But she doesn’t mind rats so much. Valerie Lapinski, former Raven Radio Program Director was a long distance guest castaway on “Deserted Island” on Friday, March 15th 2013. She called in from her home in Brooklyn and describe the process of choosing just 10 songs to have if stranded, possibly forever, as “agonizing.” Well, Val’s pain is our gain, because this is an excellent selection of music…and the dessert is a tantalizing combination of sweet and salty cookie yummy. Beware: the cookies may inspire spontaneous marriage proposals! Here is a recording of the show, a list of Val’s 10 songs and the dessert recipe.
Bob Marley & The Wailers – Satisfy My Soul
Al Green – Love And Happiness
Hoagy Carmichael – Stardust
Harris, Ronstadt & Parton – After The Gold Rush
Bob Dylan – Simple Twist Of Fate
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Into My Arms – 2011 – Remaster
Elvis Presley – Blue Moon
David Bowie – Rock ‘N’ Roll Suicide – Live
James Brown – Get Up Offa That Thing
The Beatles – Dear Prudence
Chocolate Chunk Oatmeal Coconut Cookies
Makes about 2 dozen large cookies
Active Time: 20 minutes
Start to Finish: 1 Hour
When it comes to cookies, we prefer chunks of chocolate to chips. The irregular shapes and sizes of handchopped chocolate mean that some pieces melt and ooze while others hold their shape. Throw in some toasted almonds, sweet tendrils of coconut, and nubby old-fashioned oats, and you have what just may be the ultimate oatmeal cookie.
Ingredients
2 sticks (1/2 pound) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar (light or dark)
6 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose fl our
2 1/4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 1/2 cups finely shredded unsweetened dried coconut
12 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, cut into 1/2-inch chunks (about 2 cups; see Cook’s Note)
3/4 cup unblanched whole almonds, toasted and chopped
Instructions
1. Put racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 375°F. Lightly butter two large baking sheets.
2. Beat together butter and sugars in a large bowl with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy.
3. Beat in eggs.
4. Beat in vanilla, baking soda, and salt.
5. Beat in flour at low speed.
6. Stir in oats, coconut, chocolate, and almonds.
7. Place 1/4-cup mounds of dough about 3 inches apart on baking sheets (about 8 cookies per sheet), then gently pat down each mound to about 1/2 inch thick.
8. Bake cookies in batches, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until golden, 15 to 18 minutes.
9. Cool cookies on sheets for 1 minute, then transfer to racks to cool completely.
