Yesterday on December 15th, our friend Debra Fritz passed away after a
long and brave battle against cancer.

She was a great cook.

And she was one of them more remarkable people I've ever met in my
life. She was a good friend. I will miss her. The angels are
learning a thing or two today, I expect.

Here is her recipe for Nanaimo bars, the first thing that brought her
to my attention.

Signature Dish of Debra Fritz
Nanaimo Bars
Bottom Layer:
1/2 Cup butter
1/4 Cup sugar
5 Tbsp Cocoa powder, unsweetened
1 egg beaten
1 3/4 Cup graham cracker crumbs
1/2 Cup finely chopped nuts walnuts, pecans, almonds
1 Cup shredded, chopped coconut

Melt butter, sugar and cocoa in top of double boiler. Add beaten egg
slowly to prevent it "cooking," stir constantly until thickened.
Remove from heat. Add to dry mix of crumbs, nuts and coconut. Mix
well. Press firmly into ungreased 8 x 8 pan. Place in fridge to chill
while making second layer.

Notes: I have cut back the butter to about 1/3 Cup to make it less
greasy. This amount of mix is really too much for an 8 x8 pan. It
makes it too tall. I did this in a 8 1/2 x 12 3/4 pan and it came out
fine, and I'm sure it would also work in a 9 x 13 pan. If it's too
thin, you can always make a bit more. I put the nuts and coconut
through the food processor but used pulse so they didn't turn to
powder.

Second layer
1/2 Cup butter
2 Tbsp + 2 tsp heavy cream
2 Tbsp Instant vanilla pudding mix
2 Cups powdered sugar

Cream butter, cream, pudding and powdered sugar together well. Beat
until light. It will stiffen up and the color will lighten, about 3-4
minutes total. Spread over the bottom layer. Put in freezer for about
30-45 minutes before adding top layer.

Note: I followed this recipe for the 8 x 8 pan and it made the things
too high. It was more filling than I needed. When I did the 9 x 13
pan, it worked perfect for my taste. If you're making the larger pan
and you want more filling, use 3/4 Cup butter, 3 Tbsp Cream, 3 Tbsp
pudding and about 3 Cups of powdered sugar.

Top Layer
4 squares semi sweet baking chocolate
2 Tbsp Butter

Melt chocolate and butter over low heat or on top of double boiler.
Cool for about 4-5 minutes. Pour over second layer and chill.

Note: For the larger pan I used 6 squares of chocolate and also tried
it with about 1 Cup of semi sweet chocolate chips, melted. They both
worked fine and no one could tell the difference. It is very important
that the second layer be solid before adding the chocolate. Once the
chocolate in on, chill for about 30-45 minutes or until the top has
set up. Remove from fridge and cut into squares using a sharp knife.
Return to fridge for about an hour. Then, you can remove from pan and
serve or put into zip lock bag and freeze. They will keep at least 3
weeks in the freezer.


Jamie Utter