Living in the Colorado high country is pure joy. Baking in it isn’t. High altitude makes cookies spread in the pan, cakes fall, and few baked goods turn out as they do at sea level. This twice-monthly column presents recipes and tips to make baking in the mountains successful. 

Chili, chocolate and cinnamon, ingredients strongly associated with Mexican cuisine, star in the shortbread cookies and chocolate sauce on this cookie tray. All three flavor the cocoa cookies and chocolate sauce while cinnamon and brown sugar are the dominant tastes in the second shortbread. Both cookies are tasty, but a dipping in the spicy sauce, and paired with strawberries bathed in it as well, doubles their appeal. Add bowls of vanilla or coffee ice cream, drizzled with the sauce, to take the dessert to another level. It’s a perfect ending for a Cinco de Mayo celebration or any casual southwestern meal. 

Use whatever chili powder you like and decide how much of it to use. The ancho chili powder (which I opted for in the cookies and sauce) results in an additional depth of flavor and just a little heat. Increase the amount for a more pronounced taste. Chili and cayenne powders (much stronger than ancho) could be used as well; the choice is yours.

Chocolate sauce

Yields about 1 cup. Total time: 10 minutes.

• 2/3 cup heavy cream
• 4 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, in small pieces
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ancho or other chili powder
• Pinch salt
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract, optional

Instructions: Heat the cream to almost boiling in a microwave oven, remove it, add the chopped chocolate and butter, and set it aside until both melt. Stir to blend, then stir in the remaining ingredients until smooth and shiny. Cool and store, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Bring it to room temperature or slightly warmer to serve.

Cocoa shortbread

Yields 15 two-inch cookies. Prepare at least 1 day before serving.

Active time: 20 minutes Total time: 2 hours

• 1 cup unbleached flour, spoon and level
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ancho chili or other chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 5 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract or paste
• More sugar for topping

Get ready: Preheat oven to 300 degrees, with rack in the middle position. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Prepare the dough: Add all the dry ingredients to the bowl of a food processor and pulse to blend well. Cut the butter into small pieces, add them with the vanilla, and pulse until large moist clumps of dough form. Dump them out, knead them into a smooth dough, and form it into a disc.

Roll and cut dough: Place the dough disc between two sheets of waxed paper and roll to a thickness of 1/4 inch. If it’s sticky, chill the dough until firm enough to cut. Using a 2-inch cookie cutter, cut out cookies, re-roll the dough and cut more. Pierce the tops of the cookies with the tines of a fork, sprinkle on some granulated sugar and lightly press it into the tops. Place the cookies on your lined cookie sheet, 1 inch apart. Chill the cookies on the cookie sheet in freezer or refrigerator until very firm.

Bake, cool, and store: Bake until the cookies are set, crisp, and lift easily off the parchment paper, 27-35 minutes. Move them to cooling rack and cool completely. Store them, covered, at cool room temperature or in the ‘fridge for 5 days. 

Cinnamon shortbread

Yields 10 two-inch cookies.

Active time: 20 minutes Total time: 1 1/2 hours

1 cup plus 3 tablespoons unbleached flour, spoon and level

1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon table salt

8 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract or paste

Topping

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

Get ready: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees, with rack in the center position. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Prepare dough: See directions above. 

Roll and cut dough: See directions above but don’t sprinkle granulated sugar on top of cookies.

Bake and cool: Bake until the cookies are firm and their edges are lightly browned, 20-25 minutes. Cool completely on a rack

While cookies bake, make and add topping: Whisk all the ingredients in a small bowl until fully blended. Immediately, when the cookies come out of the oven, sprinkle the mixture on their tops and lightly press it in. Let cool them completely.

Store: Store, covered, for 5 days at cool room temperature or in the ‘fridge.