Most of you who read this blog have never met me. I’m a decent person, mostly pleasant and with a bounded ego. That said, there are times when I absolutely amaze myself with my unsurpassed, astonishing ability to make a stupid decision.
Last year I was browsing for cookbooks and saw Chewy, Gooey, Crispy, Crunchy by Alice Medrich. My hands were full, I was late, I did not pick up the book. I just made a mental note that I needed to check it out. Then the dog ate my notes and that was that.
A year wasted. A year missing her Nut Slices, Rocky Road Bars, those Sticky Pecan Bites, the Very Tangy Lemon Bars, and these Nanaimo Bars. I have been a fool, but I intend to make up ground.
Alice has long and very distinguished career in dessert arts. She created a chain of chocolate stores, she’s the ultimate dessert chef, and her eight books are treasures. She is not just a writer or recipe developer. She’s a food scientist, who meticulously tests, retests, and perfects. You follow her recipe, you get a treasure. It’s a guarantee.
She wrote Chewy for your sense of touch. She has revisited cookie recipes and asked simple but key questions: what gives this cookie its characteristic feel and how can that be intensified? So, if a cookie had some nut flavor and was crispy, how to make that flavor intense and very crisp: her Nut Bars.
You’ll want to make everything in this book.
Nanaimo is the third largest city in British Columbia. There is a Christmas tradition there for an unbaked layer cookie, the Nanaimo. According to Alice, there is no reason to do this just at Christmas. And, to perfect the layers, some baking is in order. The result? This cookie is beautiful to the eye, a wonder to your mouth as you go through different layers ranging from gooey to crispy, and intense on the palette — the cream cheese layer has a tang that ricochets off the chocolate above and below.
Alice credits the development of this baked version to her friend Maya Klein in Portland. My thanks to both of these cookie mavens.
Do not make my error. Go get a copy of Chewy. On, in April, she is publishing Sinfully Easy Delicious Desserts. What’s wrong with sin?
Maya’s No-N0-Nanaimo Bars
Yield: 16 large bars or 25 smaller ones
Ingredients:
• 1 ½ cups (5 ounces) chocolate cookie crumbs (from 9 chocolate graham crackers)
• ½ cup (1.5 ounces) unsweetened dried shredded coconut (see page 352)
• ½ cup (2 ounces) finely chopped pecans
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
• ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons (4.375 ounces) granulated sugar
• 8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
• 2 tablespoons (0.875 ounce) packed brown sugar
• ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• ½ cup heavy cream
• 7 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate with 55 % to 60 % cacao
Preparation:
Ready a 9-inch square metal baking pan, lining the bottom and all four interior sides with foil.
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Mix the crumbs, coconut, pecans, butter, and ¼ cup of the granulated sugar and pat it very firmly into the lined pan. Bake the crust for 10 to 12 minutes, or until it looks slightly darker at the edges and smells toasted.
While the crust is baking, mix the filling. In a large bowl, beat the softened cream cheese, brown sugar, ¼ cup of the remaining granulated sugar until smooth. Beat in the vanilla and then the egg. When the crust is baked, dollop the filling onto the hot crust and spread gently with the back of a spoon. Bake the bars until the edges are slightly puffed, about 10 minutes. Cool on a rack for 30 minutes. Chill for at 2 hours.
Dissolve the remaining 2 tablespoons granulated sugar in the cream. Bring 1/2 inch of water to a simmer in a medium skillet. Coarsely chop the chocolate and combine with the cream in a medium metal bowl. Place the bowl directly in the skillet of hot water and turn off the heat. Let rest for 5 minutes and whisk until smooth. Set aside until needed.
Pour the warm ganache onto the bars, spread, and chill for at least 30 minutes before serving. Lift the bars out of the pan by using the edges of the foil liner. Cut into 16 or 25 squares, wiping the knife between cuts.
Source: Chewy, Gooey, Crispy, Crunchy by Alice Medrich.