES

I've always liked "digestive biscuits" (see infos), because, although they are quite basic and rustic, they never fail to please me as they are highly comforting in their simplicity...

Like their cousin, the American "Graham Crackers", those "Honey Cinnamon Graham Cookies" can be used to make a delicious pie or cheesecake crust. Of course, they are also very fine when eaten at any time of the day with a good cup of tea or coffee. In fact, it is a quality teatime treat!

Tish Boyle's (see link) cookies are wonderful thanks to the honey and the hint of cinnamon with which they are made. The addition of wholewheat (wholemeal) flour confers an interesting, round and nutty flavor as well as a satisfyingly flaky texture to those delightfully crunchy crackers.

This recipe is perfect as those "Honey Cinnamon Graham Cookies" are neither sickly, too sweet not overwhelmingly spicy. They are mild, well-balanced taste-wise and rather delicate considering their humble looks and the ordinary ingredients that compose them.

So, don't be influenced by their seemingly unsophisticated appearance. Those cookies deserve to be tested as they are healthy AND enjoyable!

~ Honey Cinnamon Graham Cookies ~
Recipe taken from "The Good Cookie" by Tish Boyle and adapted by myself.

Makes about 56 cookies.

Ingredients:
2 1/3 Cups (300g) Plain white flour
1/2 Cup (80g) Wholewheat/wholemeal flour
1 Tsp Baking soda
1 Tsp Salt
1/2 Tsp Ground cinnamon
8 Tbs (120g) Unsalted butter
1/3 Cup (75g) Castor sugar
1/2 Cup (125ml) Light runny honey
1 Tsp Vanilla extract
1/3 Cup (83ml) Water

Method:
1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Set aside.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, usig the paddle attachment, beat the butter, sugar, honey and vanilla extract at medium speed until blended, about 1 minute.
3. At low speed, add the flour mixture and then the water, mixing just until blended.
4. Scrape the dough onto a work surface and, with floured hands, shape it into 2 disks.
5. Wrap each disk in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours, until chilled.
6. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 170° C (325° F).
7. Line a big baking tray with parchment paper.
8. Remove one of the dough disks from the refrigerator and place it on a floured work surface.
9. Dust it lightly with flour and, using a rolling pin, roll it out to a thickness of 4 mm (1/8 inch).
10. Using a 5 cm (2 inch) round cookie cutter, cut out as many cookies as possible from the dough.
11. Arrange them 2.5 cm (1 inch) apart on the prepared baking tray.
12. Gather up the scraps, wrap in plastic, and freeze for 10 minutes before rerolling.
13. Prick each cookie four times with a fork.
14. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until the cookies are golden brown.
15. Transfer them to a wire rack and cool completely.
16. Repeat the procedure with the remaining dough.

Remarks:
The original recipe calls for 6 tablespoons butter and 2 tablespoons solid vegetable shortening.
When shaping the dough, don't be afraid if it is sticky. That's normal!
If desired, the dough can be refrigerated up to three days.
Store in an airtight container at room temperature up to 5 days. I kept them for a week, without encounting any kind of problem

Serving suggestions:
To nibble at any time of the day!