To bake most cookies you need at least two good cookie sheets or baking sheets. (We use the terms interchangeably.) You need two for efficiency’s sake. You bake one sheetful, then when those cookies are done, you can pop in another sheetful without waiting for the first baking sheet to cool.
One way I quickly cool down a cookie sheet, by the way, is to hold it at one end with potholders and wave it back and forth until it cools. My dogs think I’m a little nuts, but the method works.
Don’t use flimsy cookie sheets. They warp and do not heat evenly, and can actually cause cookies to crack and/or burn. They also quickly discolor, meaning the cookie dough is touching baked-on grease instead of the pan. Some recipes for thin, wafer-type cookies simply will not work on flimsy cookie sheets.Get professional-quality cookie sheets, which are readily available at cookware shops, department stores, and online.
The newest option in bakeware is silicon, which comes in a variety of colors and is more flexible than metal. Silicon’s flexibility is a mixed blessing; it’s easier to remove muffins when you can twist the pan a bit, but it’s also easier to flip them onto the floor if you twist a bit too vigorously.
Baking sheets come without sides and with low sides. The ones without sides allow the air to circulate more evenly around the cookies. That said, we still prefer pans with sides–also commonly referred to as jelly-roll pans–because they can be used for baking drop cookies, pan and bar cookies, and sponge cakes.
For most cookies, we prefer to use a shiny, heavy aluminum cookie sheet. A good nonstick baking sheet can come in handy for wafers, meringues and other cookies that tend to stick to the pan, but its dark surface tends to burn most cookies around the edges and bottoms before they’re really cooked through the center. If you’re using nonstick pans, count on shorter baking times or lower the baking temperature by 25 degrees.
Insulated baking sheets consist of two layers of metal with a layer of air sandwiched between them. The air layer moderates the oven temperature, making cookies bake slowly and evenly. Cookies take a minute or two longer to bake on insulated sheets. In fact, if your oven tends to run a bit hot, an insulated baking sheet can help offset the temperature.
Baking sheets come in many different sizes. We’ve found that the sheets that measure about 12 by 17 inches are ideal. They’re large enough to hold 15 average drop cookies, but small enough to fit in most home ovens.
For pan cookies, you’ll want a 10-by-15-inch pan with sides as well. Many bars are baked in cake pans: choose a 9-by-13-inch pan, and an 8-inch and/or 9-inch square pan. (Cookies will tolerate a little “fudging” on pan sizes; if a recipe calls for an 8-inch pan, you often can make it work in a 9-inch pan, or vice versa.)
Many cookie recipes call for greasing the baking sheet. The easiest way to do this is to use nonstick cooking spray. Permanent silicon nonstick pan liners, for lining cookie sheets when you bake meringues or other sticky cookies, are optional, but great to have on hand. Another option for sticky cookies is baking parchment, available in cookware shops and some supermarkets.
Caring for cookie sheets is a snap. Once they’re cool, just wash them in hot sudsy water and rinse.
Cookie sheets, nonstick baking mats, and other bakeware is available online at reasonable prices from Candyland Crafts.
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