Cookies and Cold

Ok, so I am feeling a bit less than adventurous right now, this morning it was 19 degrees out when I got up, colder here in Charleston than in Manteo, Elizabeth City, or Chesapeake. I did break down last night and tie up to a dock and plugged the boat in, I had electric heat for a change, and even then, it kept the cabin warm, well 60 degrees, but definitely it was warmer than I would have been out on the anchor. I actually think I have dragged the cold with me, considering where I came from is warmer by a few degrees than where I am at.


Yesterday I obviously did not leave Charleston, it was too cold to think of being out in that wind, and so I spent the majority of the day on the boat trying my best to stay warm. One thing I did to add more heat to the cabin was fire up the oven, and since I had the oven going, I decided I'd make use of those extra BTU's and bake some cookies. I am not a really experienced cook, and have never professed to be a baker, so I chose a simple recipe that was about on a par with my skill level, and made sugar cookies. They were not bad. In fact, they might have actually been good, but they didn't last long enough to make that determination. I split the batch and gave a bunch to Clay and Mary, and the ones I kept were gone before night fall. I have found that sugar cookies go very well with a hot cup of tea, hot chocolate as well.




And so begins another day of trying to stay warm, but, the weather is supposed to break and we are scheduled to start our climb out of these very low temps in the next day or so. I hope all goes the way the forecasters say it will, because I really need to get this boat and me on down south before the next freeze settles in.

Sugar Cookies

Ingredients
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract


Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in egg and vanilla. Gradually blend in the dry ingredients.
Roll rounded teaspoonfuls of dough into balls, and place onto ungreased cookie sheets.
Bake 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden. Let stand on cookie sheet two minutes before removing to cool on wire racks