Pinterest bills these treats as a vintage, 1950s recipe called “lunch lady brownies.” I guess a talented cafeteria worker whipped them up decades ago and passed the recipe down…and I’m glad she did. I found the full recipe at Spaceships and Laser Beams, which isn’t exactly the brand I’d associate with a food blog, but whatever works for you. I altered the preparation steps because I feel like the original didn’t quite make sense, so I’ve gone with a method I’ve used for other brownies before and it turned out well.
Be warned: these treats are really rich and fudgy and probably have a ton of calories. But they’re delicious, and absolutely worth it, in my opinion.
Ingredients
For the brownies
- 1 cup butter, melted
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 cups flour
- 2 cups sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 4 eggs
- 3 tablespoons vanilla extract
For the frosting
- 4 tablespoons melted butter
- 1/4 cup milk
- 3 cups powered sugar
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Preparation
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9 x 13 baking tin with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, stir melted butter and cocoa powder together until smooth. Stir in sugar and salt, followed by eggs and vanilla, until batter is smooth. Stir in flour until no dry pockets remain.
Pour into the baking tin and bake for 25-30 minutes, until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool brownies for about 20 minutes before frosting.
To make the frosting, sift together powdered sugar and cocoa powder – this will keep little bits of cocoa from clumping together in your frosting, which is something I didn’t do when I originally made this. Add melted butter, milk, and vanilla extract and stir until smooth; you can add additional milk, about 1 tablespoon at a time, for a more spreadable consistency. Spread frosting on brownies and allow to set before cutting. Makes 24.
amy bakes in the 'burgh 