Happy Thanksgiving!

You know, this is my very first Thanksgiving as an out-of-the-closet immigrant! Feels good to not have to worry if wishing “Happy Thanksgiving” in the beginning of October will “out” me!

Unfortunately, this is also my first Canadian Thanksgiving that I’m actually too busy to celebrate. Normally, we celebrate both Thanksgivings each year. It kind of snuck up on me, too. I was listening to the Z103.5 morning show online, as I always do.. and they were excitedly talking about their long weekend plans. Drat!

So, while I didn’t have time or energy to really do much for Thanksgiving this weekend (because today isn’t a stat holiday in the USA), I decided I’d do something that was at least Thanksgiving-ish and Canadian – I’d invent a new, Thanksgiving themed Nanaimo Bar! It may not be a full turkey dinner, but as desserts go – you can’t get more Canadian than a Nanaimo bar. Done! Click through for a photo and the recipe!

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Pumpkin Nanaimo Bars Bottom Layer: 1 1/4 cup graham cracker crumbs 1 cup walnuts, finely chopped 1 cup coconut ½ cup butter (unsalted) 1/4 cup sugar 1/2 tsp cinnamon 1 egg, beaten Middle Layer: ½ cup butter 1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree 1/2 tsp cinnamon 1/4 tsp ginger 1/8 tsp cloves 4 tbsp Cook-and-Serve vanilla pudding powder (NOT instant!) 3 cups+ confectioner’s sugar Top layer: 10 oz white chocolate chips 6 tbsp butter

In a large bowl, mix together graham crumbs, chopped walnuts, and coconut. Set aside.

Melt butter in small saucepan. Add sugar and cinnamon, mix well. Add egg, stir well. Egg will cook and thicken. Once thickened, remove from heat and pour into a larger bowl containing the last first 3 ingredients. Mix well and press firmly and evenly into the bottom of an ungreased 8 x 8 pan. Set aside.

Cream butter. Add pumpkin puree, beat until well incorporated. Add cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and pudding powder, beat well. Slowly and carefully add confectioner’s sugar. Mixture should be VERY thick – add a little extra confectioner’s sugar if needed. Spread evenly over bottom layer.

Melt butter and white chocolate chips over low heat. Remove from heat, allow to cool slightly, then pour over middle layer, spreading to an even layer. Chill in fridge before slicing into bars.

Tags: Nanaimo Bar, pumpkin, recipe, Thanksgiving

This entry was posted on Monday, October 11th, 2010 at 7:22 am and is filed under Canadian, Candy, Desserts, Ethnic, Holidays, Recipes, Thanksgiving. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.