for the love of

SILPATS.

whenever i teach a class, whether it be at the library or the random impromptu lessons i have over the island for tess, i always stress how amazing these things are.

whether you are baking cookies, doing sugar work, or just need a nonstick surface to plop some things down when you don't need them yet - it's my only go-to.

imitators: BEWARE. you may be saving a bunch of moolah, but they just don't have the cool little ingredient that makes them nonstick the way they should. i don't know what the compound is, but it's a magical substance, that's for sure.

recently, i have seen an even bigger market of the fake ones - the all one color - there is something about the darker edge and the lighter honeycomb middle that just screams 'I WORK'...
while the silicone-ish spanse of the fakes are just muttering how they will make your cookies stick and your sugar pieces glob.

WS (that would be Williams Sonoma - I don't deem myself necessarily worthy enough to speak their name fully) now carries a few different sizes - definitely ask for help if you aren't sure which you need. there's a square sheet, which upon opening will cause the buyer to curse and think about the $6 in gas they've just wasted driving the entire way there and back with a piece of enhanced rubber that won't even fit a jelly roll pan.

cheat sheet >
half sheet - 16 1/4 " x 11 1/4 " **this is the one you need for a standard baking tray.. well. the kind i prefer using.**
cookie - 12 3/4" x 13 3/4" **DO NOT BE FOOLED BY THE LABELING - this so called cookie size will not be the one you want**

so, in any case. if you have a budding chef or at least someone who uses their oven for things other than diGiorno or storage space....
BUY THEM ONE.
it's $24.95 from WS, usually about the same at BB&B or any of those fine establishments, and it's worth every penny. i have a rule about getting your money's worth - charge yourself a buck a day for a product. if you end up "charging" yourself more than you paid for it - you got your money's worth.
foods don't count - you either get what you pay for or you just reallly love it enough to pay for it.
plus, you should always treat your tastebuds to something wonderful.
words get boring.