I had such a hard time titling this recipe & this post.
Why, you ask?
Because the name of this recipe is in German & the translation doesn't make any sense.
Let me explain...
As a girl, I grew up having these bars at Christmas time. My German Granny made them almost every year & my mom carried on the tradition as well.
When I got married, this recipe was one that I copied from my mom's handwritten recipe cards. It was obviously one that my Granny had written out for my mom because there were only a list of ingredients & no instructions. I guess Granny expected her girls to remember all the steps or just to figure it out. I don't know why she wrote out recipes that way. I wish I had a chance to ask her while she was still here.
Years passed. My mom hadn't made these bars & neither had I. The tradition had faded.
Then this November, when I was going through my Christmas recipes, I found the long-forgotten Schwarzer Peter recipe! I had a look through the ingredients, deemed them common enough to purchase without too much hassle, & decided to bring the tradition back to life!
Okay, now how to make it. All I had were a list of ingredients & the memory of what it looked like when Granny & Mom used to make it.
Thank goodness for Google.
After a bit of searching (and finding out I had been spelling it wrong), I found something similar, with fantastic instructions. The ingredient list was slightly different though, so all I used was the preparation. You can see that recipe HERE.
So, back to the title...
Schwarzer Peter, translated means Black Peter. No one seems to know where the name came from, but the layers in the bar are very dark brown... and maybe someone named Peter concocted it? Who knows.
It is a very simple bar to prepare & no baking required. Just be prepared for the chilling time.
They are delicious! Not overly sweet, with the taste of coconut & rum (if you choose to use rum flavouring). :)
Schwarzer Peter (German, no-bake bars) {Print recipe}
Instructions adapted from German Deli
Yield: approx. 30 bars
1 cup coconut oil
1 cup confectioner's/Icing Sugar
½ tsp. rum or coconut extract
5 Tbsp. cocoa
3 eggs, beaten lightly
2 boxes of social tea cookies
Place coconut oil into a double boiler. On low heat, melt coconut oil. Stir in icing sugar, extract, & cocoa until dissolved. Then slowly incorporate the beaten eggs. Remove from heat. Allow the chocolate mixture to cool until it is no longer liquid but still very soft. Like soft frosting.
In a 13x9 baking dish, line the bottom with one layer of social tea cookies. Spread ⅓ of the chocolate on top of cookies, repeating layers. You will start & finish with the tea cookie layers with chocolate in between each layer.
Refrigerate over night or for several hours to set.
Cut into bars.
Store in the refrigerator or they can be successfully frozen.
I hope you'll give these a try & I also hope that you see why they were a tradition with our family for so many years.
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Enjoy the Christmas Season!
