Snow, ice, cold and Cndy Cane cookies!

Good Morning Augusta

Pay attention to that Weather Advisory I posted a few minutes ago.  It’s a nasty one. You DO have gas for the generator, right?

This morning we have clouds with a 90% chance of 1 to 3 inches of snow this afternoon. High will reach 17°F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph.

Tonight we’ll have a 90% chance of an additional 1 to 3 inches of snow this evening which will taper off to light snow overnight. Some sleet may mix in late. Low 12F. Winds NNE at 10 to 15 mph.

The readings from my weather instruments are:

Humidity is 53%, the Dew Point is -6.7ºF and the outdoor temp is 6.8ºF.

The wind direction is  West Southwest between 1.8 MPH and 4.9 MPH, with a wind chill of 6.8°F.

The Relative pressure is 30.23, the Absolute pressure is 30.03 and falling with a weather graphic indicating snow.

The UV rating is 1 out of 16, Sunrise is 7:12 a.m. Sunset is 4:03 p.m., Moonrise is 9:59 a.m., Moonset is 8:15 p.m. and the moon phase is Waxing Crescent being 15% illuminated.

The RAW METAR readings from the city of Augusta’s airport are:

METAR KAUG 221153Z AUTO 36003KT 10SM FEW120 M13/M18 A3039 RMK AO2 SLP297 T11331183 11117 21150 51019

Visibility is 10.0 Miles / 16.1 kilometers with clouds to 12,000 Ft / 3,657 M.

We didn’t receive any additional snow here over the past 24 hours, but it’s coming today into tonight.

Space Weather for this morning is:

Today’s Solar flux is 72, the solar wind speed is 334 Kilometers per second and the chance of a solar storm is 1%.

Hey, since all of those candy canes won’t fit on the tree, make some cookies with some of them!

CANDY CANE BAR COOKIES

Preheat oven to 350F, rack in the middle position.

1 cup butter  (I use butter, margarine, Smart Balance, whatever I have; anyone who can tell the

difference in this cookie doesn’t belong in my kitchen!)

1 cup white granulated sugar

1 egg, lightly beaten

¼ tsp peppermint extract

½ tsp salt

2/3 cup finely crushed miniature candy canes (measure after crushing)

6 drops red food coloring

2 cups flour (not sifted – pack it down when you measure it)

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (Hold these out for later use as noted below)

(Note: I’m a big fan of dark chocolate, so I use Ghiradelli 60% cacao double chocolate chips)

Melt the butter in a microware-safe bowl for 1 minute 30 seconds on HIGH.  Set it on the counter to cool.

 

Place the sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer, add the egg, and beat it until it’s a uniform color (you can do this by hand, but why would you?).

Add the peppermint extract, salt, and finely crushed candy canes.  Mix it all up.

Add the 6 drops of red food coloring.  Mix it in thoroughly.

Feel the bowl with the butter.  If you can cup your hands around it comfortably, you can add it to your mixing bowl now.  Mix it in slowly at low speed or it will slosh.  If it’s still too warm to add, wait until it’s cooler and then do it.

Add the flour in half-cup increments, beating after each addition. 

Take the bowl from the mixer and stir in one cup chocolate chips by hand.

Spread the batter evenly into a greased 9-inch by 13-inch pan.  Bake it at 350F for 25 minutes or until it feels firm on the top.

Remove the pan from the oven and sprinkle it with the remaining two cups of chocolate chips.  Immediately cover the pan with a piece of heavy-duty foil (or whatever I have) or a cookie sheet.  Let it sit for three minutes.  Then take off the cookie sheet or foil, and spread out the melted chips like frosting with a rubber spatula or frosting knife.  (Note: because I use chips that are larger than the usual semisweet chip, I let it sit a little longer to melt.)

Cool completely and then cut into brownie-sized pieces.