Coconut Chewies – from Marcy

2 eggs
1 cup sweetener of choice or to taste (I use 22 pkts. Equal)
1/4 tsp. maple flavouring
1/4 C butter, melted
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 C arrowroot
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 C unsweetened coconut, finely chopped
1/2 C chopped walnuts
1/4 C cranberries (cooked until they pop and lightly sweetened)

Beat eggs, sweetener and maple flavouring in medium bowl; mix in melted butter and vanilla. Combine flour, baking powder and salt in small bowl; stir into egg mixture (I *beat* into egg mixture which increased the volume a bit). Mix in coconut, walnuts and cooked cranberries. Spread batter evenly in greased 8-inch baking pan.
Bake in preheated 350 deg. oven until browned and toothpick inserted in centre comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Cool in pan on wire rack; cut into squares.

Makes 16 bars.

Total: Approximately 50 carbs - 16 pieces equal about 3.2 per piece. If you deduct fiber, even less. (of course, the sweetener has carbs)

Notes: The original recipe called for 1/2 C margarine (butter). We found that too greasy. I also found that no matter how well I greased the pan, they stuck. I solved that problem by lining the pan with parchment paper and spraying with Pam. Eventually I intend to get a Teflon pan and try that.

Since there's no flour in these they don't rise very much. I eventually began making them in disposable meatloaf pans (I don't dispose ... I wash). The last batch I made (Tues.) I added 2 tsp. of baking powder. They raised higher and we're satisfied with the results. This might have added up to 1 carb. Instead of cutting into squares now we slice thin like a fruitcake. Since we're both on maintenance now, I have increased the cranberries to 1/2 cup.

After cooling on wire racks, I put in freezer until firm. If you cut while warm they will crumble. After they are firm, I keep in refrigerator.

I began by using dried persimmons, chopped, because I have a persimmon tree and dried all the persimmons. The original recipe calls for raisins which are really a carb no-no. Then I dried some cranberries and that worked well, but drying cranberries is a long process with very little finished product, and we can't seem to buy dried cranberries that aren't sugared. So, I tried the cranberries without drying them. They work well and taste better than the dried.