vrcook wrote:
I was following support instructions for trying to re-index Recents folder in Spotlight which were published on this forum in response to an inquiry about that folder containing really old files. In the dragging process I lost Recents (darn finger slip). I no longer see it in Finder, and Spotlight also cannot find it. Can I reinstate/create a Recents folder?
?

Spotlight works most completely if you drag and drop the Macintosh HD

ref "Recents" folder in Finder is empty - Apple Community
Reboot if necessary...
A SafeBoot Use safe mode on your Mac - Apple Support will sort many anomalies
Does a quick disk repair before it fully boots up, and certain system caches get cleared and rebuilt, third party system modifications and system accelerations are disabled.
Reboot as normal and test. Caches get rebuilt automatically.