Temp up to freezing, clear and the "Melting Moments" recipe.

Good Morning Augusta

This morning it's sunny with a few afternoon clouds. High will reach 32ºF. Winds will be from the NW at 5 to 10 mph.

Tonight we'll have some clouds early that will give way to generally clear conditions overnight. Low will be 12ºF or lower. I thought it was supposed to be spring. Winds light and variable.

The readings from my weather instruments are:

Humidity is 81%, the dew point is 8ºF, outside it's -8.5ºC and 16.9ºF.

The wind direction is North between 0.4 MPH and 1.3 MPH, generating a wind chill of 16.9ºF.

The Barometric pressure is 30.11 / HPA 1019.6 and rising with a weather graphic indicating sun.

The UV rating is 0 out of 16, Sunrise is at 6:47 a.m. Sunset is 6:47 P.M. Moon rise is at 11:54 p.m., Moon set is 9:31 p.m. and the moon phase is waning gibbous.   

The RAW METAR reading from the airport in Augusta, Maine is:

METAR KAUG 171053Z AUTO 29004KT 10SM CLR M11/M16 A3003 RMK AO2 SLP175 T11061161

Visibility is 10.0 miles / 16.1 Kilometers with clear skies.

We didn't receive any rain or snow here over the past 24 hours.

Space Weather for this morning is:

Today's Solar flux is 74, the solar wind speed is 343  Kilometers per second and the chance of a solar storm is 1%.

This cookie recipe is perhaps my favorite "go to" recipe for instant gratification regarding my personal regiment of cookie therapy.

MELTING MOMENTS

¾ cup brown sugar

1 cup shortening

1 tsp. vanilla

1 egg

½ tsp. salt

2 cups sifted flour

1 tsp. cream of tartar

½ tsp. soda

Preheat oven to 350⁰.

Cream sugar and shortening; add vanilla and egg and mix well.

Add dry ingredients and mix well.

Drop cookies onto baking sheet using a cookie scoop or a tablespoon.

Bake 15 minutes or until golden brown.  They'll feel crisp to the touch when done.

Variations:

•           Add mini chips, chopped dark chocolate, and/or nuts. 

•           Bake in mini muffin cups and press in Snickers Bites after baking.  Cool in pans.

•           Add zest and juice of 1 lemon and ¼ tsp. lemon extract instead of vanilla.  Mini chocolate chips enhance the lemon flavor.

•           Use half shortening and half butter/margarine.  They won't be as crisp but they'll still be a great cookie.

•           If you don't have an egg, don't worry; they'll be okay without it.