One of the things I enjoy doing is figuring our processes that are more efficient and don't waste resources! A few weeks ago, my daughter and I were making dozens of elephant shaped cookies. My daughter had a difficult time keeping the integrity of the cookie, especially when the cookie has a trunk and tail! Many recipes just state transfer cookies to baking sheet. With this soft cookie dough, I wanted to minimize the amount of excess flour that was required to prevent the dough from sticking to the work surface and rolling pin. I also wanted to keep the integrity of the cookie shape. I devised an easy and fool proof way of transferring cookies to a baking tray with minimal effort while keeping the shape of the cookie intact. Since then, I've been using this fool-proof method for both cookies and crackers. It makes transferring cookies (and crackers) to a baking tray so much easier! Try it and let me know your thoughts in the comment section.
Tips.
Silicone baking mats
I LOVE these mats. These mats are one of the kitchen must-haves. It makes baking so easy. I prefer to buy the size that covers a large 11 1/2" x 16 1/2" baking tray. There are some that have pre-printed shapes on it, if you think you'll be needing a size guide. Purchase the size of the silicone mats that fit YOUR baking trays and ovens.
Parchment paper.
Parchment paper can be used for a multitude of baking purposes. It is primarily used to prevent dough and other food items from sticking. It is different from foil as it does not heat up quickly so your dough will not brown or burn easily.
Rolling your dough between parchment paper and a silicone pad will allow you to cut cookies and transfer it easily to a baking tray.
If your silicone pad is not in use baking a batch of cookies in the oven, you can try to roll your cookie dough directly on the silicone pad with just a piece of parchment paper on the top. The silicone pad has to be cold and not from the oven! Otherwise your cooled cookie dough will immediately warm up when coming in contact with the warm silicone pad.
Roll dough directly onto silicone mat if the silicone mat is cool and the dough is not too sticky. Otherwise, roll it between 2 pieces of parchment paper.
You can also roll your dough between two pieces of parchment paper and then transfer the cookies using what I describe as "a reverse peel."
Use parchment paper when rolling cookies to prevent sticking.
Roll dough between parchment paper, using sticks as thickness guides.
Cut out shapes with cookie cutters
Delicate 1/8" (3mm) cookies transferred using the reverse peel method.
Actually, they are the same. I use the term interchangeably.