This is not my photo, but it’s public domain, and it’s representative of some of the ingredients you can add to your bars.

In a previous life, two previous lives back, in fact, I was in a mountain biking group. This was the early-to-mid-’90s.

Realize, I hated mountain biking, but it’s what my then-boyfriend wanted to do, so I did it too. I was always last in the pack when we rode. The group would wait for me from time to time, but as soon as I caught up, they’d start again. They were rested, after all. I guess it didn’t matter that I didn’t have any rest time?

But I digress.

They were mostly really lovely people. One of them was named Fletcher. He came up with a recipe for a delicious bar of sorts that he called Fletcher’s Power Bars and we just call Fletcher Bars. This was soon after the original not-so-tasty Power Bars ended up on the market, and these are a much tastier and cheaper alternative.

I have no idea what happened to Fletcher. I immediately lost touch with them all once I ditched the then-boyfriend. But his delicious bar legacy has continued on.

One of the best parts of this recipe is that you can substitute different ingredients for a lot of the options. Different mix-ins, different forms of goo, different forms of nut paste… As long as it all holds together, that’s what matters in the end. You can also make a larger or smaller batch, as desired. Add or subtract nuts, grains, fruit, chocolate options.

Rory and I recently each made our own personalized batches, mine with raisins, his decidedly without raisins. We were out of coconut, much to my sadness, but I’ll try to remember to have some on hand next time.

Here’s the recipe, with spelling errors corrected for clarity.

Fletcher’s Power Bars

  • 3/4 c. chopped unsalted peanuts
  • 1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips (mini-morsels if you can get them)
  • 1/2 c. raisins (whole or chopped)
  • 1/2+ c. oat bran cereal (more as needed for consistency)
  • 1/3 c. coconut, shredded
  • 1 1/2 c. oatmeal (uncooked traditional oats, but we’ve used quick oats)
  • 1 tbsp cocoa powder (I probably used 3 or so tbsp)
  • 1/3 c. nonfat dry milk
  • 1 1/2 c. Grape Nuts (optional) (I’ve never used these)
  • Rice Krispies (This one is my addition to the mix. I just toss some in, and adjust other ingredients accordingly.)
  • 1 to 1 1/2 tbsp Karo syrup (we just used the Log Cabin we had on hand)
  • 1/4 c. honey
  • 18 oz. peanut butter (less or more as needed)

Put all the dry stuff in a large mixing bowl first. Mix together. Then add the wet stuff (except peanut butter). Mix. Then add peanut butter and mix together. Fletcher recommended mixing by hand, which works best, but it’s very messy. I use a spoon.

Put mixture in a pan (we use 8″x8″ for this but it’s a tight fit if you add a lot of other ingredients). Mash down flat and chill in refrigerator overnight. Cut into bars.

Enjoy!

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