I must admit, I was fully prepared to dislike these cookies. What, no chocolate? And all that baking powder! They're sure to be those kind of icky, spongy, dry cookies that are always the last ones to go at the potluck supper.

Well, I was wrong. These cookies are indeed light textured, and they're soft, but they're not spongy, dry or, least of all, icky. A very light cream-yellow, they're fine-textured and have a refreshing, lemony taste. -- P.J.H.

1 cup (7 ounces) granulated sugar
1/3 cup (2 1/4 ounces) vegetable shortening
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon lemon extract or 1/4 teaspoon lemon oil
1 cup 8 1/4 ounces) shredded zucchini (half of a medium-sized zucchini)
2 1/2 cups (10 5/8 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup (6 ounces) raisins
1/2 cup (2 ounces) chopped nuts

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, cream together the sugar and shortening, then beat in the eggs. Mix in the vanilla, lemon and zucchini.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, ginger and nutmeg. Combine the dry ingredients thoroughly with the wet ingredients, then stir in the raisins and nuts (walnuts, pecans or almonds are all good choices).

Drop the dough by teaspoonfuls onto a greased cookie sheet, and bake the cookies for 15 minutes in a preheated 375°F oven. Remove the cookies from the oven, and cool them on a wire rack. Yield: about 40 cookies.

Nutrition information per serving (1 cookie, made with walnuts, 27g): 85 cal, 2.8g fat, 1g protein, 9g complex carbohydrates, 5g sugar, 1g dietary fiber, 14mg cholesterol, 66mg sodium, 78mg potassium, 5RE vitamin A, 1mg vitamin C, 1mg iron, 42mg calcium, 29mg phosphorus.