#MEwx Cold with a snow shower possible and Colonial Dipping Sticks

Good morning Augusta

I have a wireless personal weather station broadcasting live where you can view real time weather readings from it by clicking here.

This morning it is mostly cloudy with a chance of snow showers, turning partly sunny this afternoon. Highs in the lower 30s with North winds around 10 mph during morning hours becoming light and variable.

Tonight we’ll have partly cloudy skies with Lows around 12°F. Winds will be light and variable.

We’ve received an additional 1½  to 2 inches of snow here over the past 24 hours.

The wind velocity is between 0.0 MPH and 6.5 MPH from the North Northeast.

The Relative pressure is 29.76, the Absolute pressure is 29.56 and rising with a weather graphic indicating sun and some clouds.

Visibility is 10/0 miles / 16.1 kilometers with mostly cloudy skies at the moment.

The humidity is 97%, the outdoor temperature is 22.6°F, the dewpoint is 21.9°F and the wind chill is 22.6°F.

The UV index is 0 placing the average person at low risk and the solar radiation reading is 10.5W/m2. Sunrise is 7:00 AM, sunset is 4:01 PM and we’ll have 9 hours 1 minutes of daylight today. Moonrise is 12:04 AM and Moonset is  12:34 PM. The moon phase is waning crescent and is 47% illuminated. Our next Full Moon is on December 26 and our next new moon will be on December 12.

 

Colonial Dipping Sticks

by American Heritage® Chocolate

Colonial Americans loved chocolate cake, but it isn’t the same chocolate cake we eat today. Early Americans dipped biscuits into a rich hot chocolate drink just before eating them and called that chocolate cake.

This Recipe makes 36 dipping stick cookies

Ingredients

6 ounces American Heritage® Collectible Tin OR SillyCow Hot Cocoa Mix, or other good hot cocoa mix

2 cups plus 3 tablespoons butter, room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 egg, whisked

4 cups flour

2/3 cup chopped roasted almonds

½ cup dried cranberries

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

Step 1

Planning ahead:

Freeze the dough: Shape the dough into three 5”x12” pieces and wrap them tightly with plastic wrap. Freeze the dough for up to 2 months. When you are ready to bake, thaw the dough overnight in your refrigerator. Sprinkle both sides of the dough with the cinnamon sugar, cut into sticks and bake.

 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Set the oven rack to the center.

Step 2

In a large bowl, cream the butter, ½ cup of sugar and salt until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the egg and blend. Slowly add the flour, one cup at a time. Mix well and scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Stir in the chocolate, almonds and cranberries. Divide the dough into equal three pieces and set aside.

Step 3

Combine the remaining ½ cup of sugar with the cinnamon. Sprinkle 1/8 cup of the sugar mixture on a clean work surface. Using your fingers or a rolling pin, press the dough into a 5”x12” rectangle, ¼-inch thick. Sprinkle another 1/8 cup of the sugar mixture over the top of the dough, covering it completely. Cut 12 strips, 1-inch wide and place them on a non-stick cookie sheet. Repeat this process with the remaining two pieces of the dough and cinnamon sugar.

Step 4

Bake the cookies until the dough firms up and turns light golden brown, approximately 16 minutes. Remove the baking cookie sheets from the oven and set on a cooling rack. Cool the cookies on the pan before transferring them to an airtight container.