A no-bake chocolate bar with a vanilla custard filling.
Canadians might think these are Nanaimo Bars. They are not! The Original Nanaimo Bar recipe uses custard powder, which can be hard to find in the USA, whereas this recipe uses easy-to-find vanilla pudding mix.
Lest any Canadians* complain, they CANNOT be Nanaimo Bars unless they are made with custard powder!
Ingredients
- For the base:
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg, beaten
2 cups crushed graham crackers
1 cup flaked sweetened coconut
- For the filling:
1/2 cup butter or margarine
3 tablespoons milk
1 (3.75-ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix
2 cups powdered sugar
- For the topping:
1 (6-ounce) package semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
Directions
- Make the base:
- In the top of a double boiler over medium heat combine 1/2 cup margarine, cocoa, sugar, and vanilla. Stir until margarine is melted. Add one beaten egg. Stir until thickened, about 3 minutes. Add graham crackers and coconut, mix well. Press into a greased 9×9″ baking pan.
- Make the filling:
- Cream together 1/2 cup margarine, milk, pudding mix, and powdered sugar. Beat until fluffy, then spread over the crust. Chill until firm.
- Make the topping:
- In the top of a clean double boiler over low heat, stir together chocolate chips and 2 tablespoons margarine until melted. Cool slightly and spread over pudding layer. Chill until set. Cut into small bars (2″ x 3/4″) to serve.
Notes
- * I had many Canadians complain that I had changed the name of this recipe and usurped it from its rightful owners. They had no idea, I guess, that Christmas-Cookies.com is a Canadian website! And I know the difference between a bar made with custard powder and a bar made with pudding mix. 😉 Yes, these are very much like Nanaimo bars, but I think most of the complaining Canadians didn’t realize that Bird’s Custard Powder is pretty unknown in the USA. In the US, many people know this recipe only by this name, and that’s what they search for on Google and in this site’s search bar.