Recipes with vegetable shortening

Small-batch walnut brownies baked in a loaf pan with cocoa powder, one egg, and vegetable shortening. Dense, fudgy, and scaled for two to four people instead of a crowd.

Toasted nut spice cake with brown sugar meringue baked right on top. Cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves in a moist sour milk batter, crowned with a crispy-chewy nut meringue layer that bakes alongside the cake.

Try this scrumptious pudding made with cake flour, cornstarch and a pinch of nutmeg.

Slice and bake gingersnap cookies with molasses, ginger, and cinnamon. Make the dough, freeze in logs, and bake fresh cookies anytime for up to six months.

Milk and honey casserole bread with whole wheat flour baked in a round dish instead of a loaf pan. A no-knead yeast bread with a soft, tender crumb sweetened with honey.

Holiday molasses crinkles are spiced sugar-coated cookies with cracked, snowy tops. The water-droplet trick guarantees that signature crinkled surface every time. Soft inside, slightly crisp at the edges.

Beginner-friendly no-fail pie crust with just four ingredients: flour, shortening, salt, and cold water. A flaky, tender single 9-inch crust ready in 20 minutes for any pie, sweet or savory.

Ice Box Cookies: Ice box cookies are a boon for the busy person because they can be prepared in advance and stored in the freezer until needed. Just slice and bake when desired, and you have a great home made cookie.

Chewy oatmeal raisin cookies sweetened with honey and a hint of orange zest. A soft, golden drop cookie made with oats, raisins, and a double sweetener base.

Mom's homemade bread rolls with a soft, pillowy crumb from a simple milk and shortening dough. Three rises build deep flavor and airy texture in these old-fashioned dinner rolls.

Virginia corn pones made with cornmeal, buttermilk, and shortening, shaped into oblong patties and baked golden at high heat. A classic Southern cornbread with no flour and no eggs.

Pumpkin nut cake baked directly in sealed canning jars for long storage. Warmly spiced pumpkin-walnut cake with cloves, cinnamon, and allspice. A giftable holiday treat.

Soft molasses cookies use sour cream and a generous pour of molasses for the pillow-soft texture grandmas swore by. Spiced with ginger and nutmeg, rolled and cut from a chilled dough.

Boiled fruit cake with raisins, currants, mixed fruit, and warm spices like allspice, cloves, and cinnamon. An eggless, no-butter fruit cake thats dense and deeply spiced.

Moist applesauce bread with cinnamon, nutmeg, and a cup of chopped nuts. A simple quick bread loaf that uses pantry staples and bakes in under an hour.

Old fashioned ginger muffins made with molasses, cinnamon, cloves, and ground ginger. A cup of hot water creates a tender, moist crumb that tastes like classic gingerbread in muffin form.

Classic short pastry crust with cold butter and shortening cut into flour. The flaky, buttery, all-purpose pie shell that works for sweet pies, quiches, and tarts alike.

Orange molasses quick bread with chopped nuts, orange zest, and evaporated milk. A dense, aromatic loaf with deep caramel sweetness and bright citrus.

The ultimate chocolate chip cookie with brown sugar, butter-flavored shortening, and pecans. Choose your style: bake 8 minutes for soft and chewy or 13 minutes for golden and crisp.

Fun confetti cake with chocolate chips baked in, topped with colorful marshmallows and drizzled chocolate frosting. A semi-homemade party cake kids can't resist.

Soft cream cheese cookies studded with pecans and swirled with apricot preserves, topped with matching apricot frosting and coconut for pillowy sweetness.

Sugar-free apple cookies sweetened with Sweet'N Low and grated fresh apples, warmed with cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. A diabetic-friendly cookie that bakes in 8 minutes.

Savory Creole corn muffins packed with cheddar, American cheese, red bell pepper, pimiento, and onion. Golden, cheesy, and ready in under an hour.

Intensely fudgy brownie cookies loaded with chocolate chips and cocoa. Brown sugar and a short bake time keep these thick, chewy, and soft in the center. The key: pull them before they look done.

Maple syrup corn bread made with yellow cornmeal, wheat flour, and real maple syrup instead of sugar. A quick, lightly sweet corn bread baked in 20 minutes.

Mocha toffee crescents are buttery espresso-laced shortbread cookies studded with toffee chips, shaped into crescents and dipped in dark chocolate. Cookie tin showstoppers.

Old-fashioned hickory nut drop cookies with sour milk, raisins, and chopped nuts in a soft, cakey dough. A heritage Midwest recipe with buttery, wild nut flavor.

Chocolate cookies with white chocolate chips and chopped nuts. The reverse chocolate chip cookie: dark cocoa dough studded with sweet white chips and toasted pecans, walnuts, or almonds.

Quick ground beef gumbo made with condensed chicken gumbo soup, bouillon, and green pepper. A shortcut weeknight version served over rice or on toasted buns.

Classic baked lasagna layered with ground beef tomato sauce, cottage cheese, mozzarella, and cheddar. The kind of hearty, cheesy, from-scratch comfort food that brings everyone to the table.

Old-fashioned Southern chicken and dumplings with rolled flat dumplings (not drop biscuits). Whole simmered chicken, onion broth, and a splash of milk for silky pot pie texture.

Dense, moist brown sugar pound cake baked low and slow in a tube pan with maple flavoring and chopped pecans. A full package of brown sugar gives this Southern-style cake its deep caramel richness.

Chewy brown sugar cookies loaded with green candy-coated chocolate pieces. A fun, festive cookie for St. Patrick's Day baking that makes 3 dozen in just 30 minutes.

Crispy flaquitos with seasoned ground beef, cumin, garlic, and melted cheese rolled in flour tortillas and deep-fried until golden. A crunchy Mexican appetizer or snack.

Scottish oat cakes combine rolled oats, bran flakes, and flour with shortening for crisp, hearty rolled biscuits ready in 30 minutes. A traditional teatime cake from the Highlands.

French onion soup scaled for catering with slow-cooked onions in beef stock topped with toasted bread and Parmesan. A large-batch recipe built for feeding a crowd.

Hickory nut cake is an old-fashioned American layer cake with chopped hickory nuts, maraschino cherries, and a hint of unsweetened chocolate, finished with a fluffy almond-vanilla buttercream frosting.

Duchess spice cake with cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves topped with maple buttercream frosting. A warmly spiced buttermilk layer cake with old-fashioned charm.

Monastery of Angels Brown Bread is a whole wheat yeast bread with carob powder and sesame seeds - deeply nutty, dense, and worth every minute of the double rise. Makes 2 loaves.

Microwave chocolate cake topped with gooey halved marshmallows and smothered in rich chocolate frosting. Ready in under an hour with zero oven time. A kid-friendly crowd-pleaser.

Easy applesauce nut bread is a 10-ingredient quickbread with chunky walnuts, cinnamon, and a single can of applesauce for moisture. One bowl, one loaf pan, one hour in the oven.

Mandelbreit is a Jewish almond bread sliced twice-baked style with three fillings: cocoa, walnuts, and candied fruit. Aging the rolls in foil for a week deepens the flavor.

A rich cocoa bundt cake with a sweet coconut macaroon filling swirled through every slice and finished with chocolate glaze. Two classics, one spectacular cake.

Spiced chocolate prune cake with buttermilk and cinnamon, topped with a glossy cooked chocolate fudge frosting. Soaked prunes keep every slice impossibly moist.

Buttery thumbprint cookies with brown sugar and vanilla, filled with a dot of raspberry jam. A diabetic-friendly treat that's ready in 30 minutes with just 7 simple ingredients.

Spiced applesauce bars studded with raisins and walnuts, topped with decorative walnut halves before baking into soft squares.

A classic white layer cake made with egg whites for a pure, snowy crumb. Tender, light, and vanilla-scented, ready for your favorite frosting.

Sheet-pan banana bread baked in a 9x13 pan for a thinner, crustier slice with soft, banana-packed crumb. Uses a sour milk trick for extra tenderness. Serves 6.