First you mix, mix, mix, some Fluff and peanut butter, add ground-up Bran Buds, and have a...

Fluffernutter HiFi Buddy Bar!

Anybody remember the "Fluffernutter" jingle for Marshmallow Fluff?

If you lived in the Boston area around the 1960's or the 1970's, you probably do.

Well, that's my variation on this jingle...and on the Fluffernutter recipe itself, a fairly simple sandwich. Let's give this baby-boomer classic the Bran Buddy treatment.
 
Fluffernutter HiFi Buddy Bars—Prototype 1:

This is the simplest HiFi Buddy Bar recipe yet—there is only one layer, and these bars should keep for a very long time at room temperature (no refrigeration needed).

The sequence suggested by the song's lyrics are crucial. According to the original tune, the peanut butter went on the bread first, and the Marshmallow Fluff was added afterward. For the Hifi Buddy Bars, it's a different story, so pay close attention.

Sequential details (combining order) for single layer:
1 jar (i.e., 7.5 ounces) Marshmallow Fluff (or other brand of marshmallow cream, if you cannot get the Fluff brand)
4 oz. unsalted peanut butter (mixture will become very stiff after combining the first two ingredients)
8.8 oz. Bran Buds, ground up (last ingredient here!)

Mix hard! You are dealing with a very stiff mixture. Then press it all into a 9" x 9" wax-paper-lined pan. Get it leveled off, and expect a thin layer. Once this is done, cut into bars and enjoy!

Fluffernutter HiFi Buddy Bars—Prototype 1

This one was thin and chewy, and the peanut butter could be detected. The marshmallow flavor was not nearly as much present, but these bars were still a nice hit.
 
Fluffernutter HiFi Buddy Bars—Prototype 2:

Those bars need to be made thicker and softer. This means increasing the recipe, but also giving the marshmallow cream a proportionally higher boost—which increases its flavor as well.

Sequential details:
1 large "tub" (i.e., 16 ounces) Marshmallow Fluff (or other marshmallow cream)
6 oz. unsalted peanut butter
13.2 oz. Bran Buds, ground up (last ingredient here!)

Mix hard, press into 9" x 9" pan, level off, cut into bars, enjoy some, store the rest at room temperature (chilling will result in stiffer, harder bars).

Fluffernutter HiFi Buddy Bars—Prototype 2

The bars were indeed softer this time, although the peanut butter's presence seemed a little lacking.
 
Fluffernutter HiFi Buddy Bars—Prototype 3:
 
With this prototype, I discovered that the square glass dish ("pan") that I had been using all along in many of these Bran Buddy/Hi-Fi Buddy recipes was, in fact, highly likely of an 8" x 8" size (at least according to the numbers etched thereon and confirmed by tape measure, combined with my failing to locate an alternative similar-looking dish), rather than 9" x 9".

What about the bigger, rectangular glass dish ("pan") that I also likely used? I could not find any dimensions etched into this one, although I did see "3QT" (which I assumed to mean three quarts). So I took out my tape measure and came up with about 8.5" x 13.5", as opposed to 9" x 13".

Hopefully, the differences aren't too big, especially for the larger rectangular dish. Nevertheless, for this Buddy Bar prototype and later, I felt that I would state 8" x 8" every time the square dish was used—and stick with mentioning 13" x 9" for the rectangular, out of simplicity (particularly since that was close enough in area to 8.5" x 13.5").

Okay, enough of this size discrepancy discussion on these Pyrex dishes—bring on the bars!
 
Increase the peanut butter...slightly.

Sequential details:
1 large "tub" (i.e., 16 ounces) Marshmallow Fluff (or other marshmallow cream)
7 oz. unsalted peanut butter
Tip: Heat these first two ingredients, blend well, then (if needed) heat again just before adding the last ingredient. This should help ease the stiffness somewhat.
13.2 oz. Bran Buds, ground up (last ingredient here!)

Mix hard and quickly, press into an 8" x 8" pan or dish, level off and cut into bars (store at room temperature).
 
Nice taste. A great hit at the Sports Page, at which point we also celebrated Lesa's birthday.
 

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