Blog With Friends: BTS Traditions

Today’s post is the next in our series of Blog With Friends theme collaborations. Each month a group of bloggers get together and each publish a project based on a theme. What I love about this partnership is that it’s not bloggers with similar interests or strengths but a diverse group coming up with a variety of posts. In any given month we may have a recipe, sewing tutorial, crafts projects, book review and/or a technology post all related to the theme of the month.

There will be individual project pictures and links to what everyone else has to offer at the end of my post, but here’s a peek at what we all came up with:

This month our theme is Back to School. Let me tell you, this whole time of year has changed for me.

Back when I first started blogging, I wrote a post about my favorite holiday, B-T-S. I talked about how I celebrated this beloved holiday every year by hosting a champagne brunch. I even, in a later post, admitted to the time we celebrated a bit too long, lost track of time and almost forgot about our little angels at the end of the school day. 

Fast forward to now. My boys are college aged. My oldest son is local, but my younger son goes to school 700 miles away. My bucket of champagne has been replaced by a bucket of tears.

Two things about Back To School have not changed. First, I always bake treats for the boys and their friends for that first day. Last year when PurDude went off to the dorms for the first time, I brought about 10 dozen cookies, 3 different varieties. I hoped it would help bring kids into his room and start friendships. It was a success.

Second semester of freshman year PurDude moved into his frat. So this year, even though he just moved back into his frat where he already has friends, cookies made the trip again.

The other tradition takes place at home the whole week leading up to school starting. I cook and bake all of the boys' favorite foods. Most of them have already been posted on this blog but today, 2 weeks after having left my youngest far away for the second year in a row, I'm drying my tears and sharing our newest favorite treat, Kit Kat Brownie Bars.

Kit Kat Brownie Bars

I went to a place I often go for inspiration, the candy aisle. I found a package of Kit Kat White Minis. Both boys love Kit Kats. Yup, I can work with that.

I decided to go with something chocolate because . . . well . . . actually, no explanation is necessary. I started thinking cookie, but I was afraid if I cut up the Kit Kat pieces I'd just end up with cookie pieces in a cookie. I wanted to keep them whole, and they're too big to place whole in a cookie. So I went to brownie. That'll do.

But something just didn't seem right. I wanted more than just candy in a brownie. A crust seemed like the perfect solution to pull this idea together. Shortbread crust, brownie center, and Kit Kat White minis. Perfect.

Which is exactly how it came out!

As always, any time you make one of my recipes, feel free to post a picture of it to my Baking In A Tornado Facebook Page. I'd love to see it!

Be sure to visit all of this month's other Blog With Friends projects:
Stacy of Stacy Sews and Schools shares a sewing project, her Cozy Cover for a nap mat.

Lydia of Cluttered Genius shares a list of her Favorite Web 2.0 Tools From an Online Teacher. 

Melissa of Home on Deranged shares some valuable tech advice: Apps to Use and Apps to Lose for the School Year.

  Rabia of The Lieber Family Blog shares projects and Tips for an Organized School Year. 

 Eileen of Eileen's Perpetually Busy shares how to make a Summer Vacation Memories Map.

Robin of Someone Else's Genius shares her tutorial for a Simple Back to School Wreath.

Joy of Evil Joy Speaks shares how she made a Back to School Homework Table.

Kit Kat Brownie Bars

                                            ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
3/4 stick butter, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg yolk
1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 tsp salt

4 ounces unsweetened chocolate
1 stick margarine
1/2 stick butter
3/4 tsp vanilla
1 3/4 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 cup flour

8 oz package of Kit Kat White Minis

Directions:
*Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 X 13 dish with non-stick spray.
*Beat the 3/4 stick of butter with the brown sugar and egg yolk until smooth. Mix in the flour and salt. 
*Form this crust into a ball with your hands and firmly pat into the bottom and partially up the sides of your prepared dish.
*Bake until the crust has set, about 12 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.
*In a microwave safe bowl, melt the 1 stick of margarine and 1/2 stick of butter with the unsweetened chocolate for one minute. Stir. Continue to microwave at 10 second intervals, stirring in between until completely smooth.
*Stir in the vanilla, then the sugar. Whisk in the eggs. Once incorporated, mix in the flour.
*Pour the brownie mix over the crust.
*Press the Kit Kat Minis into the brownie mixture to but not through the crust.
*Bake for 30 minutes or until the brownie is completely cooked.
*Cool completely before slicing.