lunch lady brownies
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Back to school time makes me think of crayons, glue sticks, and lunches. Not that I don’t feed my kids lunch when they’re home, it’s just more of a grab what you want when you want it type of meal.
Stella packs her own lunch, and I don’t mind one bit. Lunch packing was never one of my favorite things to do. Charlie would rather buy his lunch, and one peek at the high school cafeteria and I could see why. It’s like a mini food court. Pizza, nachos, and burger s everyday. A teen boy’s dream come true.
I used to only buy my lunch on pizza day, pancake day, or when brownies were the dessert. Those lunch lady brownies were the BEST. You’d spend half of your lunch period waiting in line on brownie day, but it was worth it.
My kids have never experienced a true cafeteria brownie, but this recipe from Saltbox House is the same one used in an Idaho Jr High School cafeteria for more than 50 years.
Ingredients
- for the brownies:
- 1 cup butter, melted
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 cups flour
- 2 cups sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 4 eggs
- 4 tsp vanilla
- for the frosting:
- 4 Tbsp butter, very soft
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/4 cup milk
- 3 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
- heat oven to 375 F
- line a 9 x 13 baking dish with foil
- to make the brownies:
- combine the cocoa powder, flour, sugar, and salt
- beat in the melted butter
- add the eggs and vanilla, and stir just until everything is incorporated
- pour batter into the prepared pan
- bake 20 – 25 minutes (30 – 35 minutes if you prefer your brownies less fudgy and under-baked)
- while the brownies are baking make the frosting
- cream together the butter cocoa powder, milk, and powdered sugar
- allow brownies to cool 15 minutes, and then frost (while they are still warm)
- cool completely before cutting
It’s been a long time since I’ve been in school, but lunch lady brownies taste just how I remember them.
enjoy!
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I love brownies and these look delish! I’m definitely checking out (and Pinning!) some of your other brownie recipes too!!
thanks so much Kathryn
My kids always have a packed lunch and I don’t even know if our school serves up lunch lady brownies. How fun that this is the same recipe used at a school for 50+years! We love making brownies in our house and these look fantastic.
my daughter would never even think of buying her lunch, but teen boys and pizza are hard to separate ?
These look like the perfect brownies!! Love that chocolate buttery frosting! Yum!
I’m not usually much for frosting, but this is SO good!
Wow, these look so AMAZING and totally nostalgic! I also totally love the name of them and the fact they are authentically cafeteria brownies!
they are just like how I remembered them, but even better my kids LOVE them
I love brownies, and these look like just the ticket for treats in my kids back to school lunches! ?
so do I, and these take me back ?