LOW CARB HELLO DOLLIES

CJACK'S LOW CARB HELLO DOLLIES
Crust:
1 cup ground pecans, 4 ounces
3 tablespoon butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup granular Splenda or equivalent liquid Splenda
1 egg white (save yolk for topping)
1/8 teaspoon salt

Line an 8x8" baking pan with foil. Mix all of the crust ingredients in a small bowl; spread evenly over the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake at 350?12 minutes until set. Sprinkle the following over the crust:

1 cup unsweetened coconut, 2 ounces
1/2 cup chopped pecans, 2 ounces
2/3 cup MiniCarb chocolate chips, 4 ounces *

Topping:
1 cup heavy cream
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup granular Splenda or equivalent liquid Splenda
Pinch salt, optional (see my comments below)

Whisk well in a small bowl; pour evenly over everything in the pan. Bake at 350?about 30 minutes or until the topping looks thick and not runny and the bars are golden. Chill well before cutting into bars. Store in the refrigerator and do not allow to come to room temperature or they will fall apart.

* You can also use any sugar free semi-sweet chocolate, cut into chip-sized chunks. The carb counts are based on MiniCarb brand chips. (MiniCarb chips have been discontinued)

Makes 16 bars
Can be frozen

With granular Splenda:
Per Serving: 228 Calories; 21g Fat; 3g Protein; 8g Carbohydrate; 4g Dietary Fiber; 4g Net Carbs

With liquid Splenda:
Per Serving: 221 Calories; 21g Fat; 3g Protein; 6g Carbohydrate; 4g Dietary Fiber; 2g Net Carbs

Don't be tempted to cut these until they've had plenty of time to chill and set up. I didn't wait long enough and they were still soft and squishy. These do remind me of those Magic Cookie Bars, but they're not nearly as sweet and sticky. In fact, I think the topping could use more sweetener and a pinch of salt to bring out the flavor. MiniCarb chocolate chips are sweetened with Splenda so they are quite bitter and don't have much of a sweet taste. They perhaps take away from the sweetness of the rest of the ingredients. These bars are not bad, just don't expect them to taste very sweet.

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