I line my half sheet pans with foil or parchment paper, that way I can just lift the entire sheet off at once, and re-use the sheet almost at once.
I got them at a restaurant supply store; they weren’t expensive at all, and they’re by far the best baking sheets I’ve used.
The only actual ‘cookie’ sheets I’ve had were ancient and probably not good quality even when brand new, so maybe I just have a prejudice against the sheets of that style (i.e., with an open edge, to facilitate cookie removal)
Ditto - Ditto - I use heavy weight restaurant style half sheet pans with Silpat silicone liners for cookies (as well as other things). I have 4 sets and I LOVE them!!! I used to use the insulated cookie sheets that Bill mentioned, and I keep them on hand for occasional use.
I got my cookie sheets from Bridge Kitchen in NYC, I love them. They have no sides at all. The short sides have about a half inch that flares up at an angle. They are very heavy gauge sillver aluminum.
Same as Patrincia and Mathew, but I have 8 sets (Chicago Metallic). Plus 8 more of the open ended sheets pans (Chicago Metallic, too), and 8 more round ones for Pizza!
Hmmm, that’s very interesting. I have 5 of these pans made by various vendors, including Chicago Metallic, and they are all EXACTLY the same in every way.
May I ask the exact reasons why CI gave the Chicago Metallic’s a lower rating?
May I ask the exact reasons why CI gave the Chicago Metallic’s a lower rating?
The following food tests were performed: cookies, jellyroll, oven fries, Chinese BBQ pork. CI’s comments for Chicago Metallic were as follows:
“Cookies and fries browned unevenly. Oil pooled at one end of pan after it warped under high heat while making fries; pan buckled a bit with pork, causing some hot fat to splash out as we moved pan. Rolled rim trapped dishwater.”
I am now realizing one of the reasons why I stopped subscribing to Cook’s Illustrated… I don’t always agree with their recommendations. I wonder if they were testing the heavy duty half sheet pans made by Chicago Metallic (???). I have NEVER, EVER experienced any kind of warping or uneven cooking with mine, and I use them for every kind of oven task immaginable. I’ve even roasted a turkey in one of those oven bags on one once (no warping then either). But they are kind of correct about the rolled rims - they can hold dishwater if you submerge the pan, but “trapped” is a too stong a word - the water comes right out when you tilt the pan (similar to what happens with the rolled rims of a cake pan or spring-form pan).
Well, thanks for posting Julius - I really appreciate your helpfullness!!
any pan, with silpat or other silicone liner… buy two.. one in the oven, while you remove your evenly baked cookies from the other….
these are soo good for all sorts of things..like spiced/candied nuts, cookies, tuilles, etc…
I personally, at work, only use parchment on plan ole sheet pans, but I rotate the cookies, and turn the covection oven’s fan, on and off, during the baking… ( and restaurant sheet pans, are typically, warped, pitted and in a state of general abuse)
Patrincia, I totally agree with you, and glad you asked for more details. Thanks Julius and Tiffany for posting the info.
CI is great literature, but of course, testing the pans for splash and uneven burn after the pan has warped? Who does this, this is beyond ‘actual’ baking.
Yes, CM has a line of commercial pans, those the ones I use. They DON’T warp, even when holding a 20 lb turkey or when placed directly on the oven shelf. Pay attention to the rolled rim, it is filled with a thick wire; the lower models not filled.
Yes, the rolled rim does trap water =( What I do is never use soap, and dry them on my dish rack upwards and upside down the next day, or I place them back on my hot oven and let the oven dry these babies (prefered method)
Most of my sheet pans and cookie pans are very old and darkened almost to black with carbonized grease. I can tell you that I don’t recommend dark-colored pans—they tend to burn the cookies!
I’ve been thinking about either replacing some of them, or perhaps taking a small powder sander to the heavier ones and cleaning them up. Sounds like work, though. Maybe I should just buy some new ones.
To me, it seems the common thread in postings so far has been - heavy pans, and use a liner. There seem to be varying preferences about edges.
I think my ideal would be to have two flat, heavy cookie sheets (so I could slide the cookies off them easily) and two heavy jelly-roll or sheet pans with edges for other sorts of baking. I wouldn’t bother with non-stick coatings—just use parchment or Silpat.
Thanks, Patrincia. I am loyal to my Chicago Metallics and I don’t see CI’s problem with them.
Now, the baking sheet that I have gotten rid off are the dark, nonstick ones that are made by Kitchen Aid. These ones buckled in the oven everytime I baked - yes, everytime. And as Barbara A said, the dark ones do burn cookies.
Hector - glad to know someone else uses the oven’s residual heat to dry pans. I do this too.
