Amazon Basics Silicone Baking Mat, 2 Piece Set, Old Standard, Rectangular, 101.6 x 76.2

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Personally, I love how easy it is to remove food from the molds or cake pans – I can twist it to either side and food will easily pop out. Opt for a silicon baking mat in these scenarios as well, since melted sugar can fuse to parchment paper and be a real hassle to peel off.

This pair of half-sheet mats is oven safe up to 480 degrees F, and one mat holds up to two medium sweet potatoes, sliced, or a dozen cookies. Silicone is extremely resistant to a wide range of temperatures, as well as being incredibly flexible and easy to manipulate in your kitchen. Parchment paper works similarly, ensuring even cooking and protecting the food from sticking or burning, just to a lesser degree due to its thinner quality. While still springy and malleable, this mat has a weighty build that helps it to stay in place on countertops or baking sheets. Wax paper, however, cannot be used in the oven, as the wax can melt off and the paper and subsequently catch fire – yikes!

You can use them for cookies, of course, but there are lots of other creative Silpat baking mat uses, as well. Silicone baking mats cannot be cut to size, so multiple sizes needed will be needed to fit all your baking sheets and pans. This tutorial for a watercolor cake roll from Liv for Cake shows just how easy it can be to make a Swiss roll. Parchment paper can be cut to fit whatever surface needed, whether it be lining a cake pan or a baking sheet for roasted veggies.

If you're someone who regularly works with pastry dough, you'll definitely want to look out for baking mats with these features. These handy kitchen mats can go from oven to freezer and can be used to cook, decorate and even do double duty in making crafts. Now that you know what to look for, discover which of our picks is the right fit for your baking needs. You may have heard the name Silpat spoken reverently by both home bakers and professional bakers alike, and for good reason. As a result, parchment paper is great for roasting veggies or cooking savory meals in parchment packets.

My experience was with a measuring jug I dropped a few years ago – it split in half the second it hit the floor! The thickness of silicone mats minimizes heat distribution, which is less desirable when you want browning on the bottom like with roasted vegetables.