Clouds, damp and an out-of-season buttercrunch recipe

Good Morning Augusta

Today we have Skies that are mostly cloudy with an expected  high of 61ºF. Winds are from the N at 5 to 10 mph.

Tonight we’ll have partly cloudy conditions with a low of 43ºF. Winds will be light and variable.

The readings from my weather instruments are:

Humidity is 93%, the dew point is 45ºF and outside it’s 47ºF.

The wind direction is Northeast between 3.3 MPH and 7.4 MPH, with a heat index of 48ºF.

The Barometric pressure is 30.01 and steady with a weather graphic indicating cloud cover.

The UV rating is 0 out of 16, Sunrise is at 5:15 a.m. Sunset is 7:56 P.M. Moon rise is at 9:31 p.m., Moon set is 6:39 a.m., and the moon phase is still a FULL MOON being 98% illuminated.

The RAW METAR reading from Augusta’s airport is:

METAR KAUG 121053Z AUTO 03007KT 10SM OVC007 08/06 A3009 RMK AO2 SLP190 T00780061

Visibility is 10.0 miles / 16.1 Kilometers with overcast to 700 ft / 213 m.

We received 0.05 inches of rain over the past 24 hours.

Space Weather for this morning is:

Today’s Solar flux is 72, the solar wind speed is 399  Kilometers per second and the chance of a solar storm is 1%.

Let’s not forget dessert.  This buttercrunch is nothing short of fantastic, even if it isn’t the holidays, but who cares?

Andrea’s Chocolate-Dipped Buttercrunch

Buttercrunch is a holiday tradition in Kathy Gunst’s family. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

Kathy’s Note: My sister-in-law, Andrea Gunst, shared her buttercrunch recipe with me many years ago, and it changed my holiday traditions forever. This is the stuff that everyone begs for year after year – be sure to make multiple batches.

Buttercrunch, a caramel coated in chocolate and ground nuts, keeps for over a week and makes a great gift. You can double the recipe, but if you want to make more than that, don’t multiply the recipe by three or four – simply keep doubling.

Serves 6 to 8; once you taste it, it’s hard to stop!

Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter

1 cup sugar

1 tablespoon light Karo syrup

2 tablespoons water

2 large (about 7 or 8 ounce) chocolate bars*

About 1 cup very finely chopped walnuts

Buttercrunch can be made successfully with regular, grocery store, milk chocolate or chocolate chips, but the better the chocolate the better the buttercrunch. Try to find good quality bittersweet or semi-sweet, 60% cocoa chocolate.

You can use walnuts, almonds, pecans, pistachio, or any type of nut so long as they are finely chopped to properly adhere to the chocolate.

Instructions:

Line a cookie sheet with a piece of well-greased aluminum foil or parchment paper.

In a medium saucepan, heat the butter, sugar, Karo syrup, and water over low heat, stirring frequently. The mixture will caramelize and is ready when it hits 290 degrees on a candy thermometer, which will take at least 15 to 20 minutes. Watch it carefully, particularly toward the end of the cooking process; the mixture can burn easily. Reduce the heat to very low and stir constantly if it seems to be cooking too quickly or turning darker than pale, golden brown.

When the candy hits 290 degrees, remove from the heat and pour out onto the greased sheet of foil or parchment. Carefully spread with a spatula in an even layer. Let cool and harden. (If you are really impatient, you can place the cookie sheet in a cold, protected place so that it will harden more quickly.) The caramel layer is ready when it’s no longer soft to the touch.

If you choose to let the buttercrunch harden outside or in a very cold spot, you must bring it back to room temperature before spreading with the chocolate. If the buttercrunch is too cold, or too soft the chocolate won’t adhere properly.

When the buttercrunch and chocolate are ready, use a soft spatula to spread a thin layer of chocolate over the entire front side of the caramel. Sprinkle with half the nuts, pressing down lightly so that they adhere. Again, if you are the impatient type, you can let the chocolate harden in a cold spot. The chocolate is ready when it is dry—no wet spots to the touch. Carefully lift the buttercrunch off the sheet and remove the foil or parchment from underneath. Flip the buttercrunch over onto the bare cookie sheet. Spread the remaining chocolate on top of the other side of the buttercrunch and then sprinkle with the remaining nuts, pressing down lightly. Let the chocolate set in a cool spot.

When the buttercrunch is thoroughly dry and hard, break it into small pieces. You can keep the pieces in a cool, dry cookie tin or in a tightly sealed plastic bag for up to three weeks.