Nanaimo Bars

Again, I beg you, do NOT hold these against me when you can’t stop eating them.  They are absolutely worth every calorie (as long as you can stop eating them at some point).

I noticed these a few years ago, and was intrigued.  They called for an ingredient I had never heard of  (custard powder), and I vowed to keep my eyes open to see if I could find any…I really wanted to try these.

After a few years of half remembering, looking and never finding, I finally went to Amazon and ordered it, to be shipped from the UK.  It took three weeks for it to arrive, and was I anxious to check it out!

Oh, the disappointment!  For those of you who have never seen it or heard of it, all it amounts to is corn starch, flavored with artificial vanilla.  You add it to the “custard layer” of the cookies.  It basically helps to stabilize that layer which, I have to add, is not custard at all, but a form of buttercream.  Now, don’t think that I have anything bad to say about these lovely morsels, because I don’t.  I posted them, didn’t I?  I would never post something I thought was not worth the effort.  But, all of the descriptions have this layer as custard, likely because of the “custard powder”.

Save yourself the time and money and replace it with simple cornstarch, then add the vanilla.  In the recipe, I have listed the two options.  I must also note that when I make a chocolate topping like this, I use about 2/3 milk chocolate and about 1/3 dark chocolate.  I am NOT  a fan of  using chocolate chips.  They have added ingredients to help them hold their shape, so I don’t like to melt them for anything.