Fifteens, a Northern Ireland treat, are a nostalgic indulgence | Canada Voices

I made a batch of fifteens – a much-loved no-bake traybake deeply entrenched in Northern Irish culture – for the first time recently and set them out when a friend came over to play cards.

He had never heard of them either – neither of us have Irish roots – but he loved them instantly and said they tasted like something his nana would have made. Past generations from many cultures made cookies and other desserts using coconut, candied cherries and marshmallows, and often graham cracker or digestive biscuit crumbs. These ingredients are widely available, affordable and easy to store in the pantry. A combination of so many familiar flavours, they taste nostalgic even to the uninitiated.

Fifteens came to life in the 1970s and are so named because you use 15 of each ingredient: digestive biscuits, marshmallows and candied cherries – plus enough sweetened condensed milk to hold it all together. They sound to me like the confetti square or Nanaimo bar of Northern Ireland, present at weddings, funerals and baby showers. They are very sweet but simple to make, and they may satisfy your craving for nostalgia, regardless of your heritage.

I used mini-marshmallows (which added up to more than 15) and tossed in a few extra cherries, as mine were small. The key is to bash the biscuits into a range of textures, from fine crumbs to slightly larger chunks, and I found letting the mixture sit before rolling made it easier.

Fifteens

If maraschino or glacé cherries are too over-the-top sweet, feel free to use homemade candied cherries or even dried cherries.

15 digestive biscuits or Hobnobs

15 marshmallows (or about 75 g minis)

15 candied cherries (or more, if you want to break the rules)

1/2-3/4 cup sweetened condensed milk

Flaked or shredded coconut, for rolling

Put the digestive cookies into a heavy-duty Ziploc bag and bash them with a rolling pin or something else heavy to turn them into partial crumbs, with some larger bits (no bigger than the size of a nickel) remaining.

Put the bashed cookies into a bowl and snip in the marshmallows with scissors – oil the blades first if you don’t want them to get sticky. Cut the candied cherries in half (scissors also work well for this) and add them, too.

Add enough sweetened condensed milk to make it all clump together. I like to let it sit for a bit to allow the crumbs to absorb some of the moisture before shaping. Divide the mixture onto two pieces of parchment or waxed paper and roll each up into a log, using the paper to help you roll and prevent your hands from getting sticky. Refrigerate for an hour or so, until it firms up. Roll in coconut to coat and return to the fridge until ready to eat or slice and serve. Store well-wrapped in the fridge or at room temperature.

Makes two logs, with about 20 slices total.