Just about each house cook dinner I do know owns at the least a couple of cookie sheets, and that’s as a result of they’re some of the versatile items of cooking gear you can personal. They’re excellent for cookies, after all, but in addition excellent for roasting veggies, baking proteins, and the universally beloved sheet-pan dinner. And whereas the large cookie sheet — usually referred to as a “half sheet,” in baker’s parlance — is definitely helpful, it doesn’t maintain a candle to its smaller sibling, the quarter sheet pan.
The usual dimensions of 1 / 4 sheet pan are 13 by 9 inches, the identical as a typical baking dish, which signifies that they will nonetheless maintain a ton of meals. Too usually, a half-sheet is simply too massive for the hen cutlets and roasted broccoli that I’m cooking for my family of two individuals. All that further area can result in uneven cooking, too; it’s an actual bummer when half of your cookies are excellent, and the opposite half are a little bit undercooked. With the quarter sheet, although, I not often have that drawback. I can bake 4 or six cookies — an ideal quantity for 2 adults, and the remainder of the dough goes within the freezer to bake later — with no drawback.
For years, I used to be dedicated to the Nordic Ware model, largely as a result of its quarter-sheet pans are reasonably priced, sturdy, and constantly really useful by different bakers. I nonetheless have the primary one I bought — it was initially a part of a Costco 3-pack — and it has been well-used. It’s not an ideal pan, although — its aluminum building signifies that it needs to be hand-washed except you need it to develop a bizarre movie attributable to oxidation, and regardless of its hefty building, it’s nonetheless vulnerable to warping.
Unhappy with my sheet pan state of affairs, I scoured the web in quest of the perfect pans for just about any cooking state of affairs. Right here’s what I discovered.
How we examined
To place these sheet pans beneath the figurative magnifying glass, I baked a number of batches of cookies (snickerdoodles and peanut butter, for those who should know) and roasted each frozen and contemporary veggies on every sheet. The entire pans have been subjected to the identical (crappy, builder-grade) oven and washed by hand to find out precisely how troublesome every can be to wash. To gauge their long-term sturdiness, we consulted buyer critiques whereas weighing them in opposition to our experiences throughout a number of rounds of wear and tear and tear.
The most effective total: Nice Jones Little Sheet
Out there in a classy array of colours, together with magenta and the wildly standard cobalt blue, Nice Jones’s Little Sheet feels a little bit bit like a gimmick. I’ve been tricked by these newcomer kitchen manufacturers earlier than, so I used to be admittedly skeptical that the Nice Jones pan had any likelihood of profitable my affection. For the primary batch of snickerdoodles, I put the Nice Jones pan head-to-head in opposition to the Nordic Ware, and it objectively outperformed my previous favourite. The cookies arrange higher, their bottoms have been browner and crispier, and their insides fluffier, and I attribute that to the warmth retention that the pan’s added layer of ceramic provides. The Nordic Ware-baked cookies have been good, however they have been too flat, not cakey sufficient, and took longer to bake than their rivals.
So far as the roasted veggies have been involved, I didn’t discover a lot discernible distinction between the Nordic Ware and the Nice Jones, however there’s no denying that the colourful ceramic coating added a little bit panache to the dinner desk. When it got here time to wash up the mess in my kitchen, the Nice Jones pan was the clear favourite. Each cookie baked on these pans simply slid proper off, with none resistance. I used to be capable of sweep away burnt bits of broccoli and garlic into the trash with my hand. Maybe that’s an unfair benefit — the NordicWare pan and different aluminum pans don’t proclaim to be non-stick — however I definitely appreciated that characteristic whereas doing a sinkful of dishes.
The sleeper hit for solo cooks: Baker’s Lane Quarter Measurement
Right here’s the place I admit that I ordered this candy little sheet pan accidentally — I assumed it was going to be an excellent, budget-friendly dupe for the Nice Jones pan because of its blue nonstick end and $10 price ticket. When it arrived, although, I used to be struck by simply how compact it actually was. Nonetheless, I’m not one to stew on minor mishaps, particularly once I had extra roasting to do. That mistake was really a flip of fortune. My husband is a choosy eater, so we recurrently make dinner for ourselves, and we nonetheless run into the issue of getting to make use of a pan that’s too massive for the quantity of meals we’re making an attempt to cook dinner. Enter this tiny little surprise.
I used to be instantly impressed by its versatility. It’s nice for heating up a single batch of leftovers, making a pan of nachos for one, or roasting a serving or two of veggies. I used to be capable of bake three cookies with none of them touching — 4 was, sadly, too many — and the completed cookies slid off with out leaving any residue behind. The one factor I didn’t love about this pan is that in contrast to the Nice Jones, it’s not dishwasher-safe. However for $10, hand-washing this pan nonetheless feels completely value it.
The most effective aluminum quarter sheet: Vollrath
Of the aluminum quarter-sheets I attempted — made by Vollrath, Nordic Ware, and Made In — I didn’t discover a significant distinction in how they cooked. All three have been sturdy, seemed good, and have been heavy sufficient to really feel sturdy with out being too heavy to drag out of the oven. Finally, the Vollrath sheet received the day because of its heft and super-shiny floor, which produced golden brown cookie bottoms and crispy, evenly cooked veggies each single time.
A notice about sheet pan care
In order for you any of those pans to stay lovely, you’re going to must hand-wash them. Placing aluminum within the dishwasher will trigger the pans to oxidize, which leaves a greyish movie that’s innocent however visually unappealing. Ceramic-coated pans might chip or lose their coating over time, and you need to by no means use steel utensils on them.
Then there may be the problem of polymerized oil. When you use loads of cooking spray or oils at excessive temperatures in your oven, the oil can burn and type stains in your pans which might be troublesome to take away. You’ll be able to scrub them away with an abrasive cleaner like Bar Keeper’s Good friend (test your pan’s care directions to make it possible for it’s secure in your floor) or, merely, make your peace with the stains as a pure a part of cooking.