Recipes with vegetable shortening

Granny Smith applesauce tarts with golden hot-water pastry shells filled with honey-sweetened, lemon-brightened chunky applesauce. A lighter, old-fashioned dessert.

It was nice and moist, if a tad on the heavy side. The recipe is actually for cupcakes, but can make one big layer. The frosting is outstanding, a definite keeper.

Holiday gingersnaps with crackled sugar tops, deep molasses warmth, and a full tablespoon of ground ginger for serious snap. Chilled dough rolls into tidy balls that bake up crisp at the edges and chewy in the center.

Spicy tamale pie with simmered beef chuck and pork shoulder, dried chile gravy, raisins, and olives under a cornmeal masa-style crust. Tex-Mex history on a plate.

Sopa de Albondigas, a traditional Mexican meatball soup with beef and pork meatballs mixed with rice, simmered in a tomato beef broth. A hearty, comforting bowl of homemade soup.

Jam Jams are old-fashioned sandwich cookies made with brown sugar and corn syrup, rolled and cut, then filled with apple butter or raspberry jam.

Crispy pantry tuna patties with celery, scallions, and soft breadcrumbs, pan-fried golden and served with a quick lemon sour cream sauce. Pantry dinner that doubles as next-day cold lunch.

Chewy oatmeal cookies loaded with white chocolate, semi-sweet chocolate, candied cherries, and toasted almonds. A bakery-style drop cookie with almond extract for extra depth.

Chewy brownie cookies stuffed with chocolate chips and an optional handful of nuts. Soft, fudgy, and ready in 30 minutes for a brownie-meets-cookie hybrid that disappears fast.

Hot fudge cake that bakes its own chocolate sauce underneath. A cocoa batter with a sugar-cocoa-water mixture poured on top creates a self-saucing pudding cake in 40 minutes.

Veal grillades and grits, a classic New Orleans Creole brunch dish. Flour-dusted veal steaks browned and baked in a rich tomato-pepper gravy, spooned over creamy grits.

This layer cake brings together the sweet and tender flavors of bananas with the rich and nutty taste of toasted walnuts, all layered together in a moist and delicious cake. This heavenly creation is perfect for those who love the combination of fruit and nuts, and it's a great way to use up those overripe bananas sitting on your counter.

White Christmas Cookies with Nut and Raisin recipe

Moist chocolate cupcakes piped with creamy peanut butter filling, then topped with swirls of the same sweet cream cheese frosting for spooky Halloween treats.

Peanut butter pinwheel cookies with a melted chocolate swirl rolled jelly-roll style and sliced into rounds. A slice-and-bake cookie with a stunning spiral pattern in every bite.

Diabetic-friendly orange cookies sweetened with sugar substitute and raisins instead of sugar. Bright with orange juice and zest, studded with raisins, and ready in 35 minutes.