Parchment To The Rescue: 6 Ways To Use Parchment Paper When Baking

Forget about cakes sticking to the pan, painstakingly separating muffin cups, scraping cookies from the baking sheet, and more when you utilize the best tool in baking — parchment paper.

Click here for the 12 Tips That Will Have You Baking Like a Pro in No Time slideshow.

Sure, you can invest in a pricy baking mat, and we aren't saying that we don't love our Silpat, but sometimes it's the old-fashioned, simple things that make baking—or life—a pleasure. Parchment is cheap and may or may not contain magical properties that will turn your baking woes into faint memories from a past baking life.

To fully celebrate the many uses of parchment paper, we decided to celebrate our favorite semi-translucent prepared paper by listing six of our favorite ways to use parchment while baking.

To line your cake pan, lay your pan on top of the parchment, and with a marker or pen, trace the circumference of the pan. Then, cut out the circle being sure to cut just inside the line you have drawn so that the parchment circle fits snuggly in the bottom of your pan. You will never have to experience the despair of a delicious cake wasted stuck to the bottom of the pan.

Dress up your muffins or cupcakes with these super simple parchment liners, which coincidentally don't require you to spend additional money on the store-bought kind. Simply grease your tins with butter, shortening, or baking spray, cut your parchment into five-inch squares, and press the liners into the muffin tins using a small cup. Instant muffin tin liners!

Always line sheet trays with parchment before baking cookies or sheet cake. Your cookies and cakes will easily peel off the paper, and you won't have to scrub your tray after baking.

Your workspace is sacred when baking. Keeping your countertops clean is a challenge with flour, sugar, and spices flying around. Use a large piece of parchment paper as a mat for your work surface to keep your countertops clean.

To make life simpler around the holidays, store dough in the freezer. In order to store several sheets of dough at once, place pieces of parchment in between each layer and then seal in an airtight freezer bag. Your dough will be ready for baking when you are.

Don't have a pastry bag on hand? You can make one out of parchment for decorating cookies, cakes, and more. Cut an isosceles triangle out of parchment. Then, roll the parchment to form a cone.  Finally, fold the top down to secure the cone, and snip the tip of the parchment cone. Fill with your frosting or melted chocolate, and begin piping.
 

Angela Carlos is the Cook Editor at The Daily Meal. Find her on Twitter and tweet

The accompanying slideshow is provided by special contributor, Kristie Collado.