These are probably my favourite cookies. My best friend's mother, who is like a second mother to me, passed this recipe on to me after she found it in Sunset magazine. The recipe, submitted by Nancy Jamison of Woodside, CA, is rich and delicious with a sugary consistency. The cranberry adds a fruity tanginess and the orange peel really adds zest. Basically it's fabulous :)

PREP AND COOK TIME: About 1 hour

YIELD: About 6 dozen cookies

About 1 1/2 cups (3/4 lb.) butter or margarine, at room temperature

2 cups sugar

1 tablespoon grated orange peel

2 teaspoons vanilla

3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups dried cranberries

1 1/2 cups sweetened flaked dried coconut

(I also like to add white chocolate chips sometimes)

1. In a large bowl, with a mixer on medium speed, beat 1 1/2 cups of the butter, sugar, orange peel, and vanilla until smooth.

2. In a medium bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to the butter mixture, stir to mix, then beat on low speed for about five minutes until the dough is a soft and smooth blob. (Hint: make sure the dough isn't crumbly!) Mix in the cranberries and coconut (and possibly the white chocolate chips).

3. Shape the dough into 1-inch balls and place them about 2 inches apart on buttered or greased (butter preferably) 12- by 15-inch baking sheets.

4. Bake in a 350° regular or convection oven until the edges of the cookies just begin to brown, 8 to 11 minutes (a shorter baking time means chewier cookies, longer means crispier... I like to underbake these a little). If you're baking two sheets at once in one oven, switch their positions halfway through baking. Let the cookies cool on the sheets for 5 minutes, then use a wide spatula to transfer to racks to cool completely. (Careful... they're really soft and fragile!)

Per cookie: 92 cal., 45% (41 cal.) from fat; 0.7 g protein; 4.5 g fat (2.8 g sat.); 12 g carbo (0.4 g fiber); 58 mg sodium; 10 mg chol.

You can also add icing if you want... it's a bit of a sugar-overload for me :)

POWDERED SUGAR ICING

In a bowl, stir 2 cups powdered sugar, 1 1/2 tablespoons water, and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla until smooth. Tint to desired color by stirring in food coloring, a drop or two at a time. If icing is too thick to work with, stir in more water, a few drops at a time; if too thin, stir in more powdered sugar. Makes 2/3 cup.