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I just returned from the store with all the ingredients for baking cookies, and now I notice that I am out of baking paper.

Is there some common household item I can use instead (Regular paper? Tinfoil? Just put them on the raw baking tray?), or do I have to make another trip to the store?

Anastasia Zendaya
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Philipp
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  • Very much related: https://cooking.stackexchange.com/questions/51824/cant-i-just-grease-the-baking-sheet-instead-of-using-parchment-paper/51827 – Stephie Dec 03 '20 at 16:06
  • Similar: https://cooking.stackexchange.com/questions/54823/substitute-for-baking-parchment – Stephie Dec 03 '20 at 16:08
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    @Stephie I would say those are duplicates, especially the first one. – Damila Dec 03 '20 at 16:34
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    Does this answer your question? [Can't I just grease the Baking Sheet instead of using Parchment Paper](https://cooking.stackexchange.com/questions/51824/cant-i-just-grease-the-baking-sheet-instead-of-using-parchment-paper) – Cody Gray - on strike Dec 03 '20 at 22:24
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    Given this got slightly better answers than the other two, it may be appropriate to close those in favor of this one? – Joe M Dec 04 '20 at 18:00
  • A moderator like @Stephie can merge the questions :-) – Cody Gray - on strike Dec 05 '20 at 07:17
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    Sorry for my ignorance, is "baking paper" the same thing as "parchment paper"? – JTP - Apologise to Monica Dec 05 '20 at 13:42
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    People have been baking cookies for a heck of a lot longer than "baking paper" has existed. It is, in fact, a relatively recent invention. – RonJohn Dec 06 '20 at 07:04
  • If you get a teflon or silicone baking mat, it's reusable so you're not going through consumable parchment paper. Just put it on top of a baking tray and cookies slide off without having to grease a pan, and less to wash. – Peter Cordes Dec 06 '20 at 22:11

4 Answers4

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First of all, if your baking sheet is nonstick you may not need baking paper at all. If it is not, then either directly greasing the baking sheet, or putting tinfoil on it and greasing that works reasonably well as a substitute.

user141592
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    My mother never used baking paper in 60 years of cookies baking, (in several different ovens and as such different baking sheets.) – Willeke Dec 03 '20 at 18:55
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    What I was thinking. I'm always curious about questions like this, which suggest the OP thinks baking was impossible before the invention of baking paper. It makes things easier to clean, is all. – Graham Dec 04 '20 at 09:08
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    @Graham: You're mostly correct, but there is one logical gap here, i.e. if since the advent of baking paper, baking sheets were no longer made to be non-stick because baking paper is (allegedly in this example) a clearly superior solution. I'm not saying this is the case (because it isn't), but the principle is valid, and from OP's point of view, it can't logically be excluded that their oven expect baking paper to be used in it. – Flater Dec 04 '20 at 13:06
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    @Flater It can only be logically excluded if they might think there was something special about old baking sheets, which for me is where it becomes a bit odd. – Graham Dec 04 '20 at 14:13
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    @Graham: It's only odd if you already know there wasn't anything special in the past. Based on today's baking sheets, it is impossible to deduce whether baking sheets have always been the same way as they are today. Technologies change, sometimes by reverting certain decisions e.g. after new information shows previously unknown dangers (asbestos is a great non-culinary example) or if a consistently superior solution is invented (i.e. why cell phones have mostly driven phone booths away). – Flater Dec 04 '20 at 14:20
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    @Flater, see my comment at the start of this series. When my mother started backing cookies in her own oven, 61 years back, there was nothing like 'non stick' baking sheets. As far as I remember those baking sheets, used till I was a teen at least, they were just common steel. And when my grandmother was baking in the early part of the 20th century, before my mother moved out, the choice of baking sheets was as simple, only kind of metal on offer. No 'non stick' and no baking paper either. – Willeke Dec 05 '20 at 12:47
  • At the bakery I worked at when I was in high-school everything was baked on steel sheets. I had the job of scraping them clean afterwards! Plus Mum also used steel sheets, lightly greased with butter. – David Waterworth Dec 06 '20 at 20:56
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In Spain it's very common to "grease and flour coating" to any baking mold or tray!

It is quite easy! Get some butter, apply it to the tray evenly, add some flour (regular flour works) and with your hands tapping on the mold or tray, make sure it gets evenly spread!

It will be easier if you see it by yourself! Below you can see very short videos!

For a cake mold

For a tray (I pasted the exact second as well).

So doing this will ensure that as the cookies grow and get flat, they will do on top of the flour nd won't get sticky. IT may seem a bit messy but ADVICE: if you spill some flour or whatever, clean asap. The tray will be easy to clean afterwords if sipped in water.

More or less something like this but with the tray! I'd definetly do this before using tin foil! I haven't found any "100% scientific based report on not using tin foil when baking", but definetly avoid using foil when cooking at high temperatures or cooking acidic foods.

Image of chef coating a pan with flour after greasing it Image from https://www.cocinadelirante.com/tips/como-engrasar-un-molde

Joe M
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M.K
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    Most foil local to me is actually aluminum foil, and cookware is frequently also made out of aluminum, so I'm not sure why you're avoiding it. – Kat Dec 03 '20 at 18:34
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    The only thing I see to be worried about aluminium foil is the edges; sometimes it doesn't tear cleanly, and you end up with a thin line of foil in your food. – wizzwizz4 Dec 03 '20 at 22:43
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    @Kat, aluminum foil is definitely not good for the environment when not several times reused before it's finally recycled... Most people use it once and not even recycle it. M.K's suggestion with butter and flour is also used in Switzerland. – Thomas Dec 04 '20 at 03:08
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    For cookies, you probably only need to butter/grease the pan, and skip the flour. The flour is an extra step that helps ensure that very little sticking occurs. This is quite helpful for a cake, but for cookies you can just slide a spatula between the cookie and the baking sheet if there's a little bit of sticking. – Michael Seifert Dec 04 '20 at 13:51
  • Butter tends to burn at high temperatures, and butter burnt onto a pan can be hard to clean. – Anastasia Zendaya Dec 04 '20 at 18:47
  • @ThomasZuberbuehler the answer is not claiming it's bad for the environment or it wouldn't mention high heat and acidity. It's implying it's bad for your health, for which there is no evidence. Absolutely if you can use something reusable instead of something disposable then you should. I agree there's no need for foil here. – Kat Dec 05 '20 at 00:14
  • As a person of Science, I'd recommend you to read the last paragraph again! It is not scientific based and I say it beforehand. But what you say is actually wrong. There are some studies determining more amounts of aluminium in food cooked with aluminium foil or utensils. **The only thing is that the amounts are usually low, and can be excreted easily by our internal system**. @Kat . _I guess it's different to search for "aluminium foil is good!" to "is it bad"?_ – M.K Dec 05 '20 at 10:23
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    If you like this method but are lazy, Pam makes a baking spray that is regular Pam nonstick spray plus flour. – Chris Bouchard Dec 06 '20 at 05:23
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At my house, we simply grease our pans with some olive oil, spreading it around with a piece of tissue. Sometimes, we dust our pans with all purpose flour instead.

The flour dusting takes away a little of the crispness, but I like it more than the grease option because it feels healthier.

Anastasia Zendaya
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I've never used anything between the pan and the dough when baking cookies. Sometimes they stick, but they're just cookies; it's easy to pop them off with a spatula or even your hands.

Phasma Felis
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