Parchment paper, how do we love thee? Let us count the ways? We love, love, love using parchment papers when baking cookies. Why is parchment paper so magical? It’s non-stick, oven-safe paper that can be used in a variety of ways - it’s one of those swiss knife type tools every kitchen (and baker) must have!
Here are our top 5 reasons parchment paper is a must-have essential in our pantry.
Un-stick a sticky situation
Have you ever struggled to get oven-baked cookies to release from a cookie sheet? Trying to pry a spatula underneath the cookie only to have one portion permanently fight your force as if it was super-glued to the pan…dismembering your gingerbread man leaving you with a headless cookie…umm, yeah, us neither. As they say, the struggle is real. The beauty of the non-stick quality of parchment paper means cookies won’t stick to the cookie sheet, so no cracking, no breaking, no headless gingerbread men. Parchment also helps cook more evenly so each-and-every cookie is perfectly baked. That's a double-win.
Easy, Peasy Clean Up
Are you, or your young baking “helpers”, a little messy in the kitchen? Or do you hate wiping down the counter over-and-over again? Here's our little secret...cover your counter with parchment paper before you start baking. Life changing. Be as messy as you’d like and simply snap your fingers (while you’re scrunching up the parchment paper in a crunchy ball) and you satisfyingly have a clean counter once again in the matter of seconds!
Stop Chasing Sprinkles
Do you get more sprinkles on your counter than your cookie? Use this simple trick to corral those roly-poly sprinkles back into place. When you’re ready to sprinkle your cookies, place parchment paper on a cookie sheet with sides or under a cooling rack. Sprinkle your cookies with full unabandoned exuberance. Then, pull the sides of the parchment paper together and create a funnel to pour the sprinkles back into your bowl for the next batch from the oven! (Never use this trick if there is any risk of cross-contamination from uncooked/undercooked ingredients.)
Cookie Assembly Line Up
We recommend placing only one cookie sheet in your oven at a time to help ensure evenly baked cookies each and every time. So, what happens when you’re a cookie scooping machine and have more cookie dough rounds ready for the oven? Simply place parchment paper slightly smaller than your cookie sheet onto your counter and create a line-up of cookie dough rounds ready to go into the oven.
That's a {Gift} Wrap
One of our most favorite ways to gift homemade cookies is wrapped in parchment paper tied with a sweet ribbon. Your gift recipient will know there's an extra special present inside simply. Attach a homemade gift tag made by your little ones or in your own signature handwriting as a final touch.