I was running low on parchment paper this morning so I attempted to bake cookies on bare 'non-stick' cookie sheets. That was a big mistake because I ended up with cracked and broken cookies. A friend of mine said she only uses Silpat silicone mats, and I've seen them & thought about purchasing them but I wasn't sure. I use parchment paper not only to line the sheets but I also roll out my dough between sheets of parchment paper as well. If anyone has an opinion or experience either way, please feel free to weigh in. Thank you!

Spicy, I do use parchment to line my cookie sheets, and reuse them to put between cookies in airtight container. I use silpat to roll out on. I used to use parchment for rolling, but got frustrated with the occasional wrinkles. Silpat is non-skid and it cleans up easily. I've never baked on it, but I've heard it's great for that

I have 2 of the mats and wouldn't use anything else now. I love them. I have not used them to roll the dough out on because I have another mat for that.

Thank you for your input, shiney & kimberly! I might have to invest in a few Silpats.

I actually store a Silpat on each of my half sheet pans. Wouldn't bake a cookie without a Silpat.

I bake all of my cookies on silpats and roll between 2 sheets of wax paper (WAY cheaper and more flexible than parchment)

I made 1 batch of cookies on parchment paper and 1 batch on the Silpat - same time. There really wasn't much difference with using either, but I liked the Silpat much better, so I went out and purchased another one! lol

I use parchment. Much cheaper

The Silpat does seem expensive at first, but you can re-use that! lol You can only reuse parchment for so long, then you have to discard it. So I think the Silpat is very cost-effective considering that!

Rolling on a silpat! Genius! Do you put anything on top. My dough sticks to my rolling pin if I don't. I have baked on silpats before but found that my cookies spread really bad (it was chocolate chip at the time).

Has anyone had any trouble with the Silpat giving the cookies a weird taste? They smelled funny while baking and ended up tasting like the smell; even the cookies I baked later and had only rolled between Silpats. I used two Silpats and two Kitchen Aid silicone mats I bought at Bed, Bath and Beyond. They were washed thoroughly before use.

It would be cost effective if i only needed to buy 1 or 2, but i like to fill quite a few baking sheets while i'm baking so that there are a bunch of them ready and waiting to go into the oven.

Confections, I have a non-stick rolling pin, but still have to use a bit of flour. Does no one else get wrinkles rolling with parchment or wax paper?

I roll between sheets of parchment paper all the time, and bake on parchment paper too. Never had a problem with wrinkles. I usually reuse the same pieces of parchment over and over, so I don't feel quite as guilty/wasteful! I do have a silpat, and I put it on the counter first, then put the parchment paper on top of it - keeps the paper/dough from sliding around while I'm rolling.

I use Airbake pans, and I never have problems with sticking as long as I don't let the cookies cool too long on the pan. But Airbakes are expensive, so if I did a much higher volume, i wouldn't use them.

That being said, I use a silpat for rolling out the dough, for fondant. It's awesome. But I've never used them for baking because I have never needed to.

I use Silpats and they are great for cookies. They help give you a minute or two of cushion time in the oven if you leave it in there longer than planned.

The only part I don't like about them is the cleaning. It take a couple of cleanings to get the grease fully off. After it air-dries, there is still a thin film of grease on the surface. Has anyone also encountered this problem?

xiswtsawluiix, I have the same problem. Last time I used them I made sure I washed them very good and it still was there.

Thanks to everybody for their input! I knew you all were the right people to ask!