Recipes with vegetable shortening

Moist two-layer chocolate cake with a bright orange zest frosting. Boiling water in the batter creates an extra-tender crumb. Drizzle with orange liqueur for special occasions.

Party date cake is a big-batch chocolate date loaf topped with sugar, chopped nuts, and chocolate chips. Served warm in slices with whipped cream for a crowd-sized dessert.

Lemon pucker-up slice-and-bake cookies with fresh lemon zest and juice, a hint of nutmeg, and a crisp, buttery edge. Make the dough ahead and freeze for baking anytime.

Old-fashioned shortening pie crust with just four ingredients. This no-fuss pastry dough cuts together fast, rolls out easy, and bakes up tender and flaky every time.

Homemade pancakes from scratch using six pantry staples like flour, milk, and one egg. This no-fuss batter cooks up light, fluffy, and golden on a hot griddle, no buttermilk or boxed mix required.

Soft, pillowy drop cookies bursting with fresh orange juice and grated zest, made with buttermilk and just 2 tablespoons of sugar in the whole batch. A bright, citrusy diabetic-friendly treat ready in 30 minutes.

Glazed chocolate mint cookies: thin, crisp rolled cookies made with melted mint chocolate chips in the dough, then half-dipped in a glossy mint chocolate glaze. Like a homemade Thin Mint.

Rich chocolate layer cake with applesauce folded into the fudge base. Four layers split from two 8-inch rounds, frosted with fluffy apple cream or apple fluff for an elegant finish.

Double Decker Brownies Using Basic Cookie Mix recipe

Heritage recipe for homemade dried yeast patties made from sourdough starter, rye flour, cornmeal, and ginger. An old-world self-sufficiency skill for bakers who want to make their own leavening from scratch.

Classic chocolate chip cookies with butter-flavored Crisco, brown sugar, and walnuts. Crispy edges and chewy centers in 30 minutes. Makes 3 dozen cookies perfect for any occasion.

Gloreos, a homemade copycat Oreo: deep-chocolate cake-mix cookies sandwiched with a fluffy vanilla cream filling. The gelatin-set filling stays firm, just like the real thing. A fun batch-bake for cookie lovers.

Gingerbread is my all-time favorite. This is one of my most-loved recipes for making gingerbread. The spices add just enough hint, and it's delicious.

Flour-dredged chicken browned and baked until tender, then finished with heavy cream, plump oysters, and slivered almonds. A classic, old-world surf-and-turf casserole.

Homemade flour tortillas made with just flour, salt, lard, and water. Soft, blistered tortillas in three sizes from a 4-ingredient dough that beats anything store-bought.

Old-fashioned slice-and-bake butterscotch cookies loaded with brown sugar and chopped nuts. Chill the dough in a log, slice into rounds, and bake in just 10 minutes.