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Kinds of Baking Pans to Use When Baking Cookies

Baking pans and baking sheets come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. Pans are designated for specific types of cookies. Choose and use the bake ware indicated by your cookie recipe so you get best results.

But first things first.

The Difference Between Baking Pans and Baking Sheets

Although the term are often used interchangeably, there is a difference between the two.

Baking pans have rolled or raised edges to contain cookies or other baked foods. They are available in a variety of shapes – square, round, and rectangular. Bar cookies, brownies, and shortbread are baked in pans. You can use baking pans to bake individual cookies, too, but the pan will hold fewer cookies than a baking sheet. The most common pan for cookies is a 13” x 9” x 2” size, sometimes referred to as a “quarter sheet.” Jelly roll pans measuring 15½” x10½” x 1” are also regularly used for baking cookies.

Baking sheets, also called “cookie sheets,” are flat and rimless. Their large surface area, usually about 14 inches by18 inches, allows room to hold a large number of cookies with the customary 2 inches in between each one. One or more ends of the sheets are angled upward, like a lip, to allow you to grasp the sheet with a potholder and remove it from the oven safely. Baking sheets are most often used for individual drop cookies, sliced cookies, press cookies, rolled cookies, and types of molded cookies. (Read more about baking sheets.)

Pan Sizes for Cookies

Square pans

8” x 8” (both 1 ½” deep and 2” deep)

9” x 9” (both 1 ½” deep and 2” deep)

Rectangular pans

11” x 7” x 2”

13”x 9” x 2”

Jelly Roll pans

10 ½” x 15 ½” x 1”

12 ½” x 17” x 1”  

Round pans (also called cake pans)

8” x 1 ½” (or 2”)

9” x  1 ½” (or 2”)

Springform pans

Deeper than typical round cake pans, springform pans have removable sides released by a spring.

8” x 2 ½” (or 3”)

9” x  2 ½” (or 3”)

What to Look for in Choosing Pans for Baking Cookies

Weight

Pans are available in aluminum, glass, insulated metal, and nonstick surfaces, silicone, and stainless steel. No matter what size you choose, look for heavy, thick pans. Weight and thickness are more important than brand or material.

Versatility

If you have a limited budget or limited storage space, choose a 13” x 9” pan and a jellyroll pan to get started. These sizes can be substituted for baking sheets as you build your collection of baking equipment.

Tips for Using Baking Pans for Baking Cookies

• Select a pan that is the same size as indicated in the recipe.
• Measure a pan’s size from the inside edge to the inside edge. This way you won’t include the thickness of the sides in your measurements.
• If you use a glass dish or dark, nonstick pan when neither is indicated by the recipe, reduce the oven temperature by 25ºF. For example, if you use a glass dish (instead of a pan called for in the recipe) and the recipe calls for a 350ºF baking temperature, reduce the oven to 325ºF.
• If you use a pan that is bigger than the recipe indicates, reduce baking time by 10 to 15 minutes. If you use a pan that is smaller than the recipe indicates, increase the baking time by 10 to 15 minutes. Be sure to test cookies by the visual cues indicated in the recipe.

Other Pans Used for Baking

Pans are available for many specialty items. Roasting pans, bread pans, muffin pans, tube pans, quiche pans – even tortilla shell pans and pate pans – all are used for different kinds of foods baked in the oven.

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