Dining and Cooking
I learned my lesson: parchment paper/baking mats DO make a difference!
In Baking

I learned my lesson: parchment paper/baking mats DO make a difference!


I never bothered to put down parchment paper or a silicone baking mat when I made cookies. I thought my cookies always turned out fine without them, so I always just put my cookies directly on the baking sheet. I was making shaped sugar cookies today, which I don’t make often, and I noticed that the bottoms were getting more browned than I’d like. I thought, “ok fine, I’ll try it”, so for the next batch I used a silicone baking mat. And they came out perfect! I can’t believe I’ve been so dumb and lazy all these years. I’m never going back!

The left cookie was placed directly on the pan, and the right cookie was placed on the silicone baking mat. The left cookie actually baked for even less time, but still got browner.

by saxahoe

16 Comments

  1. Bodidiva

    Silicone and parchment make a difference in cookie spreading too. Silicone spreads more.

  2. peachteaisthebest

    Off topic but those are cute, lol.

  3. Simple-Mulberry64

    one on the left looks scrumptious tho

  4. sarcasmsmarcasm

    Took me about 45 years to give in to that realization. Congrats on your success!

  6. UsernamesAreRuthless

    Damn, I’ve always noticed something was different with the parchment paper but couldn’t put my finger on it! Thanks for this

  7. Intrepid-Category-24

    but they look good with the different textures

  8. Ancient-City-6829

    they make a huge difference. I’ll omit them if i want more browning though. Like if im roasting potatoes or something

  12. The-Berzerker

    I have never not used parchment paper when I am doing anything in the oven (unless it‘s in a separate baking form maybe). Is it an American thing to not use it? What are y‘all doing

  13. Western_Emergency222

    I can’t believe it took me so long to try parchment paper- now I can’t live without it!

  14. broken0lightbulb

    Using dark steel pans by chance? Those tend to be the most aggressive browners. Thin aluminum don’t tend to brown quite as hard without parchment/silicone.

  15. Comprehensive_Ad4567

    I get my best results for cut out cookies with the perforated silicon mats – the cookies bake more evenly, and I see a noticeable reduction in the amount of spread.

    I use parchment for every other type of cookie, I just find that they work better than the “solid’ silicone mats.

  16. inspiredtotaste

    Perforated mats are even better for a very even bake!

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