ISO: fudgy, chewy brownies (what is shortening?)

Hi to all!! I'm beginning to bake brownies recently... and I've been trying lots of great recipes here at recipelink. However, most of the time, I do not get a fudgy chewy brownie (as the recipe promises), Instead I get a dense cakey brownie. What went wrong? and usually in such cases, my brownie mix before it goes into the oven is very dry.It tends to stick to the spoon and ends up in a big sticky clump on the baking pan. How can I improve this? and what is the ingredient "shortening"? How does it look like? And when the recipe says "vanilla extract", should I buy the vanilla in pweder form or in liquid form?? thx for all your help!!