Lunchbox Brownies from Lessons in Chemistry
Chocolate and peanut butter are one of my food combo weaknesses. I’m not saying I’ve eaten Nutella and peanut butter mixed together on toast, or right out of the jar, after midnight… and I’m not saying I haven’t. These brownies from Lessons in Chemistry have both chocolate and peanut butter in spades, and might be my new favorite brownies.
In Chemistry, the brownies make an appearance near the end of episode 4. Elizabeth Zott makes them for her daughter Madeline’s school lunch (hence, Lunchbox Brownies), but it’s taken from her by her classmate Amanda, who we’re initially led to believe is Madeline. It’s Zott’s confrontation with Amanda’s father over her theft of Mad’s lunches that scores her the job hosting Supper at Six. Amanda isn’t an evil child though. She and Mad end up becoming best friends. I also appreciate that Zott included a note telling Mad not to automatically let the boys win when they play sports at recess.
The rest of Mad’s lunch includes what looks like a roast beef sandwich, roasted carrots, lettuce and grapes. The show is set in the 50s. When I was coming up in school, brownies like this wouldn’t have been allowed. I had multiple classmates with severe peanut allergies, and nut products were banned from lunches as a result. Therefore, I would only have been able to enjoy something like this at home.
There isn’t much to say with these really. The brownies are of the fudgy kind with peanut butter swirled into the top of them before they’re baked. Anybody can bake brownies, and these were certainly as simple as every other brownie I’ve made. The fun part is swirling the peanut butter into the top, because it comes out looking very beautiful, and you can make it look however you want. They were amazing.
They were so, so, so good! Everyone I showed this photo to thought they looked incredible. I brought some with me on a hike with my cousin and her husband (the same ones I ate the Oysters Zott with), and they loved them too. I guarantee you will as well.
If you want to make this recipe yourself, you can get it on the official website here. You can also watch Amanda Halsey (Mad Zott) and Shoo Shoo Parsells (Amanda Pine) make the brownies with Courtney McBroom here.
Images from Lessons in Chemistry are the property of Apple TV+. All other photographs are the property of Ate Bit Culinarian.
