Lunch Lady Brownies-remember back when lunchroom food was really good?
So we’ve got a boyfriend in the family. Not mine. My 14 year old daughter has a boyfriend now.
This is the “real thing.” It’s not like grade school where you “go out” with a boy, which really means you get to use the boys name in the same sentence as your name. It’s all just good giggling fun. There is no physical contact. Half the time you don’t even talk to the other person, until it’s time to “break up.”
Don’t get me wrong, my daughter has good taste and good sense. He’s a nice boy, well mannered, good family. No weird piercings or tattoos (at age 14 you shouldn’t have any tattoos in my opinion.)
We’ve been to his house for dinner, met the “n-laws” so to speak. Now it’s our turn. She wants to have him over to our house for dinner.
Ok, I’m the cool mom. We’ll do this. But since this is her boyfriend, not mine, she’s going to do the cooking. We set the menu to be all prepared ahead of time
Spaghetti with Meat Sauce
French Bread
Cucumber and Onion Salad
this is really our “we’re having the kids’ friends over and every kid will eat noodles” dinner.
The only extra thing to be decided was dessert. It had to be easy, it had to taste fabulous and I wanted it to be eaten with your hands so we could have it while enjoying family game time. (You didn’t think I was going to leave these two alone in my house did you?)
Brownies are always a good choice, add frosting on top and it’s almost a cake but less (almost no) crumbs. Perfect! These brownies are so moist and rich, and did I mention really good?
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Ingredients
- 1 cup butter, melted
- 1/2 cup cocoa
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 cups sugar
- 4 eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
- 1/4 cup butter, softened
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1/4 cup cocoa
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees, grease a 9x13 pan and set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, combine butter, cocoa and sugar. Mix in flour and beat well. Add in eggs and vanilla, mix just to combine.
- Spread batter in prepared pan. Batter will be thick so you'll have to use a spatula to make sure you get to your corners.
- Bake for 22-25 minutes until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Frost while still warm.
- For frosting, sift together sugar, cocoa and salt. Cream butter in mixing bowl. Gradually add in sugar to butter, alternating with milk. Mix until creamy. Spread over warm brownies.
A fun night for all, good food, lots of laughter and I kicked their butts at Risk. I might be just a little competitive when it comes to games, haha.
Want more easy game night treats?
Salted pistachio Pudding Cookies
good luck with the “boyfriend” thing…Charlie is 13, and already asking when he can date…UGH
maybe I need these to calm my nerves – and they do look like our school brownies….but MUCH better
I don’t remember getting these at school, but they look to die for!
Carla, I don’t think you are old enough, lol. I had brownies like these in Elementary School.
I just made these for a school party abs they were so radii to mashe and crazy delicious!
So glad everyone enjoyed them!
This is the cutest post ever!!! You made me laugh out loud more than once. So cute!!! I’m trying these brownies today. Thanks for the recipe, and for starting my day with a big smile 🙂
I love this whole post. 🙂 And I can’t think of a more perfect menu when hosting your future son-in-law!
Yayyy brownies!
But omg boyfriend. OK, I was 14 when I had my first real boyfriend and….be careful. He’s probably 14 too though so that’s good. I made the mistake of dating a 17 year old, thinking 3 years wasn’t a big deal, in retrospect: people at 17 and 14 are in very different places in terms of dating. I’ve learned from this and now my children will not be allowed to make my mistakes lol. It sounds like you’re being all smart and not letting them be alone and having a fun game night! Woot!
These look so moist and delicious! The only brownies I remember seeing at the school cafeteria were packages Little Debbie or some-such nonsense.
I love the post! I remember how it was to be 14 since it was only about 10 years ago – and that first love is the one you love with great abandon, having no baggage of your own and they haven’t got any yet either. How exciting. I think he will be very impressed with the menu and the dessert will capture his heart!
Love this post…. Just discovered your blog … Can’t wait to try your great looking recipes..
I made these for a family cookout & everyone loved them! I added rainbow jimmys on top which made them very cute. Best frosted brownies I have had!
They were good but my didn’t look like that. I think I might have put it on to soon. Does your’s go on as soon as it comes out of the oven?
Are you talking about the frosting Stephanie? You want your brownies to be warm but not hot out of the oven. Probably wait about 30 minutes before frosting.
Making the brownies now–they smell delish on this snowy night. Thanks for the memories.
Loved the look of these brownies the minute I saw them…and so did my 3 year old son who insisted we make them! They are in the oven now, but I am going on 30 minutes of baking and the toothpick is still quite wet when inserted in the middle….They do smell delicious though! Can’t wait for dessert tonight!
I just made these delicious brownies and yup, they do taste as good as they look. I even like them a few days old, which is usually not the case with me. Plus my husband hardly likes any desserts at all but he loves these! Try putting them in the fridge directly after frosting but before cutting to make slicing easier and less messy! So very glad you posted this awesome recipe – Thank You!
Genna, I am having the same problem (needing to cook longer.) I am using a glass pan. This may have something to do with it. At least for me 🙂 Smelling delicious!
I made this but it was more like a cake nothing like a brownie but frosting was great.
Hi there, first of all I just wanted to say that I absolutely loved the brownies! 🙂 I have a 15 year old boy that just started dating a girl 3 months ago and I was wondering how long your daughter has been dating before you got invited to her boyfriends parents house for supper? My sons girlfriend is a nice girl and very smart in school etc. (grade 10) but my son said when he goes over to her house to hang out, the mother will say hello to my son but the father won’t even turn his head towards my son. He will literally stare at the tv as my son walks by! Now I do understand that fathers of little girls want to protect them but he does have 2 older daughters that are already dating so he is NOT knew to this! When the girlfriend comes over to our house, both my husband and I say hello and ask her how her week was at school etc. and we ALWAYS offer a drink of something and a bite to eat but when my son goes over there, they don’t offer him nothing and sometimes he is there for close to 4 hours! This is all so knew to me and I don’t really have anyone to talk to about this so I’m sorry that I’m spilling my guts out to you! I just read your post this morning and was so jealous of when you said that you already had a supper invitation at the inlaws and I wonder if that will ever happen with my sons relationship?! Would that bother you to hear that your daughter tells you that her boyfriends dad doesn’t even say hello?! Or am I just being worried for nothing?! Thanks so much in advance! Have a great day! Sheila
This is my daughter’s first “real” boyfriend and also my 1st child dating. My children have never been allowed to go over to someone’s house without us meeting the parents and a boyfriend’s house was certainly no exception. I think my daughter passed this along and that’s how I got the invite. She’s still dating him, and we always make sure that a parent is around at either their home or ours. I think I’ve been very lucky with this first experience. His parents are very outgoing, friendly people. I’d recommend taking the lead and invite the “in’laws” over for burgers on the grill or a spaghetti dinner, something easy. Get to know them. It may just be the way they are and nothing personal.
Very forgiving recipe! I know I over mixed the brownies, I started mixing and got lost on the mixing moment. I also only had 2 1/2 cups of powdered sugar and no milk just vanilla almond milk. All worked out with a fabulous tasty result! Thank you!!!!
It looks so yummy!!!! I’ve saved the recipe!!!! Thank you 🙂
Absolutely delicious! I never had brownies during school lunches, but there was a bakery on my way home from school, and once in awhile I was able to buy a brownle, and this recipe tastes even better than the bakery brownie!
These brownies look outstanding! So I made them, twice! Mine do not look like yours, however. Mine are much lighter in color, more cake-like, and a bland flavor. Any suggestions? I followed the recipe precisely using mostly Trader Joe’s ingredients.
I wish I had a Trader Joe’s close to me! I use Hershey’s cocoa for all my baking. That might affect the color and possibly your flavor. Since I’ve never used another cocoa I couldn’t tell you as a comparison.
I was so thrilled to come across this recipe! I originally found this in a cookbook that belonged to a family member who passed it along when my husband and I got married. Sadly, the cookbook has mysteriously gone missing. I used to make these for my husband after we were first married. They are baking now and will be quite the surprise when he comes in after work. Thanks!
These brownies and this recipe ROCK! They did not last a DAY in my house, which is too bad for my butt… I diid not have to alter a single thing; not back time, not amounts of chocolate (!) Don’t be afraid to try this recipe – it’s easy AND it’s a KEEPER for sure! You’ll be making these at least 3 times a week! Oh, wait, that’s just me…
So glad you enjoyed them (they never last here either!)
Hi – I’m posting from Australia and found your blog a while ago. I LOVE all the recipes I have tried (lunch lady brownies are a favourite) and also that they are so easy to make and use INGREDIENTS MOST PEOPLE ACTUALLY HAVE IN THEIR CUPBOARDS!! (so I don’t have to go traipsing round the supermarket looking for things like argave…whatever that is). Keep up the good work!
So glad you’re enjoying my recipes. I have the same problem with unusual ingredients. My market just doesn’t carry them. Always best to keep things simple!
What a waste of by ingredients. .they were bland and cake like..icing good..brownies horrible
I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy these, they should have come out as a moist fudgy brownie.
Making these today in your honor Joan. Your kindness will be missed in the world. Thanks for being a friend and inspiration.