High altitudes make cookies spread in the pan, cakes fall, and few baked goods turn out as they do at sea level. This bi-weekly column presents recipes and tips that make baking in the mountains successful.

Egg shortages and their inflated prices are a bummer, so I’m turning to recipes that don’t use them, like these two cookies. One, elegant and refined, stars a delicate crisp shortbread crust topped with chocolate (optional), sweet jam, and almonds. The other, with a chocolate-coffee flavor and hazelnut undertones, is a sophisticated take on the classic snowball cookie, an American favorite. Both are delicious on their own and, when paired on a cookie tray, yield delightful contrasts in tastes and textures. 

Jam-crowned shortbread squares

Make in an 8×8 inch square shiny metal baking pan. Recipe works at any elevation. Be sure to use a thick jam. The chocolate layer is optional but adds wonderful richness.

• 1 cup bleached all-purpose flour, spoon and level
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch or more all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, preferably superfine
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, in small pieces
• 1 teaspoon vanilla paste or extract
• 2 ounces dark chocolate, optional
• 1/2 cup thick jam or preserves
• 2-3 tablespoons crushed sliced almonds

Get ready: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees with a rack in the center position. Line your pan with non-stick or regular aluminum foil, extending it several inches on two opposing sides to use as handles when removing the baked slab of cookies. Grease any exposed areas and all the regular aluminum foil with a baking spray that contains flour.

Make the dough: Place the flour, cornstarch, sugar, and salt in a food processor and pulse to combine. Add the butter and vanilla, and pulse until large, moist curds form. 

Bake: Dump the dough into the prepared pan and press it into a smooth, even layer. Prick it all over with a fork and bake until the dough is set and lightly colored, 25-30 minutes. While the dough bakes, stir the preserves so they’re fluid and finely chop the chocolate if you’re using it. 

Add jam: Remove the pan from the oven but leave the oven on. Immediately sprinkle the chocolate (if using) over the crust, leaving a quarter-inch edge uncovered. Top the chocolate with the preserves and scatter the almonds over them. Return the pan to the oven and bake another 10-15 minutes until the preserves are hot and form a few bubbles. Remove from the oven and cool completely in the pan on a rack.

Cool, cut, store: Use the foil handles to remove the uncut slab from the pan. Trim the edges, if necessary, then cut the slab into bars using a thin-bladed, sharp knife and slicing straight down. Serve or store, airtight, in a cool place, for 3-4 days.

Coffee-hazelnut rounds

Yields nineteen 1 1/2-inch cookies. Make on a shiny metal cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Recipe works at any elevation.

1 cup skinned hazelnuts 

1/4 cup granulated sugar, preferably superfine

3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon bleached all-purpose flour, spoon and level

2 tablespoons unsweetened natural cocoa powder

1 teaspoon instant espresso powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

8 tablespoons (one stick) unsalted butter

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar

Get ready: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees with a rack in the center position. 

Make the dough: Put all the dry ingredients (nuts through salt) in a food processor and pulse until the mixture is blended and the nuts are very finely chopped. Cut the butter into 16 pieces, add the butter and the vanilla and pulse until large clumps of moist dough form and no dry ingredients are visible at the bottom of the bowl. 

Form and chill balls: Roll pieces of dough into 1-inch diameter balls and place them 1 1/2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet. Put the baking sheet, with the cookies on it, in the freezer for about 20-30 minutes, until the balls are quite firm. (This helps prevent them from spreading while baking.)

Bake and cool: Bake until the cookies are set, but still soft when touched, 15-20 minutes (depending on how cold they were when placed in oven). The bottoms should be baked through but not darkened. Don’t overbake or the cookies will be dry. Move the pan to a rack and, after 10 minutes, remove the cookies from the pan to cool completely.

Glaze, serve and store: Roll each cookie in confectioners’ sugar until well coated. Serve or store at cool room temperature for 4 days or freeze, wrapped, for a month. If frozen, add more confectioners’ sugar once they’re defrosted and ready for serving. 

Vera Dawson’s column “High Country Baking” publishes biweekly in the Summit Daily News. Dawson is a high-elevation baking instructor and author of three high-altitude cookbooks. Her recipes have been tested in her kitchen in Frisco, where she’s lived since 1991, and altered until they work at elevation. Contact her at veradawson1@gmail.com.