Peanut Butter Bars

I am a Reese's Pieces addict.  I absolutely love munching on them - too much!  These squares were my attempt to make something similar in my own kitchen and they were a pretty good match.  Very yummy.  As you can see my 3 year old loved them too.

Crust
24 Graham Crackers, crushed finely
1/4 cup melted margarine
1/4 cup melted chocolate chips

Mix everything together and spread out over an 8 inch square baking dish.  Bake at 350* for 10 minutes.  Allow to cool.

Middle
1 1/2 cups smooth peanut butter
3 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Mix everything together. *Add the sugar to the peanut butter one cup at a time to get a good consistency.  Spread over the crust once the crust is cool.

Topping
1/4 cup melted chocolate chips

Spread over the middle while the chocolate is still hot.

Allow the squares to set for an hour in the fridge.  I've been keeping these in the freezer which works great too.

Nanaimo Bars

These are my very favorite treats, anytime of the year. I don't make them often because you can imagine how much weight I'd gain if they were always around the house. So I make them at Christmastime and just one batch. Someone once commented to me that of course I like these because I'm from BC. Are these a BC treat? I don't know? I've seen them other places. Anyone know?

1/2 C butter (soft)
5 tbsp sugar
5 tbsp cocoa
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
2 C graham wafer crumbs
1 C coconut
1/2 C chopped walnuts
4 tbsp butter
3 tbsp milk
2 1/2 tbsp vanilla custard powder
2 C icing sugar
4 squares semi-sweet chocolate, melted
1 tbsp butter

Place 1st 5 ingredients into a glass bowl. Set bowl in a pan of hot water. Stir until butter is melted. Mix in next 3 ingredients.
Pack into an ungreased 9x9 pan.
Combine next 4 ingredients - cream together. Spread over mixture in pan. Chill.
Melt chocolate and butter. Spread over top of the other layers. Chill.
I usually freeze this all at this point and then cut once everything is set.

*edit - what doesn't wikipedia know? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanaimo_bars They are a very Canadian, very BC dessert