Reynolds® Cookie Baking Sheets - Do they really make a difference?

This product test has been one of the harder ones that I've done so far. Everyone who knows me knows that I really like to bake cookies, and so a product that alters my cookie routine was challenging. But I do like to try new things, so I went ahead and tried Reynolds® Cookie Baking Sheets. They are pre-cut sheets of parchment paper that are the size of a large cookie sheet.  Their purpose is two-fold. They are supposed to help your cookies bake more evenly and to reduce cleanup afterwards.

The first cookies that I tried Reynolds® Cookie Baking Sheets on was a new Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe that I found on the Reynolds® Kitchens Website. I only made half a batch of these cookies, since I wasn't sure how they would turn out, but they turned out nice and soft and tasted yummy. I personally prefer fewer chocolate chips, but I can adjust that if I make this recipe again.  I did find it very nice that I wasn't left with any chocolate chip residue on either my cookie sheet or on my cooling rack, but I needed to try another recipe to determine if the parchment paper really helped the cookies cook any better.

Next I threw together some chocolate cookies from a cake mix for a friend's birthday. This time I baked half of the cookies on a cookie sheet lined with a Reynolds® Cookie Baking Sheet and the other half on just a greased cookie sheet. After they baked, I thought that the cookies baked on the parchment paper may have been a little fluffier, but after they cooled they turned out the same, so for these cookies I didn't really see any difference in the way they cooked.

I didn't feel like I had come to any conclusion yet, so I tried another batch of cookies. This time I used my tried and true Gingersnap recipe that I make a lot because it's my husband's favorite. I also baked half of this batch of cookies on a lined cookie sheet and the other on just a plain greased cookie sheet. And for the first time I had a result when it came to how the cookies baked. The cookies that were baked on the cookie sheet lined with a Reynolds® Cookie Baking Sheet were still nice and chewy on the inside, but they were a little bit more firm on the outside. I was also able to remove the cookies immediately from both the pan and the parchment paper without the cookies falling apart.  I generally let the cookies set on the pan for a few minutes before I remove them, but this time I tried to remove the cookies from the greased pan immediately, just like from the lined pan, and the cookies crumbled and either fell apart or lost their shape. I was also surprised by the residue left behind on the greased cookie sheet. I guess after a life of making cookies this way I've just never noticed it until now.

Now, before I made any final conclusions about Reynolds® Cookie Baking Sheets, I decided to try one last test. This time I used half of one sheet to line the bottom of a 9 x 13 cake pan and made a batch of brownies. Brownies are always messy and I generally have to soak the pan afterwards to get it clean (even when I grease it well). My results of this test are below. The parchment paper absorbed much of the cleanup damage, although a little bit of the batter leaked around the edge and I still had to clean that out of the pan, but there is a whole lot less to clean up than normal. I also think that the brownies cooked a little more evenly than they usually do, so this final test was a win for Reynolds® Cookie Baking Sheets.

So what's my final opinion of Reynolds® Cookie Baking Sheets? I like how they reduce the mess involved with the pans I use when I bake, but I'm not sure that alone is a good reason to just abandon the way that I've baked my entire life. With a couple of my recipes the cookies/brownies seemed to cook a bit more evenly, but on the other two I didn't really see much of a difference.  I also think that having to trim the pre-cut sheets is a little bit annoying if I don't use a large cookie sheet.  Overall, I liked this product and may possibly purchase it again, but I think that I may be more likely to purchase a roll of parchment paper and use that instead of the pre-cut sheets.  I also haven't ever tried any other brand of parchment paper, so I can't really say that Reynolds® brand parchment paper works any better than other brands. It's a good product and I'll continue to use the rest that came in my test package, and then maybe I'll be able to decide one and for all whether or not Reynolds® Cookie Baking Sheets are going to become a permanent part of my baking routine.

**The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own. Product samples and program incentives were received as compensation for this product review. Product testing and review were performed in compliance with guidelines provided by Crowdtap and Reynolds®.**