Editing Nanaimo bar (section)

== Origins ==
The earliest confirmed printed copy of the recipe using the name "Nanaimo bars" appears in the Edith Adams' prize cookbook (14th edition) from 1953.{{efn|A copy of the book is on view at the [[Nanaimo Museum]].}} Following research into the origins of Nanaimo bars, [[Lenore Newman]] writes that the same recipe was published in the ''[[Vancouver Sun]]'' earlier that same year under the name "London Fog Bar".<ref name="LLN" /> The recipe later also appears in the publication ''His/Her Favourite Recipes'', Compiled by the Women's Association of the Brechin United Church (1957), with the recipe submitted by Joy Wilgress, a Baltimore, Maryland, native.<ref>''His/Her Favourite Recipes, Compiled by the Women's Association of the Brechin United Church'', p.&nbsp;52</ref> (Brechin United Church is in Nanaimo.)

In 1954, the recipe "Mabel's Squares" was published in ''The Country Woman's Favourite''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://primo.tug-libraries.on.ca/primo_library/libweb/action/dlDisplay.do?docId=vtug2329305&vid=GUELPH&query=any,contains&indx=1&bulkSize=2&dym=true&highlight=true&lang=eng|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130115150538/http://primo.tug-libraries.on.ca/primo_library/libweb/action/dlDisplay.do?docId=vtug2329305&vid=GUELPH&query=any,contains&indx=1&bulkSize=2&dym=true&highlight=true&lang=eng|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 15, 2013|title=The Country Woman's Favorite|publisher=University of Guelph, McLaughlin Library. (Call number: TX715.6 C687)}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url = http://collectionscanada.gc.ca/ourl/res.php?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&url_tim=2012-12-01T20%3A49%3A06Z&url_ctx_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Actx&rft_dat=25355636&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fcollectionscanada.gc.ca%3Aamicus&lang=eng|archive-url = https://archive.today/20130115091928/http://collectionscanada.gc.ca/ourl/res.php?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&url_tim=2012-12-01T20:49:06Z&url_ctx_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=25355636&rfr_id=info:sid/collectionscanada.gc.ca:amicus&lang=eng|url-status = dead|archive-date = January 15, 2013|title = The Country Woman's Favorite|publisher = Library and Archives Canada/Bibliothèque et Archives Canada. (Call number: TX715.6 C6959 1954)}}</ref> by the Upper Gloucester Women's Institute ([[New Brunswick]]).  The recipe was submitted by Mrs. Harold Payne, the daughter of Mabel (Knowles) Scott (1883–1957).{{efn|The ingredients list, quantities, and fabrication closely match the recipe found on the City of Nanaimo's website.}}

The first{{dubious|date=December 2023}} printing of recipes featuring Nanaimo bar ingredients is found in the 1952 ''Women's Auxiliary to the Nanaimo Hospital Cookbook'', which features three nearly identical recipes that differ only slightly from the modern Nanaimo bar.<ref name="LLN" /> They are referred to as the "chocolate square" or the "chocolate slice".

Other unconfirmed references date the bar back to the 1930s, when it was said to be known locally as "chocolate fridge cake".<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.nanaimohotel.com/nanaimo_hotel_newsletter.htm|title = Nanaimo Bars|publisher = Nanaimo Hotel|access-date = 2007-10-03| date = January 2005|url-status = dead|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071012093325/http://nanaimohotel.com/nanaimo_hotel_newsletter.htm|archive-date = 2007-10-12}}</ref> One modern reference mentions the bars' existence in 19th century Nanaimo.<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.theage.com.au/news/epicure/tried-trio/2005/08/08/1123353245725.html|title = Tried Trio| first= Matt| last= Preston| date = August 9, 2005| work = The Age |access-date = 2007-10-03}}</ref>