Coconut Cranberry Chews

Coconut Cranberry Chews

Ingredients:
3/4 cup Butter, at room temperature
1 cup Sugar
1/2 tbsp freshly grated Orange Rind
1 tsp Vanilla
1 1/2 cup All-purpose Flour
1/2 tsp  Baking Powder
1/8 tsp Salt
3/4 cup dried Cranberries
3/4 cups sweetened Desiccated Coconut

Instructions:
Preheat regular or convection oven at 176°C.
Butter baking sheet, and place-in wax paper.
Soak dried cranberries in warm water for 10 minutes. Drain water and pat soaked cranberries dry with a paper towel. Set aside.
In a large bowl, add-in sugar, orange rind, and vanilla. Beat with a mixer until smooth on medium speed.
In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking powder, and salt.
Add to butter mixture, gently stir to mix, then beat on low speed about 5 minutes, until dough comes together.
Stir-in cranberries and desiccated coconut.
Shape dough into 1-inch balls and place about 2 inches apart on buttered baking sheet.
Bake in the oven until cookie edges just begin to brown, about 8 minutes.
Remove from oven and let cookies cool on sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer baked cookies to racks to cool completely.

Note:
Shorter baking time (about 8-9 minutes) will yield a chewier cookie; longer baking time (about 10-11 minutes) will yield a crispier cookie.

If baking two sheets at once in one oven, switch their positions halfway through baking.