chef-splain me about cookie sheets!

freemonkey · #1 12-10-2011, 11:58 PM

I need some new ones but I'm confused about what are the bestest ones. I bought some, 3 different kinds, but am considering taking two back (I already used 2 others so I hafta keep 'em.

Flat ones or tray-type ones with sides?

Shiny aluminum ones or dark nonstick ones? Shiny or cat-tongue-feeling-ish non-stick?

What else?

chunksmediocrites · #2 12-11-2011, 12:11 AM

Are you using a cookie sheet specifically for cookies? How often do you use it? What kind of lifetime are you looking for on this?

I am pretty lazy and don't like to A) scrub burnt stuff off of a sheet pan, and B) don't like to worry about damaging teflon surfaces, which are usually more expensive. So I cheat and buy a roll of parchment paper for baking. This paper can be re-used at least a couple times and is relatively inexpensive, easy to cut to size, and great for cookies, as well as general hearth baking- for example I bake pizza in my oven on a pizza stone, but hate having to worry about getting stuff burnt to the surface of the stone. Parchment paper works great for this and I have no problems.

Parchment paper can handle a 500 degree oven for a very reasonable amount of time and will only brown slightly.

So my sheet pans are usually aluminum ones of various sizes, that are relatively cheap. I like them with sides instead of flat so I can bake anything that might be runny on them as well and not have to worry about stuff dripping off, or picking them up and having baked goodies slide off.

lisarea · #3 12-11-2011, 12:19 AM

I have no readily accessible explanation now, but I wishlisted this baking sheet a while back when I was carefully researching a new baking sheet.

So, you know, I can tell you it was carefully researched. I cannot tell you how, though.

Also, you can go to any restaurant supply store and get a sturdy, good quality cookie sheet too. You just have to make sure it'll fit inside your oven. This is another option I remember from my extensive research.

freemonkey · #4 12-11-2011, 12:35 AM

yeah, mostly for cookies, but sometimes for homemade dog biscuits or for things that need a tray to hold them.

I did not realize parchment paper could be reused a few times. That makes it a bit more economical than I thought it was.

My old pans were flat ones with the air-cushion feature (which I don't know if that made a difference) and I did sometimes have trouble with keeping things on them. And though they are non-stick, that quality seems to go away after awhile. Especially if you forgot you left them in the hot oven with stuff stuck to them.

I'm thinking I'll return the flat ones.

freemonkey · #5 12-11-2011, 12:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lisarea

I have no readily accessible explanation now, but I wishlisted this baking sheet a while back when I was carefully researching a new baking sheet.

So, you know, I can tell you it was carefully researched. I cannot tell you how, though.

Also, you can go to any restaurant supply store and get a sturdy, good quality cookie sheet too. You just have to make sure it'll fit inside your oven. This is another option I remember from my extensive research.

Oh, crap. That, I think, is one of the ones that was on sale, BOGO, at Fred Meyer today. I just don't remember if it was non-stick or aluminum. I got the WearEver ones instead.

I was also just now doing research and learned about the restaurant supply thing. I'll go to the one that's nearby on Monday.

I really wish I could return the ones I got from Target, but those are the ones I used. Those cookies got too done on the edges and not enough in the middles.

livius drusus · #6 12-11-2011, 02:21 AM

I have two of those Nordic Ware half sheets because Cook's Illustrated told me to buy them and I do everything Cook's Illustrated tells me to do. I love them utterly. I also have a Silpat for each one, obviating the need for parchment paper while ensuring clean-up remains embarrassingly easy.

freemonkey · #7 12-11-2011, 03:58 AM

Grrrrr....... I should have asked here first. :tmangry1:

Does the silicone thingie have to be a SilPat, or are there other good ones?

Qingdai · #8 12-11-2011, 04:06 AM

I absolutely hated using the silpats and the like. They never washed well and were always greasy. They stuff I made on them was also difficult to remove.

livius drusus · #9 12-11-2011, 04:24 AM

They do have a greasy feel to them, it's true, even after you hose them down, but I think that may be by design. I've never had anything stick to them, not even fudge. What on earth were you doing to your Silpats, Q?

livius drusus · #10 12-11-2011, 04:25 AM

freemonkey, I'm sure Silpat is just the most famous brand. I got mine from my mother, so I didn't research them myself.

freemonkey · #11 12-11-2011, 06:12 AM

ell, I made a trip back to the store so I could get the BOGO deal on a couple more cookie sheets. I got 2 of these flat Nordic Ware cookie sheets, except in large and another of the Wear Ever ones. I used the BOGO for that one on a set of 3 stacking cooling racks.

They didn't have any silicone pads, but I got a roll of parchment paper. Can I use that on the flat sheets with no sides without setting my oven on fire again?

I will commence testing tomorrow, probably.

Qingdai · #12 12-11-2011, 07:09 AM

Yes, you can cut parchment to any shape you like just don't let it over hang.

I don't know liv, I made cookies. They ended up all strange and mushy, they feel apart, if I recall correctly. The same recipes worked fine on parchment paper. It was a basic sugar cookie holiday recipe and a ginger bread cookie. Perhaps it insulated the cookies from the heat in some way that changed the consistency.

vremya · #13 12-11-2011, 04:06 PM

I have a couple of half sheet pans and I adore them. They don't have any special coating or anything, but I do use parchment paper on them when I bake cookies. It makes removal tons easier. I have a couple of insulated ones, but I don't like those as much because cookies don't brown very nicely on them.

freemonkey · #14 12-11-2011, 07:06 PM

Preliminary results are in: I made a small batch of chocolate chip cookies. The best results were on the Wear Ever non-stick pan with parchment. Second best was the Nordic Ware with parchment. The Wear Ever without parchment got a little burned, but to be fair, I baked that pan with half on top of parchment and half without. If I reduced the baking time, those cookies would have been OK.

I did not bake any on the Nordic Ware without parchment.

The verdict? I will keep these pans and return the Calphalon Classics that I did not use (they are as thin as the Nordic Ware, but they bounce and boing when you shake them). I will also return the Wilton non-stick I got from Target, even though I used one. They were awful, the cookies were burned on the edges, but not done in the middles.

BrotherMan · #15 12-11-2011, 07:31 PM

Janet · #16 12-14-2011, 12:14 AM

Be careful using parchment paper on cookie sheets without sides. It has a tendency to slide. One day I turned a pan and the parchment paper didn't turn with it and about half a pan full of cookies fell off the edge of the stove onto my messenger bag. That was why I asked for cookies sheets with sides for my last birthday. Much, much easier.

Kyuss Apollo · #17 12-14-2011, 10:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lisarea

I have no readily accessible explanation now, but I wishlisted this baking sheet a while back when I was carefully researching a new baking sheet.

So, you know, I can tell you it was carefully researched. I cannot tell you how, though.

Plus that cookie sheet has no 1 star reviews.

Thats heapin' quality there, heapin'! I just wishlisted it!

LadyShea · #18 12-14-2011, 03:07 PM

I use whatever cookie sheets are cheapest because my Silpat does all the hard stuff.

freemonkey · #19 12-20-2011, 03:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Janet

Be careful using parchment paper on cookie sheets without sides. It has a tendency to slide. One day I turned a pan and the parchment paper didn't turn with it and about half a pan full of cookies fell off the edge of the stove onto my messenger bag. That was why I asked for cookies sheets with sides for my last birthday. Much, much easier.

Today I exchanged one of the Nordic Ware sheets for a small aluminum Nordic Ware pan which fits perfectly in my toaster oven. I'll probably be looking into a silicone sheet for it soon.

I baked lots of cookies this weekend and every time I took that flat sheet/parchment paper combo out of the oven I had to be extra careful. The WearEver pans I have worked beautifully, so they'll be the number 1 go-to pans.