Chocolate Alien Valentine Cookies

If you seriously believe the following can be accomplished in 10 minutes, preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.

In a medium-sized bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. In a large mixer bowl, beat together the heat-softened butter and the brown sugar until the mass is creamy. Add the half cup of rolled oats, and mix anew. Add the eggs one at a time, beating in each egg thoroughly until it is in unity.

In a small saucepan over a low heat, melt 2 1/4 cups of the chocolate chips, removing and returning the saucepan while stirring, until the chocolate is smooth. Or microwave it on low for 3-6 minutes.

In a small cup, dissolve the coffee crystals in 2 tablespoons of water. Add the vanilla extract. Add some rum flavoring if desired. Stir this thoroughly into the melted chocolate, then combine with the buttered-sugar mass, and beat until it's a uniform color.

Open the chocolate chip cookie mix. Gradually add the flour mixture, beating it in until it's well blended. Then add the shredded coconut, until it's doughy. Stir in (don't grind) the rest of the chocolate chips.

Drop rounded-tablespoon globs of the dough onto *ungreased* baking sheets, placing each about 1 inch apart. Top 1-2 pecan halves, shaping cookies into hearts or aliens. You may have to push in the pecans and wayward chocolate bits since nothing sticks to the cookie surface. Bake in the oven for 9-10 minutes, until puffy. Cookie tops should still look kind of raw. If they look done, they're overdone.

Leave them on the cookie sheets to cool (and cook through) for 10-20 minutes, then remove with a spatula to wire racks to cool completely, giving them a good half hour to solidify.