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Deliciously rich, these Lunch Lady Brownies are a decadent and fudge-like treat and completely worth cutting the lunch line for. Simple to make and smothered with a thick, homemade chocolate frosting, it’s easy to see why everyone is obsessed with this 50-year-old classic recipe.
Love brownies? Don’t forget to try our Dr. Pepper Brownies, our Coconut Brownies, or our reader favorite, Peanut Butter Brownies for more wonderful recipes.
MORE CHOCOLATE RECIPES:
Chocolate Cherry Dump Cake | Chocolate Poke Cake
lunch lady brownies ingredients
You will need:
For the Brownies
- 1 cup melted butter
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 cups sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 4 eggs
- 3 tablespoons vanilla extract
For the Frosting
- 1/4 cup melted butter
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1/4 cup of cocoa powder
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Substitutions and additions
FROSTING: Replace the chocolate icing with a different flavor. Try vanilla or peanut butter for a fun twist on the classic.
CHOCOLATE CHIPS: These delicious brownies can always use more chocolate. Add chocolate chips in the batter for an even more yummy rich chocolate flavor.
SPRINKLES Everything is more fun with sprinkles! To add a bit of color to this perfect brownie, add colorful sprinkles on top.
How to Make Lunch Lady Brownies recipe
STEP ONE: In a medium bowl, mix together the melted butter and cocoa powder until smooth.
STEP TWO: Add the flour, salt, and sugar and mix together. The mixture will be dry and crumbly.
STEP THREE: Add in the eggs and vanilla extract and mix until smooth.
STEP FOUR: Line a 9 x 13 pan with parchment paper and lightly spray with nonstick cooking spray. Pour brownie batter into pan.
PRO TIP: Lining the pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil will allow you to lift the entire baked brownies out of the pan for easier cutting once cooled. You can also grease the pan instead if you would prefer.
STEP FIVE: Bake at 350°F for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
STEP SIX: While the brownies are baking make the frosting by whisking together butter, milk, powdered sugar, cocoa powder, and vanilla extract. The frosting should be thick and spreadable and similar to the consistency of canned frosting but will taste much better!
PRO TIP: If the frosting is too thick add one tablespoon of milk at a time to thin it out a bit.
STEP SEVEN: Let sit for 15 to 20 minutes before frosting. Then spread frosting over the top of the brownies.
STEP EIGHT: Let cool completely before slicing.
PRO TIP: These brownies are so decadent, you can serve smaller portions if you would like to get more than 12 servings out of the batch!
How to SErve
Remember in elementary school when you bought those bland school lunches from the school cafeteria just to get to the amazing brownie? These delicious chocolate brownies with frosting are the same recipe that lunch ladies have been making from scratch for 50 years, and now you can have this perfect recipe at home too to share with the whole family.
Whip a batch for an after school snack and serve with a glass of milk. You can also serve them with our refreshing iced tea, raspberry iced tea, sweet peach iced tea, or our southern strawberry sweet tea on the side.
STORage
AT ROOM TEMPERATURE: These old-fashioned brownies are typically stored at room temperature in either an airtight container or covered with plastic wrap of foil. Stored like this, they can last up to 4 days if they aren’t eaten first!
IN THE FREEZER: If they last long enough, this homemade brownie recipe can be frozen in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
These delicious lunch lady brownies are a dream for chocolate lovers. They will satisfy even the strongest chocolate craving. With rich, moist brownies and covered in a chocolate frosting made from scratch, these brownies are thick and delicious and reminiscent of childhood for so many.
faq
You can definitely freeze this fudgy brownie recipe. They should keep in the freezer for up to 3 months.
If you are looking for a quick shortcut for this simple recipe to save time, you can use store bought frosting for on top of these brownies.
The lunch lady brownies would be delicious with either chocolate chips or brownies mixed in.
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- Banana Pudding
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Lunch Lady Brownies
Ingredients
For the brownies
- 1 cup melted butter
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 cups sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 4 eggs
- 3 tbsp vanilla extract
For the frosting
- 1/4 cup melted butter
- 1/4 cup milk
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- ¼ cup cocoa powder
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, mix together the melted butter and cocoa powder until smooth.
- Add the flour, salt, and sugar then mix together. The mixture will be dry and crumbly.
- Add in the eggs and vanilla extract and mix until smooth.
- Line a 9 x 13 pan with parchment paper and pour batter into pan.
- Bake at 350 for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- While the brownies are baking make the frosting by whisking together butter, milk, powdered sugar, cocoa powder, and vanilla extract. The frosting should be thick and spreadable. It should be similar to the consistency of canned frosting but way better. If it’s too thick add a little milk, a tablespoon at a time.
- Let sit for 15 to 20 minutes before frosting. Then spread frosting over the top of the brownies.
- Let cool completely before slicing.
Is the butter in your recipe salted or unsalted? Thanks!
Unsalted – but you can use either!
Is it table spoons of vanilla or teaspoons?
There are three tablepoons in the brownies and another tablespoon in the frosting. Enjoy!
Love these
Very good
These are amazing, so rich and gooey!
Cocoa powder in icing? How much?
It’s 1/4 cup of cocoa powder. Enjoy! 🙂
Do you have to use parchment paper. I prefer to spray the pan with a nonstick spray so I can cut them as needed. Will this work?
Hi, Cheryl – I prefer using it for this recipe to make it easier to remove from the pan since they’re so moist. You can use nonstick spray if you’d prefer. Enjoy!
I love the recipe it is easy.
Do you hand mix or use a mixer?
I used a hand mixer. Enjoy 🙂
Can I put a square of caramel in the center of each?
Oh that would probably be yummy!