Nutella Nanaimo Bars

This month's AlphaBakes is the letter 'N'. I started thinking about 'N' recipes and decided on Nutella which I love.  I've baked a lot with Nutella and wanted something a little different so when I came across these Nutella Nanaimo bars, I knew I had to make it immediately. I've seen Nanaimo bars on the blogosphere but have never made it myself. It's a no bake dessert bar named after the west coast city of Nanaimo in British Columbia. It usually has a wafer crumb base layer topped with a layer of custard flavoured butter icing and covered with melted chocolate. These of course contain nutella and have an Oreo cookie base. It's sweet and buttery and nutty and oh so naughty. One compliment I received was that "these taste like little explosions of heaven in your mouth". It's perfect for the upcoming festive season as it's quick and easy to make and you can make them in advance. 

I'm sending this to AlphaBakes hosted by Caroline from Caroline Makes and co hosted by myself on alternate months. The letter this month is "N" and I hope I get bonus points for my double N entry ;) 

 making the biscuit base 

 adding lots of lovely Nutella 

 cooked biscuit base 

 Nutella layer 

 add melted chocolate 

 ready to eat 

Recipe adapted from Sweet Twist of Blogging

For the base

2 packs of Oreo double stuff cookies (or regular oreo cookies)

60g caster sugar

50g cocoa powder

115g butter, melted

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

[I wanted to add some chopped hazelnuts but didn't have any in the cupboard]

For the filling

40g butter

110g icing sugar

300g Nutella

1 tablespoon double cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the topping

140g dark chocolate

10g butter

• Preheat the oven to 180C.
• Grease and line a square baking tin. 
• Place the Oreo cookies in a food processor and blitz until it resembles breadcrumbs.
• Place in a large bowl and add in the remaining ingredients.
• Mix well then pour into a square tin.
• Press down gently and level the top. 
• Bake for approximately 15 minutes.
• Allow to cool. 
• To make the filling, beat the butter and icing sugar until it forms a paste.
• Add in the Nutella, cream and vanilla extract and mix.
• Pour onto the cooled base and level with a spatula. 
• Place in the fridge to chill.
• Place the chocolate and butter in a bowl over a pan of simmering water.
• Stir occasionally and once fully melted, remove from the heat.
• Pour the melted chocolate on top of the chilled filling, tilting from side to side to get an even coating.
• Cover and chill for a few hours before serving.