Mocha Naniamo Bars

These squares are truly an indulgence. They are also my husband's favorite. :) If the Graham Cracker crumbs are already on hand, they are actually quite easy and quick to make.

MOCHA NANIAMO BARS

Crust: Melt 2 squares of semi sweet chocolate and set aside. Cream 1/2 cup of softened butter or margarine, 2 Tbsp sugar, 1 tsp vanilla and 1 egg. Add the melted chocolate and mix well. Now stir in 2 cups GF graham cracker crumbs, and 1 cup unsweetened coconut and 1/2 cup chopped walnuts. Press into a 9" square pan. Chill. (Since we like these bitter-sweet, I use 1 square unsweetened chocolate and 1 square semi-sweet. I also omit the sugar. The walnuts are optional - just increase the coconut by the same measurement.)

Filling: Whisk 1-2 Tbsp of instant coffee with 1/4 cup milk or milk substitute. When dissolved, add 2 Tbsp of custard powder. Cream 1/4 cup butter or margarine and add the coffee mixture to it. Beat in 2 cups of icing sugar until smooth. This should be like a thick, creamy icing. Spread over base and chill about 15 min.

Glaze: Melt 4 squares or semi-sweet chocolate with 1 tbsp of butter or margarine. Add a little warm milk or milk substitute if it seems too thick to spread. Spread over the filling layer and chill until just firm. Cut into squares (makes 25) and finish chilling. (Again, to make this less sweet, I use 1/2 unsweetened chocolate for the glaze.)

You can change the flavor of these squares by adding whatever flavor you like to the filling instead of the coffee. Mint is nice. You can also leave out the coffee and just add a little vanilla.