Great Canadian Cookies, Bars and Squares

Christine Hughes is manager, Policy Coordination, Developmental Services
Branch, Ontario Ministry of Community, Family and Children’s Services.

This compilation of tasty treats draws together the best recipes from
two successful contests that were held on CBC Radio One in British
Columbia. The more than 70 recipes are organized into categories:
Chocolate; Coconut; Fruit; Nut and Peanut Butter; Shortbread; and
All-round Good Cookies, Bars, and Squares. Each recipe has been fully
tested. There is a great variety in the recipes, and even those with
similar-sounding names (e.g., two recipes for lemon squares) are quite
different when you study their ingredients. Every recipe is accompanied
by a personal anecdote submitted by its contributor explaining the
recipe’s origins. It is interesting to read how some recipes have been
carefully passed down through the generations and how others have been
concocted to satisfy someone’s particular cravings, or to provide a
sweet alternative for a child with dietary restrictions.

The book includes a note on recipe conversions and an index. Handsome
drawings of ingredients and culinary implements appear throughout the
text, but with the exception of the maple leaf–shaped Nanaimo bar on
the front cover, there are no pictures of completed recipes. Readers
will have to let the tantalizing names, such as Pink Sin, Bertha’s
Amazing Chocolate Cranberry Cookies, and Grammi’s Fantastic Lemon
Squares, guide their choices.