Malky Mackay guided the Staggies back up the A9 with three points in the bag.
However it was far from plain sailing after Dundee new boy Zak Rudden slammed past Laidlaw following some clever link up play from Paul McMullan and Jordan McGhee.
Dundee looked the more threatening of the two in the first half, but the County defence was strong enough to limit them to any clear-cut chances.
Just before half-time County cut the lead as Joseph Hungbo fired through the hands of Adam Legzdins who really should have made a comfortable save.
The cinch Premiership top scorer Regan Charles-Cook added another magnificent chapter to his remarkable turnaround story.
Stepping up to strike a penalty after Cammy Kerr was alleged to handle the ball inside the box, County fans were confident of taking the lead. A stuttered run up led to an easy save by Legzdins.
The graceful Grenadian didn’t squander his confidence and made amends for his miss when he latched onto a perfect through ball from Jordan White.
Calamitous defending from the 12th placed side caused Kerr and Ryan Sweeny to run into each other and allow ‘Cookie’ a one on one.
He finished with aplomb into the top left corner leaving Legzdins to bemoan the defence in front of him. The rocketed finish is arguably the best of Charles-Cook’s 11 goals this campaign.
A win at Dens gives the Staggies a sizable cushion of seven points from the play-off spot, and eight from the bottom placed hosts.
With eight matches still to be played before the split, Malky’s men are just four points away from the top six.
It is too early to dare to dream, but what once looked impossible at the start of the season is now a real possibility if this vein of form is maintained.
From being four points adrift with ten games played, to thinking about reaching the top half of the table is simply miraculous.
