No Bake Mint Squares

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Christmas, North American

Prep Time: 15

Cook Time: 15

Total Time: 30

Servings: squares

Calories: 298kcal

Author: Lord Byron's Kitchen

Triple-layered with wonderful flavours, these No Bake Mint Squares are perfectly festive for the holiday season. With a coconut, walnut, and graham crumb base, and a creamy mint filling, these squares are topped with melted chocolate which makes them all the more rich and delicious. You simply must add these to your Christmas cookie platter!

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Ingredients

Base Layer:

1/2 cup salted butter
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
1/4 cup milk
1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts
1 1/2 cups unsweetened coconut
2 cups graham crumbs

Middle Layer:

2 cups confectioner's sugar
2 heaping tablespoons custard powder
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 tablespoon peppermint extract
2-3 dabs green gel food colouring
3 tablespoons milk

Top Layer:

2 cups milk chocolate chips
2 teaspoons butter

Instructions

This no-bake recipe comes together quickly and easily. The first thing you should do is to prepare a 9 x 13-inch baking pan by lining it well with parchment paper. Fold the parchment paper so that it fits snugly in the pan. I use two sheets – one folded to fit the length of the pan and another folded to fit across the pan. Allow the excess parchment paper to hang out over the side of the pan. Once the confection is firm, use the excess parchment to lift the whole block out of the pan to make it easy to cut into bars.
Next, add the butter, sugar, cocoa powder, and vanilla extract to a medium-sized saucepan. Over medium heat, whisk the mixture together.
In a bowl, beat the egg and milk together. Add this the egg and milk mixture to the saucepan and whisk well to combine. Continue to heat until the mixture comes to a low boil. Remove from heat immediately.
Add the walnuts, coconut, and graham crumbs to the saucepan. Stir well to combine. Press this mixture into your prepared 9×13-inch baking dish. Be sure to get into the corners. Use the bottom of a drinking glass or mug to evenly press the mixture. Set this into your refrigerator to cool for 30 minutes while you prepare the middle mint layer.
To prepare the middle mint layer, add all of the ingredients for the middle layer to a mixing bowl and whisk to combine. The mixture should be really thick, but thin enough to spread over the base. Don’t be tempted to add more liquid if the cream looks too thick. If you do, the cream might not set and may ooze out of the squares when you attempt to slice them.
Once the base layer has cooled in your fridge for 30 minutes, remove it and spread the mint layer evenly over the surface. Once you’ve finished applying the filling, pop the baking pan back into the fridge until the chocolate layer is ready to go.
Place the chocolate and butter into a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave it on high power for 30 seconds. Then, if it’s still not silky smooth, microwave in increments of 5 or 10 seconds, depending on your microwave, stirring with a rubber spatula after each increment.
Once the chocolate is completely smooth, once again fetch the mint squares from the fridge and pour over the chocolate and spread into an even layer.
Leave the baking pan to cool at room temperature for 20 minutes before transferring it to your fridge to cool for an additional 60 minutes.
Once cooled, cut into squares. Store the squares in an airtight, food-safe container and keep them refrigerated. Squares will last 5-7 days in the fridge. Additionally, the squares can be frozen for up to 3 months!

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