Peanut Butter Protein Bars

Thanks PMS24seven for this recipe. I'll probably never eat another store-bought protein bar again. After reading the reviews, added 1 2/3 cup crunchy peanut butter, 1/4 cup local honey, 1 cup toasted coconut, 1 cup toasted pecans, 3/4 cup dried cherries, and 1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds. Also decided to bake them on parchment-lined 9x13 pan and baked 350 degrees for 30 minutes till set. They turned out super delicious and even took some to the gym. All who tried them loved the taste and remarked how filling the bars were compared to store-bought ones. I have made them varying the dried fruit, nuts. Even made for a friend with soy/oatmeal allergy and used a plant protein powder and substituted finely crushed graham crackers for the oatmeal. Those also came out great. I did make a batch just pressing in the pan per the recipe, but didn't really set up well. So after that I always bake them. Try them, they're GREAT!!!

This is a great recipe, both for taste and ease of making. I have just finished making my third batch, and have tinkered with the recipe each time...it lends itself well to variations. I love the combination of chocolate with nuts, so I have added 1/4 cup of sifted cocoa powder to the vanilla whey, and added 4 packets of Equal to sweeten the cocoa. I also toasted the oatmeal for about 8 minutes at 350F to enhance the flavour prior to adding it to the liquids. This mix required about another 1/3 cup of milk, probably because of the cocoa. Because my daughter has a peanut allergy, I used crunchy almond butter, and added a capful of almond extract to the milk. My family like this version of the power bars best, but there is great scope to make different flavours every time, using this recipe as a base. My advice is to refrigerate the bars if they won't be eaten in a short time...my first batch went mouldy.

I added extra honey per another commenter and the taste is WAY better than store bought protein bars. WAY better! And SO easy! I made these for my boyfriend to save some money since protein bars are ridiculously expensive. He said they were as good as the protein bars he buys. I only made half a batch and used a bread pan to spread them in so they'd be thick enough. My only comment otherwise is for those looking for a 20+ gram serving of protein: Per the protein powder mix nutrient info, to consume a sufficient amount of protein,we will cut the bars into eight servings since each bar contains about half a scoop of protein powder and my body building boyfriend thinks a serving should be at least 20 grams.

Love, love, love these! What a great recipe. The perfect mid-afternoon snack with a glass of water. I added sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, raisins and cinnamon. It's a recipe you can adjust however you like. Thank you for a wonderful recipe...I will make this all of the time!

Yes they taste great. However more fat than protein equals FAT bars. 2 cups peanut butter (low fat peanut butter isn't really that much lower) and only 1 1/2 cup protein powder. Rename the recipe.