When I bake, I may or may not pull out my spatula, my small whisk or my stand mixer. But the one tool I know I'll always need is a half sheet pan. Yes, they may look like simple cookie sheets, but these pans are all-purpose multi-taskers, worth much more than their $10 price tag.
I use these pans for cookies, of course, but they are also essential for roasting vegetables or making granola, as the rimmed edge keeps everything in the pan. The rim is also useful when roasting a pan of juicy chicken thighs or making a big sheet of some type of dessert, like mini brownies or cake bites.
Even when I'm not baking directly in the pan, I still use it: placed under batter-filled cake or bread pans, it protects the oven floor from overflowing batter and makes it easier to transport smaller pans in and out.
These pans are sturdy, don't buckle, and are a standard size, so pre-cut parchment sheets fit perfectly. They are also quite inexpensive, especially if you have a restaurant supply store nearby. I found mine for around $8 each at Surfas in Southern California.
Find it: Nordic Ware Half Sheet Pan, $10.99 at Amazon
Do you use sheet pans like these in your kitchen?
Related: My Essential Baking Tool: OXO Good Grips Pastry Scraper
(Image: Anjali Prasertong)
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Having worked in restaurants when I was younger, I knew that these were the ultimate multi-taskers. Not only do I bake on my half-sheet, I also use it as a carrying/prep tray when grilling.
When I worked at a small pastry shop, one year the owner gave all of the staff a pair of half sheet pans, a high quality small whisk, and a red-handled rubber spatula. Best. Gift. Ever. I don't use the spatula much (it's the only one I own), but I use those sheet pans all the time. I use some quarter sheet pans I found once (again, a pair) all the time as well. They are better for smaller batches of things like oven fries or roasting a couple pieces of chicken or baking things you might otherwise bake in a jelly roll pan.
Seriously underrated kitchen utensil.
I just replaced my old, pitted and dented pan with a shiny new one. It seems to live as much in my oven as in my dish rack.
These are great! I have 4 of them, and 4 silicone mats that fit into them.
Went straight off to Amazon to get one (it's been on my list for several months) and it seems they're 3 times that price in the UK. Eeep!
is this what i need instead of the thinner baking sheets that warp in the heat?
These are the only pans I use. Love them!
I have been cooking for 50+ years and only 3 years ago got one of these - just hadn't thought of it before - now it would be the first thing I would buy for a new cook! Each time I wash it I'm happy I have it!
thanks Bibliovore! part of the my confusion is due (as so often is the case) to imprecise terminology: cookie sheet, jelly roll pan, rimless baking sheet, rimmed baking sheet, half sheet? Anjali, perhaps this is a topic for a related post?
the ever-dependable Cooks Illustrated gives me another clue: "The flimsy jellyroll pans sold in most stores are useless. But a heavy-duty rimmed baking sheet is an unheralded workhorse every cook should own." http://www.cooksillustrated.com/equipment/overview.asp?docid=11490
i think i'll head to the nearest restaurant supply store and invest in a half-sheet/rimmed baking sheet.
I have a bunch in my kitchen and use them for everything. I've never understood the point of the un-rimmed sheets. doesn't stuff fall off of those?
@LukesWife: Great idea! I'll add it to the list.
I have four in constant rotation. I also have a couple of full size ones for larger batches of cookies and roast veggies. They are a kitchen essential for me. I even took the sheet pans with me when shopping for a new oven. I wanted to make sure they would fit.
I have a cooling rack that fits perfectly in the full sheet pans. I cook on it when I want something crisp or dry. Apple chips, sweet potato fries, fake sun-dried tomatoes. It's a great combination.
I'm looking for a source for non-aluminum baking sheets with rims, especially now that I've learned the joys of roasting vegetables from this great website. Do they even exist?
@amendelblatt I have one with a rim on only one edge and it's great for cookies.
They are the best--I just bought a new one at a restaurant supply store for < $9
Amendelblatt, I actually prefer a rimless baking sheet for things like cookies. I can slide whatever it is right off the sheet and onto the cooling rack, without having to use a spatula or lift up the whole piece of parchment or whatever.
Definitely something to pick up at a restaurant supply store. My gf got the super-expensive non-stick ones from Williams-Sonoma but I never use them for fear of marring the priceless coating. With my cheap RS pans, I can toss them around, use metal spatulas, scrub with steel wool and even hit them with easy-off if they get too greasy. If I need non-stick I just use the silpats (also from RS store).
Love these. I have 6 of them. All stainless, so I don't have to worry about a coating that would eventually flake off into my food. If I want non-stick, I use a Silpat or parchment. They're also good for mis en place when you don't have a hundred little bowls to put things in. And I've had them for almost 10 years now. Not bad for something that's less than $10.
once i got these i never went back to the junk ones from department stores. get these and silpats and the racks that fit them and your life will have changed forever. if you have a few baking items that need a pan without a lip (like pizza), do what i do; flip the pan over! the silpats still fit perfectly.
oh, and you can find them cheap at restaurant supply stores--most do allow the public to shop there.
I have a few of these pans, but every time I try to bake anything on them (cookies, pizza, etc), the bottoms burn terribly. What am I doing wrong?
veggiestar-it could be a few reasons.. first off they're not nonstick and the aluminum conducts heat very good because it's thicker than the cheap ones. also, do you have an oven thermometer? you're oven could be off. i had that issue when baking cookies, got a thermometer and found my oven was off by over 25 degrees! once adjusted, the issue was fixed.
Absolutely a kitchen essential -- not only for roasting veggies, baking/reheating, but also to contain messes! When I made pulled pork recently, I put my cutting board inside the pan -- it didn't quite fit, width-wise, so I tilted it. It worked perfectly -- juices in the pan, not on the counter or the floor! I also use it to catch the drippings from the turkey after roasting -- just move the turkey with the rack from the roasting pan. This frees up the roasting pan for making gravy while the turkey rests. And on and on .. . .
I replaced all of my expensive non-stick pans in favor of these last year. Much better cookies!
I've finally got around to getting these for my kitchen....but am having issues finding the racks. Fell in love with Alton Brown's french toast recipe which has a rack he uses in the oven to cook the toast....but anything I can find is labeled "cooling rack" and doesn't seem like it should be heated....
I bought Nordicware Natural ones from Walmart. 10.98 each. Also picked up a quarter sheet with lid from the same line for 9.99 from TJ Maxx (who had a decent selection of nonstick and plain). The red colored Nordicware I bought from target for 12.48 cooks completely differently, which I didn't even think of since you barely see the color (which is good since it scratched after the first use...
Love my half sheet pans. I picked up a couple of inexpensive ones at Homegoods a few years a ago. It's just my husband and I so the half sheet pans are great when cooking for two.
Love these! However, I'm off to purchase stainless steel half sheets from amazon.com. Non-stick coated aluminum sheets eventually scratch and rust (especially in the corners). I repurposed mine quite well as clever pull-out kitchen cabinet tray storage under the sink ... thanks to Martha Stewart's tip http://www.marthastewart.com/274787/25-kitchen-organizers/@center/276989/organizing#/188015
A few years ago, I found Wilton stainless steel baking items (i.e., muffin tins, loaf pans & cookie sheets) for $3-5 each at a discount, close-out store. I scooped them up to replace my coated aluminum items ... best decision I ever made.