I am new to baking cookies, so I keep seeing to use parchment paper to reduce spreading of the cookie. I live in a small town, with not much to choose from, all they have is wax paper. Is it the same? Will it work o.k. too? Someone help!!!! By the way, I love all of the cookie bouquets you all have done. I want to do one too.

no, they are not the same. Pachment does not have a wax coating. You can buy parchment at some grocery stores and in many online sites.

But you can help keep them from spreading by making sure the cookie and cookie sheet are very cold when you put them in the oven.

Wax paper isn't typically used in the oven. The waxy coating will melt and get into the food. Parchment paper is specially treated for baking and does not stick to food. Reynolds makes parchment paper and you can usually find it by the plastic wrap and aluminum foil in your grocery store. If not I would say get on line and order some. I use it a lot!

Silpat is great for cookies. It eliminates the need for parchment. If you are going to do a lot of baking then maybe you might want to look into buying parchment in bulk. It's much cheaper that way. You can also reuse it and it's great to wrap your dough in first before you foil or plastic wrap it. you can buy the round parchment cakes rounds too.

I LOVE Silpat. I bought 3 along with 3 cookie sheets so that I can have one in the oven, one cooling and one ready to go in the oven. The cookies come out so beautifully brown and not too dark, just like the bakery. Worth the investment, I got them at Linens 'N Things for $14 each but used my 20% coupon.

Samsgranny, Thanks for reminding me about Linens and Things and their coupons. It's easy to forget all these little things that make such a big difference in the pocket book.