Irish Cream Nanaimo Bars

Irish Cream Nanaimo Bars 

I have made several varieties of Nanaimo Bars! I’ve even visited the city of Nanaimo on Vancouver Island, where you can get Nanaimo bar flavors in all sorts of different foods. 

It’s a cute little town to visit, although according to the museum there they don’t know the complete history of how the Nanaimo Bar came about. I see any triple layered bar called a Nanaimo Bar, but for me they must be a no-bake bar, contain irish cream Frosting in the filling, and are topped with chocolate.

This bar is the same recipe that I used for custard filling Nanaimo Bars. The only thing that I would change about this recipe is the base. Perhaps I didn’t press the base into the pan enough? I may be able to add a little more butter to make it stick together better. The irish cream Frosting filling is just so good. I  like a thick topping of chocolate, so I probably use the full 1 cup of chocolate.

Ingredients

To make this delicious Irish Cream Nanaimo Bars you will need:

For the Base Layer

• 3/4 cup butter
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 8 tbsp cocoa
• 2 beaten eggs
• 2 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 3/4 cup fine or medium unsweetened coconut
• 1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts

For the the Irish Cream Frosting Filling

• 3/4 cup butter
• 4 1/2  cups icing sugar i.e. powdered sugar or confectioners sugar
• 1/3 cup Irish Cream Liqueur
• For the Chocolate Topping
• 1 cup chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup Irish Cream liqueur

Instructions

To Prepare the Base Layer

In a small saucepan, melt together the butter, sugar and cocoa over low heat.

Add the beaten egg and continue to cook, stirring constantly to fully cook the egg with the mixture resembling a soft scrambled egg texture.

Add the graham crumbs, coconut and walnuts.

Mix together until well combined then, press into the bottom of a parchment paper lined 9×9 inch baking pan.

To Prepare the Irish Cream Frosting Filling

With an electric mixer, beat together the butter, icing sugar and Irish cream until very smooth.

This frosting should be very stiff but spreadable. If you think it’s too thick, you may add a few drops of Irish Cream at a time to bring it to the right consistency. If it is too soft, add a little more icing sugar.

Spread evenly over the bottom layer. Chill in the fridge for a couple of hours before adding the chocolate topping.

To Prepare the Chocolate Topping:

Melt the Irish Cream and chocolate chips together over low heat, just until the chocolate is melted, don’t over heat it.

Spread quickly over the chilled frosted layer. Return to the fridge until the chocolate sets.

Cut into squares or bars. These freeze very well.

Irish Cream Nanaimo Bars Notes

Here is the ingredient list for the base of the original version of this recipe as noted in the post above.

For the Base Layer 1/2 cup butter 1/4 cup sugar 5 tbsp cocoa one beaten egg 1 3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs 3/4 cup fine or medium unsweetened coconut 1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts Notes on Nuts One of the other things worth noting in making Nanaimo Bars of any flavour is the choice of nuts in the bottom. I get asked questions all the time about substituting them.

My answer is generally, "Use what you like." Since these are all no-bake cookie recipes, I think it is important to toast any nuts before chopping or grinding them finely to use in the recipe.

The flavour will be so much better. Generally, most nuts like pecans, walnuts, hazelnuts and almonds will take from 7-10 minutes in a preheated 350 degree F oven. Lay them out in a single layer on a cookie sheet and toss once during the cooking time.

 Let you nose guide you, the nuts will begin to smell quite toasty and delicious when they are done. They should also be hot enough that you would not pick them up with your fingers. If its not completely heated through, it isn't properly toasted.

Enjoy your Irish Cream Nanaimo Bars.