Nanaimo truffle bar: An easy and decadent no-bake chocolate-hazelnut recipe

Nanaimo Truffle Bars from "Simply Sensational Cookies by Nancy Baggett. Photo by Diane Cu and Todd Porter Chocolate recipes abound, but a ganache-based bar studded with hazelnuts can be a more elegant way to  get in on the present chocolate-hazelnut frenzy that is fueling a Nutella recipe craze.

Nanaimo Truffle Bars are among nearly a dozen no-bake recipes in "Simply Sensational Cookies," (Wiley, $29.99) the latest of fourteen cookbooks by Nancy Baggett, baker, food journalist and -- my favorite: cookie expert.

In the new cookbook, which promises "bright fresh flavors, natural colors and easy, streamlined techniques," recipes are rated for difficulty and range from classics to options with flavors of rose, lavender, rosemary or five-spice powder, among others. Baggett lists all-natural garnishes and uses botanicals to color icings and homemade sprinkles. She includes recipes for gift-jar mixes, and for savories made with nuts, cheeses, olives or spices. The book begins with a Q&A addressing some of the most common cookie-baking challenges. 

Nutella recipes

Those who enjoy baking with Nutella or any other type of chocolate-hazelnut spread will be pleased with this volume. It includes "Nutellos," a three-way chocolate-hazelnut cookie where Nutella is blended into the  cookie dough and also can be sandwiched between the cookies in a variation. In the third version, Nutella is filled thumbprint-style into the center of each cookie. Nutella also is the filling for Hazelnut Fancies. Come to think of it, you could probably make Nutella sandwiches out of just about any cookie...

But Baggett also works with the pure flavors of fresh hazelnuts and chocolate in her espresso-spiked Chocolate-Hazelnut Sables and Double-Chocolate and Hazelnut Thins. Additionally, she suggests chopped hazelnuts as an alternative to walnuts in the featured Nanaimo Truffle Bars, where the velvety chocolate ganache blend also includes coconut and a sprinkling of fine graham cracker crumbs.  

"Simply Sensational Cookies" by Nancy Baggett

"Nanaimo is a scenic coastal town on Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, but it is probably most famous with Canadians for some widely popular no-bake bars that supposedly originated there," Baggett writes. Her recipe is adapted from one by Canadian chocolatier Pam Williams. "It’s one of the best, and certainly the most elegant, no-bake bar recipes I know," Baggett writes. "No one will ever guess that they are easy to make."

Nanaimo Truffle Bars
Makes 24 oblong or 36 square bars

10 ounces 50 to 65 percent cacao bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

2⁄3 cup heavy (whipping) cream

2 tablespoons light corn syrup

2 tablespoons cognac or good brandy, or substitute fresh orange juice

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup chopped walnuts OR toasted, hulled, and chopped hazelnuts

1-1⁄3 cups fine graham cracker crumbs, plus extra for garnish, optional

3⁄4 cup flaked sweetened coconut

Preliminaries: Line an 8-inch square pan with parchment paper, letting it overhang two opposing sides. Lightly spray the parchement paper with nonstick spray.

1. In a large microwave-safe bowl, microwave the chocolate on high power for one minute, then stir well. Microwave on 50 percent power, stopping and stirring at 30-second intervals, until the chocolate is mostly melted. Combine the cream, corn syrup, cognac and vanilla in a 2-cup measure (or microwave-safe bowl). Microwave on high power for about one minute or until steaming hot; watch carefully to avoid a boil-over. Stir well.

2. Pour the hot cream mixture over the chocolate without stirring; let stand for 2 minutes so the chocolate can soften. Gently whisk the cream mixture into the chocolate until smoothly incorporated; at first it will look separated, but keep whisking and it will gradually come together.

3. Remove and set aside a generous half cup of the chocolate ganache in a 1-cup microwave-safe glass measure to use as the glaze.

4. Stir the walnuts (or hazelnuts), graham cracker crumbs, and coconut into the remaining chocolate ganache until well blended. Let cool until barely warm. Turn out the filling into the prepared pan. Refrigerate, uncovered, until it is firm on top, at least an hour. (Lay a sheet of wax paper over the top and press down firmly to compact and smooth the filling layer.)

5. Pour the reserved ganache glaze over the filling. (If it is too thick to flow readily, microwave it on 50 percent power for 30 seconds, then stir until fluid. Repeat the microwaving for a few more seconds, if necessary.) Tip the pan from side to side and rap it on the counter several times to even the glaze surface. If garnish is desired, lightly sprinkle the top with some fine graham cracker crumbs. Let the bars stand at room temperature for at least 1 hour so the ganache can absorb some moisture and thicken slightly. Cover and refrigerate until cooled completely, at least 2 hours, and up to several days if desired, before cutting.

6. Lift the slab from the pan using the parchment as handles. Gently peel off the paper and place the slab on a cutting board. Using a large sharp knife, trim off and discard the edges. The bars are very rich, so cut the slab into thirds in one direction and into eighths in the other for small, narrow bars; or into sixths in both directions for mini squares; or as desired. Let the bars warm up just slightly before serving.

Yield:  Makes twenty-four 1- by 2-2⁄3-inch small bars, or thirty-six 1-1⁄3-inch square mini bars. Store these, airtight and at cool room temperature or refrigerated, for up to 1 week; let refrigerated bars warm up slightly before serving. They can be frozen, airtight, for up to 2 months. I like to present the squares individually in mini cupcake papers or fluted paper candy cups.

Nutrition information (per oblong bar): 113 calories, 6g fat (4g saturated), 5mg cholesterol, 41mg sodium, 14g carbs, 1g fiber, 9g sugars, 1g protein