I stopped buying springform pans decades ago when I discovered “cheesecake” pans with removable bottoms (made by Parrish Magic Line and more recently by Fat Daddio's-these companies make my favorite cake and brownie pans as well).

For cake layer and brownie pans, as with sheet pans, avoid dark finishes (they overcook the sides of the cake before the center is done) and don’t be swayed by nonstick! (That's what parchment is for!) Springforms and Cheesecake Pans If you need to start your collection slowly, flip through a couple favorite baking books and look at recipes you are most likely to make and buy pans accordingly. If you have both shapes in both sizes you can follow most recipes as written instead of trying to increase or decrease recipes by awkward amounts, or end up with flat cakes because you baked batter in a 9-inch instead of an 8-inch pan. Ideally, you need both 8- and 9-inch round pans 2 inches deep for cakes, and both 8- and 9-inch square pans for brownies and bars. Photo by Mark Weinberg Layer Cake and Brownie Pans

I don’t buy or keep “cookie sheets” for cookie baking, and if I did, I would avoid nonstick (unnecessary and easily damaged), dark-colored (cookies burn on the bottom before the tops are fully baked), insulated (they lengthen the baking time and rob you of caramelized edges), and cookie sheets with special surfaces (unnecessary).Ĭake pans are also very good for ice cream cakes. It’s good to have a rimless cookie sheet for sliding under delicate cake layers in order to lift or move them, but I bake cookies on half sheet pans, which are so useful for other things as well. More: One oven, 2 baking sheets, a zillion cookies. The heavier and more expensive type will not do a better job with your cookies! I’ve seen them in 2-packs in big box stores like Costco. Use them to toast nuts or croutons, roast vegetables or chicken pieces, or keep pancakes warm-and a thousand other things, too. In addition to baking cookies, use them for jellyrolls and other thin cake sheets (and tripled brownie recipes). They are sturdy enough to last a lifetime in a home kitchen, and relatively inexpensive. These are the 12-x-16-inch, medium-weight (there is no need to pay for the super heavy ones) aluminum pans used in bakeries and restaurants.

Magic line vs fat daddio