Arrowroot Bars Recipes

ARROWROOT BISCUITS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease baking sheets or line with parchment paper.
• Beat butter and sugar just until smooth. Beat in egg and vanilla.
• Combine flour, arrowroot flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to butter mixture and mix well. Divide dough in half.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll half the dough out 1/8 inch thick. Cut into 2 1/2-inch rounds. Transfer rounds to prepared baking sheet; prick with fork. Repeat with remaining dough.
• Bake in preheated oven until edges are golden brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Allow a bit more baking time if rolled thicker.

ARROWROOT BARS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Thoroughly butter the bottom and sides of a 13 x 9 inch baking pan.
• In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Beat in the almond extract. Gradually mix in the arrowroot flour.
• In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the egg whites into the batter. Pour the batter into the baking pan and smooth the surface with a rubber spatula. Bake for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Dust with confectioner's sugar.

NEXT-LEVEL NANAIMO BARS

Steps:

• 1. GRAHAM CRACKER CRUST: Line a 9 x 9-inch baking pan with parchment. 2. Place Graham crackers (in batches if necessary) in a food processor, and short-pulse until you have coarse cookie crumbs. You can also crush the crackers by placing them inside a plastic bag and using a rolling pin. Place crumbs in a medium bowl. Next, add toasted pecans to the food processor and pulse until finely chopped but still a bit coarser than the cookie crumbs. You can also chop the pecans with a knife. Add chopped pecans to the bowl of cookie crumbs, along with unsweetened shredded coconut. Mix well. 3. Using a double boiler or a heat-safe bowl set over a saucepan with a few inches of simmering water, melt butter, sugar, and sifted cocoa powder. Add the beaten egg in a stream as you whisk the mixture. Cook until thickened like pudding. Remove from heat and stir into the dry mixture. Stir until well-combined and while still warm, press into the lined baking pan as evenly as possible. Chill in the refrigerator while you prepare the next layer. 4. VANILLA CUSTARD LAYER: In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream all the ingredients together at medium speed for about 3 to 5 minutes or until light. The mixture should be thick but spreadable. Add extra splashes of milk if too thick. 5. Spread onto the bottom crust layer in the pan. Put back into the refrigerator to chill. 6. CHOCOLATE LAYER: Use the double boiler method again (with a clean bowl) to melt the chocolate and butter. Let cool slightly. 7. While it is still runny, spread over the custard layer. Smooth out with a spatula. Chill in the refrigerator at least an hour or until firm. 8. Cut with a sharp knife into squares or bars and enjoy! 9. Substitutions: Gluten-free version: Simply use gluten-free Graham crackers in the base layer. Sonia recommends Pamela's Gluten-Free Honey Graham Crackers for their high-quality ingredients. Note: this brand contains butter. For a gluten-free and dairy-free version, try brands like Kinnikinnick or Schär. 10. Substitutions: Dairy-free version: At a one-to-one ratio, substitute regular butter with vegan butter, and use dairy-free milk in place of cow's milk. Sonia says Earth Balance is a great vegan, dairy-free butter for baking. She also uses Earth's Own organic unsweetened almond milk or oat milk. 11. Substitutions: Vanilla custard powder: This is an ingredient traditionally called for in Nanaimo bars. Contrary to the name, custard powder is not custard at all. It's a dairy-free powder made primarily of cornstarch, sugar, vanilla flavouring and artificial yellow colour that mimics the appearance of custard. If you're unable to find vanilla custard powder or would prefer to avoid the additives, you can easily substitute one-for-one with cornstarch or arrowroot starch (Bob's Red Mill is Sonia's go-to). To maintain the yellow colour, add a pinch (¼ tsp) of turmeric powder. And don't worry, you won't taste the turmeric in the bars! Or feel free to mix it up and keep the middle layer white.