Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) to get it ready for baking. In a large bowl, cream together 1 cup of softened butter, 1 cup of sugar, and 1/2 cup of brown sugar until they’re well combined and light in texture. Add 1 egg, 2 tablespoons of orange juice, and 1 teaspoon of orange zest to the creamed mixture, mixing well until everything is fully incorporated.

In a separate bowl, combine 2 1/2 cups of flour, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda, then stir together. Gradually add this dry mixture to the wet mixture, mixing until everything is well blended and forms a cookie dough.

Chop 2 cups of dried cranberries if desired, and fold them into the cookie dough by hand, ensuring they’re evenly distributed. Drop tablespoonfuls of the cookie dough onto prepared cookie sheets, spacing them appropriately to allow for spreading during baking.

Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden. Once baked, let the cookies sit on the cookie sheets for 2 minutes before transferring them to cooling racks to cool completely.

While the cookies are cooling, prepare the icing by mixing 1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar, 3 tablespoons of orange juice, and 1/2 teaspoon of orange zest in a medium bowl until the mixture is smooth. Drizzle the prepared icing over the cooled cookies.

Allow the icing to harden completely on the cookies. To speed up the hardening process, you can place the cookies in the freezer for a short period. Once the icing is set, store the cookies in an airtight container to maintain freshness.