A couple of weeks ago there was a post on TRS Forum asking for help to reverse engineer the Skratch Labs formula for cookies and bars. Prior to this little experiment I had never used their baking products, just the drink mix. So I looked at their website and took the information they provided (surprisingly almost enough to give away the secret) and attempted to recreate it, for less than half the cost and double your final product.
This here is the original recreation I came up with, without ever trying the Skratch Lab recipe for myself. With a little help from @preachswanson and @kburnsgallager it was pretty damn close.
Rip-off #1
- 1½ cups flour (Skratch Labs uses “enriched wheat flour” but all purpose flour will yield the same result)
- 1 ½ cup quick cook oats (if you like a finer oat just put them in the blender for a second)
- ¾ cups Light Brown (or cane) Sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder (omit if you’re making bars instead of standard cookies)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 1/3 cup melted butter – (you can add more for calories and flavor)
- 2 egg whites (if making cookies 3 egg whites) [this is a personal preference, if you use the whole egg, cut use down by one]
- 2 teaspoons vanilla (I usually use more than any recipe calls for)
- 16 oz. dried fruit, nuts or combination of your choice (if using chocolate use what seems adequate!)
For Bars:
Preheat oven to 350 F. Set aside fruit/nuts or chocolate. Mix all the other shit in a giant bowl. Put half of your mixture in an oven safe pan, something similar to what you use to make brownies for your kids bake sale. Actually, use that and line it with parchment. Sprinkle in your fruit, nuts, or chocolate, then top it with the rest of the mix and little press it down. Bake for 20-22 minutes (or until done). Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 or so minutes. You know, just long enough you don’t burn your hands on the pan like a dumbass.
This should make roughly 24 portions.
For Cookies:
Preheat oven to 350 F. Mix all your ingredients together in a large ass bowl. Spray a cookie sheet with some PAM or be healthy and put parchment paper on the pan. Scoop out and roll the “dough” into roughly a ½ inch ball. Place them on your pan and flatten it out ever so slightly. Bake until done. Roughly 15 minutes.
This will make you a shit ton of cookies, so share some with your friends.
Analysis
With the almost success in making this mockup and close enough rip-off of a well recognized and loved cookie/bar, KBG sent me some actual Skratch Lab product to test out. Although our trial was close and tasted the same, it was a bit off. The cookie was a tad bit too crumbly when actually eating and was border line too dry. So I went ahead and waited for the Skratch Lab product so I could better assess the qualities.
So here, in my humble opinion, is what I think of their product:
- The over all texture and flavor was nice, a bit on the salty side.
- The fruit was a little much, too chewy and did not hold up well.
- Overall a good product and made me feel full.
- Expensive and salty, but Skratch has a decent product on its hands.
Let’s Try Again
I feel what we had on our first stab at this, was almost right on the money. But I have made a few tweaks to the recipe, after trying it for myself. This second attempt more closely resembles the exact proportions and *nutritional value* which everyone seems to be so concerned with these days.
Please note that the recipe listed below offers twice the amount of what a single pack of Skratch Labs will make. This is by design, seeing how many people don’t just nibble on delicious snacks and if you complete a 3 and half hour long bike ride, realistically you will need a bigger bar or cookie than an original sized Oreo (very tiny). So you can chop the bars bigger, roll your cookies fatter and spread the love of some delicious baked goods while out on your training grounds.
Rip-off #2
- 1 ¼ cups flour (Skratch Labs uses enriched wheat flour but all purpose flour will yield the same result)
- 1 ¼ cup quick cook oats (I rocked mine in a blender for 30 seconds to make them a bit more fine and go with the consistency of the bar.)
- ½ cups Light Brown (or cane) Sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 ¾ bars softened butter (you can add more for calories and flavor but you run the risk of the dough being too soft/sticky)
- 2 eggs
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups (12 oz.) dried fruit (1 cup if Fresh), nuts or combination of your choice (if using chocolate use what seems adequate!)
Cooking instructions are the same as above, not that hard to mess it up.
Conclusion
So there it is. Try ‘em both, pick one you like and give some feedback. Or just stick with spending all your money on the overpriced prepackaged version. I really don’t care, its your time and money. If you have the extra 3 minutes it will take you to gather the ingredients out of the cupboard, it is worth saving the money.
I will also say Skratch Labs makes a good product and they deserve recognition, but they are pricey for what you are getting and I am just trying to save you all a little dough! (boom! Pun intended) If you have any other products you would be interested in figuring out a DIY solution to, drop me a line. I am not opposed to giving it a go.
*Nutritional value (outside of on course, obviously) is a moot point to all of you endurance athletes out there. Eat anything and everything you want, in proportion. Portion control is what everyone needs to worry about and yes I am aware many people do not understand this concept, Google it. So yes, eat some cake and some bacon and some other foods that are going to kill you and make you fat and slow. But if its done with some self control, you will be just fine. Especially if you are going on that 5 hour brick run, tomorrow you have all been talking about at the bar on Friday nights.
Join us in the forum to discuss future reverse engineering projects, fantasy triathlon and other shenanigans.