@Apti ‍ - I used Crisco because that's what was in the recipe. They were left sitting at room temperature and I didn't change any ingredients. I don't think they were sitting in the sunlight, but I could be wrong. Guess I'll give them another shot and triple check everything.

@shanney54 - Crisco changed dramatically in 2010 because they were the one of the first shortening manufacturers to see the writing on the wall about getting rid of trans-fats because trans-fats are bad.  Cake decorators who used Crisco for 20-30 years have been gob-smacked by the change in recipes if they haven't used the new, non-trans-fat version of Crisco.