My new half-sheet baking pans
Mr. FG gave me two half-sheet pans for Christmas, and I just adore them.
They come recommended by Cook's Illustrated, of course. The main thing I wanted them for was granola baking. My only rimmed baking sheets were nonstick, and I pretty much have come to hate nonstick pans. They have this annoying tendency to burn everything (although I do lurve my Goldtouch loaf pans).
So, I was baking granola on my regular cookie sheets, which worked great except that no sides on the pans meant I had to be uber-careful when I was stirring the granola. That made granola-making much more of a production than it ought to have been.
Now, I can stir with abandon, and oatmeal does not go flying all over the place.
It's the small things, people. 😉
If you're in need of a new pan, I definitely recommend the Wearever Sheet Pan Half Size
. You might have trouble finding it in a local store (my local stores tend to only have air-bake and nonstick pans), but Amazon carries them for $25.99 apiece.
That's not cheap, I know, but these are heavy-duty pans like my Vollrath Cookie Sheets
and I don't anticipate having to replace them for....well, forever (unlike my old nonstick ones, which wear out and warp after only a few years).
And if the fact that they're made out of aluminum bothers you (I'm not personally concerned about that), you can always cover them with parchment paper.
Oh, did you need a granola recipe? I make coconut granola most often, but I also like my crunchy granola recipe. They're both SO much cheaper than commercial granola.
If you have a favorite granola recipe, leave a link in the comments...I'm always interested in new granola recommendations.
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Two P.S.'s:
-365 posts will be up later...we had an odd day yesterday, which meant neither Joshua nor I had time to get one up!
-I forgot to say when the MoneySavingMom book giveaway was going to be done. I'll pick a winner tomorrow morning. Email subscribers, you have to click over to the actual post to leave a comment to enter...I can't keep track of entries that are emailed to me.
The Pampered Chef also carries these types of pans. Very heavy duty. I have had them for several years and love mine. They range in price from $18.00 for the large and 14.50 for the medium.
When my husband and I got married, we registered for a set of nonstick baking sheets and. I. LOATHE. THEM. They really do burn everything! A couple Christmases ago I asked my MIL for aluminum baking sheets and they are leagues better (even though one of them is an air-bake pan, which isn't my favorite). I kept the nonstick ones around for craft projects and occasions when all I'm doing is heating up a slice of pizza or something, but the aluminum pans are so definitely worth it. I've had my eye on one of the rimless Vollrath sheets for years, ever since you first mentioned them!
Yes. I use my nonstick ones whenever I'm doing something terribly messy, and I like to use them to transport things, like rolls. But I hate to use them to actually bake!
I made the coconut granola yesterday, and I was sanding drywall while it baked, therefore not watching it closely. I didn't stir it at all for the last 10 minutes and then I just pulled it out and set it on racks to cool (for hours). When I finally went to transfer it to containers, it was nice and crunchy/clumpy, something that I have been missing with this health(ier) recipe. I thought I would share in case you want to try it.
Here's my granola recipe:
http://purposelyfrugal.com/2011/06/20/homemade-granola/#.Tw7r3MAxBMk
I also like to make peanut butter granola, but haven't posted the recipe yet. It's been a while since I've made granola...maybe I should try your coconut granola. 🙂
I also have the pampered chef one. It is very heavy duty.... I don't like them thin cheap ones... terriable!
I also found a smaller version in marshalls on clearance for 5.00, very heavy duty like the pampered chef one....
When I click your crunchy granola recipe, it takes me to a post about loaf pans.
Same here!
I fixed it...is it working for you now?
Yes, thanks!
The only granola I've ever made is from the More with Less cookbook--simple granola. It's pretty plain, but I figure you can always add your own toppings and really I just use it because I don't have to stir it AT ALL! I've messed around with the recipe from time to time, but it's pretty yummy as is.
I love those pans! I have a sil-eco mat for them to make them non-stick and they cook everything perfectly
If you use the Cameo's Aluminum and Stainless Steel cleaner, you can keep those half sheet pans looking new! The people I show it to call it the magic powder.
http://www.amazon.com/Cameo-Stain-Steel-Clean/dp/B001QR23I8
Do you think this would work with pans that have years of buildup baked on to the outside of them? I would love to be able to rejuvenate my pans.
If you don't want to pay $26 a pan, I think you might be better going to your local restaurant supply shop or picking them up online: http://www.webstaurantstore.com/18-x-13-18-gauge-half-size-aluminum-bun-sheet-pan/407BUNHALF.html
Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on your point of view) you have to buy them in quantities of 12. So you can get 12 and keep a few for yourself and sell / give away the rest or find others to go in on them with you. In fact, people at work and I occasionally have Restaurant Supply orders together to save on shipping and buy in bulk.
That is brilliant! I wish I knew enough local people who love cooking to make that worth it...
Thanks, though the credit of seeking out RS stores goes more to Alton Brown. I buy all my parchment paper from that place too. Great service but shipping is a little pricey.
Those are so cute! I tend to make HUGE quantities of granola, so I stick with my big stainless sheets, but I can't imagine trying to work on a baking sheet without sides. Yikes!
This is the BEST granola ever: http://fishygirl.typepad.com/the_fish_pond_where_we_ju/2011/10/recipe-tuesday-homemade-granola.html
Ooooo, and you'll get extra crunchy bits with this type of pan too. Bonus!
I have a 3-pack (large size) that I bought years ago from Costco. Wish they would carry them again. I use them for everything (lined with parchment paper) - roasting veggies, cookies, granola. Very versatile.
These are great for making sheet cakes as well, or any recipe that requires an 8 x 8 pan, like the 'Depression cake' that I am sure you all know about, as it is very frugal. The baking time is about 20 minutes. They are also the perfect size for roasting asparagus.
Those are really pretty pans! I really need to update my pans -- they've gotten discolored and kind of gross. They're cheap so I should invest in something that will last a bit longer as you said.
I hate to tell you this but....If you have a Costco membership look up their "business Costco" in your area. I just purchased the same pans there for less than $4.00 and you only have to purchase 1 to get that price. Our business costco is quite a ways away so we only go when we need to be in that area.
I recently bought 2 half sheet pans at Sam's Club for less than $20 for the pair(it comes as a set of 2). They are exactly the same as the pair I got many years ago at William Sonoma. If the WM sheets weren't so well loved (read used!!) I couldn't tell them apart. I love Sam's club's restaurant supply aisle.
Mine are from Sam's too. I bought the two pach and I LOVE them. I have been using them for several years and they haven't warped at all. I highly recommend them.
I've also used the pans from Sam's Club. They were 10 dollars for two of them at the time. I still have them and they work great, but I've switched to stainless steel pans.
I also like making granola for the family, except we like all of the "stuff" already mixed in. I like this recipe http://flashbangfibers.blogspot.com/search?q=salty+granola
but I use a little less salt, no coconut and maple syrup instead of molasses. If you buy things in bulk this really isn't expensive to make and with the milk powder already in it it's balanced protein even without adding milk.
I know in the past, you have had trouble with the granola sticking to the pan. Do you now use a greased sheet? I suppose parchment paper would work. But I don't really like the trash it produces. Have you tried the silicone mats?
I just had trouble with that when I forgot to stir the granola after it came out of the oven! 🙂 I always make sure to stir mine while it's cooling and it works fine now.
Parchment paper (if you get the silicone unbleached stuff) is fine for the environment. I believe it's biodegradable but I'm not an environmental scientist.
Silicone mats (such as SILPATs) are great on one hand but they have their weaknesses. First, you have to wash them. Believe me, as a man who washes 100% of the dishes in his household without any dishwasher, I hate washing another thing. They are require storage space and you're supposed to store them flat.
Silpats excel at sticky things so for a sticky granola it would fit the bill nicely. Where they fail is at browning. You can bake cookies on them but the bottoms will never brown and you'll be left with soggy bottomed cookies. They had some at Aldi before Christmas for around $6 each. Unfortunately you missed them.
Short answer: Parchment and Silpats should be in everyone's kitchen. Just try to use the Silpats whenever you can as parchment can get pricey unless you buy it in bulk.
We've made granola with Jane Brody's cookbook recipe for years. It's has the same proportions of oil and honey as your coconut one, but has more nuts. I don't usually add dried fruit as I prefer to eat it with fesh apples, pears or bananas, or with fruit butter I've canned mixed in.
Oh yes, I've had my eye on those pans for years, gotta get some! I want them for roasting veggies. I did find very heavy duty cookie pans (before reading the recommendation for Vollrath) and they make all the difference in cookie or biscuit baking.
Hey Kristen, Do you ever make granola bars? Or a healthy bar in general. I'd like to make some for when the kids go skating for a snack. Buying boxes of bars is sooo expensive and doesn't go far.
I got a gold touch cookie sheet for Christmas to add to my gold touch loaf pans. I love it. I wanted the half sheet pan but I see the advantages of having the cookie sheet too. I need to look into new half sheet pans because mine are rusting under the lip. I bought them from Williams Sonoma. I wonder if they would take them back. I got them for Christmas a few years ago. They shouldn't be used up just yet.
Non-stick doesn't float my boat either!
We just decided to get some new bakeware items & after reading your comments about the wear-ever pans. I've decided to order these for our own household use. And after I try them maybe reorder for gifts. While I read your blog I noticed someone mentioned The Pampered Chef had them for cheaper. I checked & they are cheaper. Then I decided to call them and ask them "Where are they made?" After 10 minutes on hold, the answer was China! If you do go to Amazon take notice where wear-ever is made...Yeap good old USA. Last year We decided to try harder to buy products made in USA. I wish Miracle Maid was easier to get, mines lasted over 30 years now & they still look almost new...even went through a house fire. I've normally recieved free shipping from Amazon also. Glad you blogged about this subject, Thank you.
Okay, I'm definitely going to try your granola. It always looks so yummy in your pics!
I found the same pans for less then 7.00 at a cooking supply store locally.
I also found silicon mats for the same price at the same store.Cooking supply stores are great and very affordable prices for anything you may need to cook or bake with . my local one is called chef mart.I know Smart and Final has them as well.
I've had a pair of these pans for several years now. They are the very best I have ever baked with. I use them constantly. The only problem I have with them now is that after years of use, the bottom of the pans are dark--(only the outside bottom, the inside of the pans are fine). I started noticing when I was baking that things were browning up a lot more than when the pans were new. After an online search, I discovered that the darkening of my pans was actually from grease buildup and that the darker finish was affecting how the pans worked. I tried to get it off, but to no avail. If I'd been more vigilant about being sure they were cleaned properly each time this wouldn't have happened, but with kids who take turns washing dishes...well, you know. Someday I want to get new ones, but until then I either put a sheet of aluminum foil (which I save to use again) under the pan in the oven, or if I'm only using one of the pair to bake with, I flip the other one upside down in the oven and put the one I'm baking in on top of it. (Does that make sense written out?) Now my baked goods are back to their normal selves again, but seeing your nice, new, shiny pans tempts me to get some new ones myself. I'm getting by just fine, but...
Not sure if we have the same ones or not, but the ones I have, I "inherited" from my mom. We used to cater and had tons of these, so when we quit, I kept several. I LOVE these; use them for everything (including cookies). I bet the pans I have are close to 20 years old & they've been used a lot too & still look good!
I don't know if I heard the rest of what Mr. FG gave you for Christmas! Earrings? (or were those from him and the kids?). What did you get him? If I can ask? 🙂 (I'm already thinking up things for Valentine's day!!!)
I make your coconut granola recipe and love it! I am going to attempt a soaked version of it once I am done a grains fast.
I spread my granola out in a couple baking pans to toast it, which has worked really well for me. They are only slightly more work to clean after than a baking sheet, and I also can stir with abandon!
I bought my half-sheet pans at a restaurant supply store. I've had them for almost 20 years but I don't think they were anywhere near $25.
I love granola, but I have only tried making the bars at home. The coconut granola recipe sounds yummmmy! And the pans are nice, too!
Looks delicious to me. i really must do some more baking.
The trouble with my baking sheets is that they warp during cooking. They kind of twist when they get heated up. If I'm cooking something that needs to keep it's shape, this is a problem. Is this because they're air filled? Do your new baking sheets do this?
That typically happens with thinner baking sheets. If you get heavy, well-made ones, they shouldn't warp, even at fairly high temperatures. So far, I've just used these at 350 F or so, but I think they'll be fine at higher temps as well.
LOL! I use the turkey roaster when I make granola. I have a very heavy Cuisinart one (pricey, but so worth it) that is flat bottomed with nice high side.
Restaurant supply stores usually sell half sheets for less than $9 and quarter sheet pans for about $6 in this area. If you are really bargain hunting, check out a used restaurant equipment dealer or classified ads like Craig's list. Used and in decent shape run about $3 each. They may not be perfectly shiney but you will dull them up yourself fairly quickly, LOL.
If you frequent a local restaurant you might ask the manager to order a case of parchment sheets or a big roll of parchment for you from their food wholesaler. The sheets are usually full sheet size so you can double a sheet or slice it in half. A case will probably last a lifetime for most home bakers.
I love Andys fairfield granola. It a Nigella recipe and it uses applesauce instead of oil( it might use a touch of oil). Its very good and there is a chocolate/peanut version too. Its in my foodblog.
After reading this post I am left wanting a post on all the kitchen essentials (including preferred brands) needed for a frugal mom. I'm thinking of one post for things you make regularly like bread, yogurt, granola, applesauce, canning essentials, etc. I think not having all the gadgets hinders me from thinking I can do all these.
I got my half sheet pans at King Arthur flour.com (their own brand), made in the US and AWESOME. I use mine to make granola too. I have a bowl of granola every morning and it's the only way I can get my son (10) to eat oats...