Recipes with vegetable shortening

Banana Coconut Bread with rum-soaked currants, warm cinnamon and fresh nutmeg, and sweetened coconut baked into the loaf and crisped on top. A deeply flavored tropical quick bread.

Basic chocolate cake made with melted unsweetened chocolate, buttermilk, and cake flour for a moist, tender two-layer cake. A reliable foundation for any frosting.

Jamaican banana bread made with ripe mashed bananas, shortening, and vanilla. A simple, no-frills loaf with a moist crumb and deep banana flavor.

Tamale dough made with pureed chili colorado, corn kernels, and hominy for deeper flavor than plain masa. Pliable, spoonable, ready to wrap in corn husks.

Easy homemade pie crust with a vinegar-and-egg dough that stays flaky and tender. Uses both margarine and shortening for a workable pastry that rolls out without cracking.

Showstopper pecan pie with homemade toffee crunch, caramel sauce drizzle, and pastry-leaf crust decoration. A Thanksgiving centerpiece that earns every compliment.

Soft banana oatmeal cookies packed with walnuts, warm spices, and a tangy mashed-banana frosting. Old-fashioned cookies with a fruity lemon-bright finish.

Soft banana oatmeal cookies packed with walnuts, warm spices, and a tangy mashed-banana frosting. Old-fashioned cookies with a fruity lemon-bright finish.

Mom's best cake doughnuts: old-fashioned fried cake doughnuts with cinnamon and nutmeg in the dough. Crisp outside, tender inside, ready in 30 minutes.

No-bake bonbon cookies built from crushed vanilla wafers, cocoa, walnuts, and a splash of Southern Comfort, then dipped in chocolate. Chilled overnight, served cold, gone by morning.

Black chocolate Bundt cake with coffee, honey, and a crack of black pepper, draped in a semi-sweet ganache glaze with Grand Marnier. Deep, complex, and show-stopping.

Irish soda bread made with sour cream, raisins, and currants. A tender, cake-like loaf baked in a casserole dish with no yeast and no kneading required.

Chocolate roll-out cookies with cocoa in the dough and a tinted decorator's frosting. Cut into holiday shapes and decorate for Christmas cookie trays and gift boxes.

Hawaiian brownie cookies rolled in flaked coconut with chocolate chips, cocoa, and brown sugar. Fudgy cookie balls with a toasted coconut coating baked in under 10 minutes.

This coffee cake, moist and spicy, with a buttery streusel topping, is perfect with a cup of hot coffee or tea.

Flaky Chinese onion pancakes stuffed with chicken, Chinese sausage, dried shrimp, and barbecued pork. Crispy outside, savory layered inside. Northern dough meets southern filling.