When you come from a family of good cooks, you pay attention when your sister sends you a recipe with “best ever” included in the title! If you’re not a coconut lover, don’t worry — the coconut is more about adding a chewy texture than flavor.
INGREDIENTS:
About 1 1/2 cups (3/4 lb.) butter, 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
METHOD:
In a large bowl, with a mixer fitted with a paddle beater on medium speed, beat 1 1/2 cups butter, sugar, orange peel, and vanilla until smooth.
In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to butter mixture, stir to mix, then beat on low speed until the dough comes together, about 5 minutes. (You must mix this dough until the dough is smooth and no longer crumbly.) Mix in cranberries and coconut.
Shape dough into 1-inch balls (a small disher or scoop is especially useful for creating exact portions) and place about 2 inches apart on parchment-lined 12 by 15-inch baking sheets.
Bake in a preheated 350°F oven until cookie edges just begin to brown, 8 to 11 minutes — shorter baking time will yield a chewier cookie; longer baking time will yield a crispier cookie.
If baking two sheets at once in one oven, switch pan positions halfway through baking. Let cookies cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes. Us a flexible wide spatula to transfer to racks to cool completely.
YIELD: Makes about 6 dozen cookies
SOURCE: Recipe adapted from a recipe originally published in Sunset Magazine
