Lunch Lady Brownies are a throwback to your elementary school cafeteria, frosted, chocolatey goodness. Didn’t matter if tar burgers were on the menu that day, a delicious brownie more than made up for it.
I don’t necessarily recall having brownies in grade school – however, I do remember the chef Mr. Valliere baking vanilla cake with chocolate frosting that was served on Fridays. He worked in two places before coming to our school – Beauchamps and Mandel Bakeries, located in Willimantic, CT. The cake was made from scratch, as were the rolls that accompanied Wednesday’s beef stew and the pizza that was baked in large rectangular pans. Those were the days when the cafeteria food was actually made in the cafeteria, not shipped to the school and reheated. We didn’t know how good we had it until we got to high school! Anyway, these brownies recreate old school cafeteria magic and take no time to put together.
- 1/2 cup butter, melted
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 cup flour
- Preheat oven to 350º. Spray a 9″ x 9″ pan, or line it with parchment paper.
- Beat the butter and sugar, then add eggs and vanilla.
- Sift cocoa and flour and mix until just combined.
- Pour into prepared pan and bake for 20 to 25 minutes.
Frosting:
- 2 tablespoons butter, softened
- 3 tablespoons milk
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
- In a large bowl, add all ingredients and beat until smooth.
- Spread frosting on still warm – brownies. Let cool completely before cutting.
