JMB wrote...
>where minimum and maximum are named cell references
>
>=COUNTIF(A7:A17,">"&Minimum)-COUNTIF(A7:A17,">"&Maximum)
....

That includes entries in A7:A17 equal to Maximum but not equal to
Minimum. If the OP wants to include both bounds in the count,

=COUNTIF(Rng,">="&Min)-COUNTIF(Rng,">"&Max)

If the OP wants to exclude both min and max bounds from the count,

=COUNTIF(Rng,">"&Min)-COUNTIF(Rng,">="&Max)

To include items equal to min but exclude items equal to max,

=COUNTIF(Rng,">="&Min)-COUNTIF(Rng,">="&Max)