Irish Cream Nanaimo Bars

Whenever the weather gets warm in Seattle, I’m on the lookout for no-bake cookies. The past week has been very warm, near 90 for several days. That means in my house, with no air conditioning, it’s also 90 degrees. That’s much too hot to turn on the oven. In fact, there were a couple of days that were too hot to do anything! It has cooled considerable, to more average temperatures, so I’m very happy about that.

I knew it would be warm so I looked for no-bake cookies, and I naturally turned to Nanaimo Bars. I have made two types of Nanaimo Bars, traditional and cherry almond. They are no-bake but they are still kind of fancy. I went searching and found a Food.com site that had many Nanaimo Bar variations. One of them was Irish Cream Nanaimo Bars and they sounded wonderful. And the Irish Cream liqueur doesn’t get baked out, so these are treats for adults.

These bars have a couple of steps, but each step is quick. It does dirty up quite a few dishes, but that’s the way it is sometimes. You assemble the bars and then cut them before the chocolate is fully set; otherwise the chocolate would just shatter when you cut them in bars. Cutting the bars with a hot knife makes cleaner cuts, but also melts the chocolate a bit, so the filling and the chocolate melt together a bit. It doesn’t matter: these bars are fantastic! The Irish Cream liqueur is very potent, which is enhanced by the chocolate and graham and coconut flavors. Looking to keep your kitchen cool? These bars are for you.

Irish Cream Nanaimo Bars

1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup sugar
5 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup nuts, chopped

1/3 cup butter, room temperature

3 tablespoons custard powder

1/4 cup Irish Cream liqueur

About 2-1/2 cups powdered sugar

8 ounces semisweet chocolate
2 tablespoons butter

Grease a 9-inch square pan; set aside.

In a large saucepan, melt the butter. Stir in the sugar and cocoa powder, mixing until smooth. Whisk in the egg and vanilla. Remove from the heat and stir in the graham cracker crumbs, coconut, and nuts. Press in the bottom of the prepared pan and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Make the filling: cream the butter until light. Stir in the custard powder and Irish Cream liqueur. Gradually stir in the powdered sugar. If the filling is too soft, add additional powdered sugar. IF too thick, add more Irish Cream liqueur. Spread the filling over the cooled base, and refrigerate while you make the topping.

Make the topping: in the top of a double boiler or in the microwave, melt the chocolate and butter. Spread the chocolate on top of the bars. Refrigerate until the chocolate starts to harden, about 20 minutes. Cut into squares before the chocolate completely sets. Cut the bars with a knife dipped in hot water and then dried, for cleaner cuts.

Recipe from Food.com