One Simply Terrific Thing

Kitchen ToolsOne Simply Terrific Thing

While we’ll never give up our half sheet pans, don’t forget about quarter sheet pans! These smaller-sized pans are perfect for small-batch cooking and prep.

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Welcome to One Simply Terrific Thing, our ongoing series highlighting the small tools and kitchen goods that make life better!

Half sheet pans get all the glory. They’re the go-to for roasted vegetables, chocolate chip cookies, and sheet pan dinners.
And while I would never be without at least two of those pans (I currently have three), not enough love goes out to the half sheet’s smaller sibling, the quarter sheet pan ($22/2 pack).

This is the sheet pan for small batch cooking and for cooking for 1-2 people. This is the pan I pull out when I want to toast some nuts in the oven or roast just a couple sweet potatoes or beets.
It’s what I use when I want to cook a bunch of different things at one time, but individually. I can fit four of these pans in my oven, two side by side, which lets me pull out the vegetables or chicken thighs or salmon filets when they’re done, and let the rest keep cooking.
A quarter sheet pan is also terrific for prep and storage.
I use it for seasoning pieces of meat (the high lip contains juices much better than a cutting board or plate), breading, and for holding anything I need to freeze first: balls of cookie dough, a large bag of chicken broth. I can actually maneuver a quarter sheet pan into my freezer, which I cannot do with a half sheet pan!
As for cleaning? I can submerge a quarter sheet pan entirely under water in my sink! Big fan.

This post may contain links to Amazon or other partners; your purchases via these links can benefit Simply Recipes. Read more about our affiliate linking policy.

Cambria Bold
Cambria Bold is the Product and Lifestyle Director for Simply Recipes. She has almost a decade’s worth of online editorial experience and know-how, first as the Managing Editor for Apartment Therapy’s green living site Re-Nest (RIP) and later as the Design and Lifestyle Editor for The Kitchn. She lives in the Twin Cities with her husband and their two little girls. And, yes, this is her real name.
More from Cambria LEGGI TUTTO

Kitchen ToolsOne Simply Terrific Thing

It’s a small thing, but it makes a big difference. Precut parchment paper for sheet and cake pans is a time-saving, annoyance-busting product that is worth having in the kitchen.

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Welcome to One Simply Terrific Thing, our ongoing series highlighting the small tools and kitchen goods that make life better!

I have a confession: I get inordinately annoyed every time I have to use a roll of parchment paper.

The problems:
The roll never tears cleanly.
I always over- or under-estimate the amount needed to cover a sheet pan.
The roll wants to win at all costs. You want the paper to lie flat on the pan? Good luck with that.
The trace-and-cut method for cake pans leaves scraps that aren’t sized for anything useful, so I have to throw them away.
Speaking of which, it’s just a hassle to measure and cut parchment paper! And I always think I do a poor job of it, too.
Anyone else feel this way?!
The answer to this frustration is simple: precut parchment paper.
You can get them sized for half sheet pans and 8″ or 9″ cake pans. For the sheet pan size, I love the precut parchment from King Arthur ($24.99 for 100 sheets). They’re more expensive than other brands on Amazon, but they’re made in the USA and each sheet can be used three or four times (great for back-to-back cookie baking sessions!).

I’ve also tried and like these precut parchment sheets from Baker’s Signature ($13.95 for 100 sheets). They are thinner than the King Arthur parchment sheets, so better suited for single use baking, but otherwise they’re a great value.

For cake pan parchment rounds, I’ve used both these 9-inch cake pan rounds from Zenology ($7.99 for 50 sheets) and the 9-inch cake pan rounds with tabs from Baker’s Signature ($9 for 120 sheets).

Both pulled cleanly away from cakes when I made them, but the Zenology round fit perfectly into my 9-inch USA Pan cake pan, while the Baker’s Signature round was a tad big and didn’t sit flat in the bottom of the pan. It didn’t affect how my cake turned out, but if you’re buying pre-cut parchment, a perfect fit is part of what you’re looking for. But the pull tab is a nice feature.
All told, I don’t see myself going back to parchment rolls anytime soon.

This post may contain links to Amazon or other partners; your purchases via these links can benefit Simply Recipes. Read more about our affiliate linking policy.

Cambria Bold
Cambria Bold is the Product and Lifestyle Director for Simply Recipes. She has almost a decade’s worth of online editorial experience and know-how, first as the Managing Editor for Apartment Therapy’s green living site Re-Nest (RIP) and later as the Design and Lifestyle Editor for The Kitchn. She lives in the Twin Cities with her husband and their two little girls. And, yes, this is her real name.
More from Cambria LEGGI TUTTO