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 recipe on are 101 Cookbooks and www.nanaimo.ca.Nanaimo Bars are a classic Canadian dessert created in none other than Nanaimo, British Colombia. In case you were wondering, it’s pronounced Nah-nye-Moh. These bars have 3 layers: a base containing graham crackers, cocoa, coconut and nuts, a middle custard layer, and a topping of chocolate. They are extremely rich and available almost everywhere across the country. I used to buy them at the grocery store before going gluten-free. (Lauren)I think I need to iron my kitchen towel next time!
I opted not to make my graham crackers gluten-free out of convenience and thrift. I had all the ingredients in my pantry for the regular graham crackers:) I was so happy and excited to finally make homemade graham crackers! I have wanted to, but never have. Graham crackers are such a classic childhood snack. In kindergarten our class snack was graham crackers and milk:) Then in Brownies/Girl Scouts and family camping, s’mores were always a favored treat! They are such a memory-invoking treat for me!
I still love them and always have a box or two in the pantry.
The day I baked them, my husband walked in the door and said “What is that, that I smell? It’s the best thing ever!” I have to admit that the aroma was buttery and honey infused, but my husband is pretty easy to please in the food category, so it’s hard to know if it was really that good! I finally used my little “crinkle wheel” (I don’t know what it’s called) to make little scalloped edges on the crackers. My grahams aren’t as crunchy as a cracker, and they’re thicker, but I kind of like them this way:) Homemade is so superior! I don’t know why I’m so enthralled with something so simple, but I really love them! I have some left in the freezer, and some batter in the fridge. I will feature them in some way(not crushed)..perhaps s’mores?
I decided to make the middle filling pink, just because I like pink and I have Valentine’s day on the brain. These bars are very decadent, so it might be better to make them into Nanaimo bites, instead of bars:) I had a bit of a hard time cutting these without cracking the top layer, but MANY of you had perfectly neat and tidy bars with no blemishes! :)Thanks Lauren for a fun challenge to start off the year! My favorite part was the graham crackers:)
Click HERE for the recipe.
