I just purchased a set of three small AirBake cookie sheets and have discovered that they seem to be very different from the AirBake cookie sheets I have owned over the past 20 years! I can't say whether I have purchased the same brand as I had purchased over the years, but I have several old sheets that I routinely put in the dishwasher and I have never had water get inside them, nor have they ever seriously discolored from being put through the wash cycle. I didn't read the instructions before washing the sheets, well, because I thought that I already knew how to care for them. Surprise! I didn't. They went into the dishwasher like all the other AirBake pans that I own, and when they came out... UGLY! The smallest pan had water between the layers and the finish looks damaged, even though liquid rather than concentrated dishwashing tablets was used. When I fished out the packaging to read the instructions is where I read the tag line "new and improved" -- by whose estimation? The manufacturer's? I believe that I have come to the realization that the word 'improved' in this instance is at best a misnomer and at worst and out and out lie. So a few words to the wise and young cooks out there: Don't criticize your mother because she thinks AirBake pans are great. They used to be great. It looks like today's AirBake pans are not of the same caliber as the old ones.

Silverquille

Midwest

The whole AirBake idea sounds like a great one: insulate the cookie sheets by putting a layer of air in the middle of the pan to prevent hot spots and therefore scorching. The reality is much less impressive. I don't own an AirBake because someone gave my mom one when I was a kid (one which she still owns) and she and I were both disappointed with its performance. The insulating quality seems to be more of a downfall than a perk, the air pocket causes excessive warping, and the construction is not great. When using this pan I have not noticed any improvement in the quality of cookies, pizza, etc that were baked on it compared to the same items cooked on conventional cookie sheets. If anything, the insulation quality makes the items cook more slowly. It is difficult to get a crispy crust on a pizza with this pan. The insulating air pocket also seems to cause the pan to warp to a worse than usual extent. I assume that the different piece may respond to heat differently, which is why the pan is more out of shape than my mothers other, older pans. The construction seems to be lacking as the pan is not truly water-tight. It is not advisable to submerge the pan completely after a few uses because it seems that the individual plates separate somewhat. It is not noticeable when you are just looking at the pan, however, water definitely gets between the layers. Overall, this pan is an overpriced idea that just doesn't work.

sashannadc

Forsyth, MO

Right after I became engaged, a married friend of mine came over with a basket full of kitchen essentials, and proclaimed these AirBake Cookie Sheets a housewife must-have. At first I was a little skeptical, wondering "how much better could they really be than the regular old cookie sheets"? I soon found out that she was exactly right - these do a great job of cooking evenly without burning the bottoms of your cookies. The double bottom makes the AirBake sheets do a much better job than my other cookie sheets. I can bake the exact same cookies on the same rack, for the same amount of time with dramatically different results. The conventional cookie pan leaves the bottoms of the cookies dark brown and hardened, while the bottoms of the cookies on the AirBake sheets are light brown and still soft. My one complained about these cookie sheets is that the size that I have are so generously sized that they don't fit in the dishwasher.

skatiem

USA

I thought this Air Bake Non-Stick Insulated Cookie Sheet was going to be the answer to my kitchen prayers. I was kind of expecting some kind of magic cookie sheet I guess. What I got was an overpriced cookie sheet that I really like less than my plain old regular cookie sheet that doesn't claim to be insulated or non-stick or cook with air. I have a friend who loves her Air-bake cookie sheets and I was thinking that since she knows more about baking than I do, that I would follow her lead and give this a try. Now I'm kind of wishing that I had just purchased a more inexpensive cookie sheet or maybe just scrapped the whole idea of baking from scratch and gone to a nice bakery for my cookies. Ease of Cleaning For a non-stick surface, I didn't find this cookie sheet to be all that easy to clean. I expect non-stick to work like my better pots and pans and really not have food stick to it. I don't feel like I got that quality here.

jcaitlin221

Southfield, MI

This is made of aluminium and has bonded layers of aluminum for even baking. The ideal is that this will not burn or rust. The problem is that it can be warped and dent very easily and because of this, the imperfections can alter the yield of cookies that you have. When it was brand new, I had uniform brown cookies that baked evenly. It was non stick and very easy to clean. However overtime, the shape became warped and the cookie quality decreased. The bottoms of the cookies did not burn initially, but after a while some of them burned over time. It's very fragile so when cleaning be careful. You absolutely cannot throw these in the sink and put other dishes on top of them, because damage will occur. You need to be gentle with this and then you can preserve your investment. Durability Not durable because of the natural of the aluminum material used. Must be extra gentle and product may be damaged from shipping.

nextgenkai

USA

I received this cookie sheet as a wedding present six years ago. I have been using the cookie sheet regularly during that time and would say that the cookie sheet is very durable and is still in good shape six years later. We have both hand washed the cookie sheet and run it through the dishwasher without any problems. The surface of the cookie sheet has remained unscratched and not dented even after numerous uses. I like to use the cookie sheet for baking because it heats evenly and gives a good result especially when baking cookies. My biggest complaint with the pan is that it is not very good for cooking anything else because there is no lip on the sides. My husband used the cookie sheet to bake chicken and the juices ran right off the edge of the pan to the bottom of the oven. A rim or lip around the edge of the pan would have been nice to trap anything that might fall off the pan.

jau11ao

Loveland, OH

I was so excited to get this cookie sheet. I love improving upon my cookies and everything else I thought I could bake on here. However, the first time I tried it, it didn't work up to my expectations. Sure, it worked just as well as my other cookie sheets, but I thought that there would be less stick with this one, and that just wasn't the case. I'll still use this cookie sheet occasionally if I am baking a huge batch of cookies and I need to utilize all of my sheets. Nothing special to me though. Performance I have family members who swear by this pan, but it's performance wasn't any better than my other cookie sheets. Ease of Cleaning I've tried scrubbing these things, but there is definitely evidence of cookies past on my pans. Durability Seems like I will be able to use it a while. Design It's a good concept, but it never really worked the way I thought it would. Doesn't Stick The first batch of cookies I cooked on this, all of the cookies stuck somewhat.

mjtd

Stanton, CA

My mother once recieved an AirBake pizza pan as a gift, and loved it so much she immediately ran out to get the cookie sheets. She said that the pizza pan made the crust lighter and doughy-er than any other pan she had tried, and the cookie sheets promoted a more even baking than she had ever imagined. My mother is an excellent baker, so with that glowing review, I knew I had to get one of these cookie sheets for myself. All I can say is that maybe sometimes Mother doesn't know best. I do think that these cookie sheets baked somewhat more evenly that my old cookie sheet, and the cookies definitely seemed less prone to burning. These are all big pluses, but there are some big negatives too. Firstly, I recieved these as a gift, and scratched it taking it out of the box. I scratched it again when removing cookies from it, even though I was using a plastic spatula. I think that maybe one cookie sheet scratched against another, and that is what caused the scratch. With 2 scratches on their first day, I don't feel confident that these sheets will last the test of time. Second, these sheets are kind of a pain to clean. You can't put them in the dishwasher, which is ok by me, since I don't have one. You also can't immerse them in a washbasin, which means they take up a lot of counter space while waiting to be cleaned. Combine that with the scratching issue, and they take up even more space, since I am afraid to stack them on top of each other, or stack things on them. The scratching makes me nervous even to leave them in the dishrack to dry, so I wind up drying them by hand. I have them stored in with the pots and pans, currently, and I am concerned that when I need them again, they will be even further scratched.

RedQueenElizabeth

Saddle Brook, NJ

Whatever you do, don't be afraid of the price tag on these baking sheets.  You don't need to grease the sheet like some recipes call for.  I have yet to burn a batch of cookies and they slid right off!  You will not be disappointed in these sheets.  Easy to clean, just wipe with a wet cloth and put away! 

ANGHANZ

Wellsville, PA

My mom gave me one of these cookie sheets several years ago and I had to buy another one. I load one while the other is in the oven.   I just won't use any other kind.  Even if you leave the cookies in a little too long they don't burn.  They come out perfect every time.  You shouldn't put these baking sheets in the dishwasher but you don't need to, they practically wipe clean.  So I guess there really isn't a "con" to add to this product.  If you try it once, you'll never go back to the old fashioned kind.  And they don't rust or darken either.  All of the Air bake products are worth buying...the cake pans too. 

queen-of-the-cats

Omaha, NE