We Did It! Alma Baking House Wins the 2026 Colfax Rise & Dive Cookie Competition 🏆🍪
- Alexandra Vera
- 3 minutes ago
- 5 min read
The Sesame Sational Cookie Brings Home Gold
Hi friends!
I am still smiling as I write this.
On Sunday, June 14, 2026, Alma Baking House was honored to win 1st Place in the Cookie Competition at the 2026 Colfax Rise & Dive Bake Off!
We competed against 12 amazing bakers, including both professional bakers and talented home bakers, and somehow our little cookie walked away with the championship.
This was especially meaningful to me because it was our first baking competition since winning Best Sandwich Cookie at Denver Bake Fest in 2024. Since then, we've spent countless hours baking, learning, experimenting, and growing. To come back into competition and earn another win feels incredibly special.
Honestly, I'm still processing it.
What is the Colfax Rise & Dive Bake Off?
If you've never been to a Rise & Dive event, it's one of the coolest things happening in Denver.
Hosted by the Colfax Business Improvement District (BID) (@colfaxaveden), the event combines a neighborhood bake-off with a dive bar crawl along one of Denver's most iconic streets.
Guests travel between venues, sample desserts, enjoy drinks, meet local bakers, and vote for their favorites.
This year's participating venues included:
Satellite Bar
Knob Hill Inn
Squire Lounge
Lion's Lair
Pete's Satire Lounge
The event was supported by some wonderful partners, including:
King Arthur Baking
Savageau Coffee & Ice Cream
Our cookie competition was held at Satellite Bar, right near the Colorado State Capitol, and it turned out to be the perfect setting for a day full of baking, laughter, and community.
The Three Challenges of Every Baking Competition
Whenever I enter a baking competition, I think about three things:
Creation
Execution
Presentation
Execution has always been one of Alma's strengths. I obsess over ingredients, consistency, texture, and flavor. Presentation is something I genuinely enjoy because I love creating experiences around food.
But creation?
Creation is hard.
Really hard.
Before every competition, Matthew and I spend weeks talking through ideas.
What should we make?
What's different?
What's memorable?
What's exciting?
Most importantly:
What will people still be thinking about after they've taken the last bite?
Because the truth is that baking competitions are filled with talented people. Many competitors bring recipes they've been perfecting for years. Some are family recipes passed down through generations.
You have to bring something special.
Introducing the Sesame Sational Cookie™
After weeks of brainstorming, testing, tweaking, and tasting, I finally landed on an idea that felt right.
A sesame cookie.
Not just any sesame cookie.
A cookie that celebrated flavors I love while still feeling playful and unexpected.
And so the Sesame Sational Cookie™ was born.
The cookie featured:
Brown butter
Premium Belgian chocolate
Fine salted butter
Toasted sesame seeds
A rich sesame butter topping
I wanted something that felt familiar but surprising.
Comforting but unique.
A cookie that made people stop and say:
"Wait... sesame? Why have I never had this before?"
The moment I tasted the final version, I knew we had something special.
A Competition Full of Great Bakers
One of my favorite parts of the event was seeing what everyone else created.
There were so many wonderful cookies.
Some featured fruit preserves and jellies.
Others highlighted chocolate, maple, oatmeal, or traditional family recipes.
There was even a beautiful alfajores cookie that reminded me of the incredible baking traditions found throughout Latin America.
Every baker brought creativity, passion, and personality to the competition.
Winning feels wonderful, but being surrounded by people who care deeply about baking was equally rewarding.
And Then Came the Announcement...
As the day went on, people sampled cookies, cast votes, chatted with bakers, and enjoyed everything that makes Colfax such a unique part of Denver.
Then the votes were counted.
The finalists were announced.
My heart started racing. Guys I always get so nervous and start to shake when it gets close to time. I feel silly because no matter what happens I should be grateful and happy. BUT....No I shake like a little girl.
And then...
🏆 ALMA BAKING HOUSE — 1ST PLACE COOKIE CHAMPION 🏆
The Sesame Sational Cookie had won.
I don't know if there's a graceful way to describe that moment.
I was excited.
I was grateful.
I was shocked.
And I was incredibly proud.
Not just of the cookie, but of everything it took to get there.
Every test batch.
Every failed idea.
Every late-night discussion.
Every small adjustment.
Suddenly it all felt worth it.
Why This Victory Matters
Awards are wonderful.
Winning is exciting.
But what means the most to me is what those moments represent.
This wasn't just a cookie competition.
It was a reminder of how far Alma Baking House has come.
When I started baking professionally, I dreamed of creating food that people would genuinely enjoy. I hoped I could build something that brought people together.
Moments like this remind me that we're doing exactly that.
Thank You
Before anything else, I want to thank:
Colfax Business Improvement District (BID)
Satellite Bar
King Arthur Baking
Savageau Coffee & Ice Cream
The event organizers
Every baker who participated
Every person who voted
All our friends!
Events like this don't happen without people who care deeply about local businesses and local communities.
Thank you for creating such a wonderful experience.
More Than a Competition
As exciting as it was to hear Alma Baking House announced as the winner, the trophy wasn't actually my favorite part of the day.
The people were.
One of the biggest surprises was how welcoming everyone was.
The other competitors were kind, encouraging, funny, and genuinely excited to talk about baking. What could have felt like a competition instead felt like spending an afternoon with friends.
I also want to give a huge thank you to the owners and staff of Satellite Bar.
They were incredible hosts and made us feel comfortable from the moment we arrived.
And then there were all of our friends.
People came from all over Denver to support us.
Some drove across town.
Some brought friends.
Some stayed for hours.
Some came just to give us a hug and tell us they were rooting for us.
Every single one of those moments meant the world to me.
I always tell people:
"The best thing about being in this business is that customers become friends, and friends become family."
That's exactly how I felt on Sunday.
I felt surrounded by family.
When I moved to Denver, I never imagined how many wonderful people I would meet through baking.
Over the years, customers became regulars.
Regulars became friends.
Friends became family.
Standing inside Satellite Bar, surrounded by smiling faces, fellow bakers, customers, supporters, and friends, I had one very clear thought:
Denver has become home.
This victory belongs to all of us.
To everyone who has ordered cookies.
To everyone who has visited a pop-up.
To everyone who has shared our posts.
To everyone who has encouraged me to keep baking.
Thank you for believing in Alma Baking House.
Thank you for supporting my dream.
And thank you for making Denver feel like home.
With all my love and gratitude,
Chef Ale ❤️
Championship Record
🏆 2024 Denver Bake FestBest Sandwich Cookie
🏆 2026 Colfax Rise & Dive Bake Off1st Place Cookie Competition — Sesame Sational Cookie™
Alma Baking House Good Cookies. Good People. Great Colfax. 🍪✨🏆
