Colder, sunny and a chocolate dip recipe to die for!

Good Morning Augusta

This morning we have mostly sunny skies with a high of 51ºF. Winds are from the NNW at 5 to 10 mph.

Tonight we’ll have cloudy skies with a low of 34 ºF. Winds will be from the NE at 5 to 10 mph.

The readings from my weather instruments are:

Humidity is 69%, the Dew Point is 26.6ºF and the outdoor temp is 36ºF.

The wind direction is  West between 0.2 MPH and 2.5 MPH, with a wind chill of 36ºF.

The Relative pressure is 30.12, the Absolute pressure is 29.91 and rising with a weather graphic indicating sun.

The UV rating is 1 out of 16, Sunrise is 7:20 a.m. Sunset is 5:24 P.M. Moon rise is 6:13 p.m., Moon set is 7:27 p.m., and tonight we have a FULL MOON being  100% illuminated.

The RAW METAR readings from Augusta’s airport are:

METAR KAUG 041053Z AUTO 31003KT 10SM CLR 03/M02 A3026 RMK AO2 SLP250 T00281022

Visibility is 10.0 Miles / 16.1 kilometers with clear skies.

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

Space Weather for this morning is:

Today’s Solar flux is 70, the solar wind speed is 414 Kilometers per second and the chance of a solar storm is 1%.

I pulled this recipe off of the web because it sounded great, and I was right, it IS great!

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.