Parchment paper is my friend. We have become especially good over the past few years, and now I consider it a staple in my kitchen. What’s not to love about a cooking paper that is heat-resistant, non-stick and grease proof? Of course, it’s great for baking cookies, but it’s wonderful for other things too. For example, in our house, we use parchment paper on homemade pizza night. This way everyone can make their own pizza on their own piece of parchment paper. It’s then easy to transfer the pizza (on the parchment paper) to a baking pan and into the oven.

I also use parchment paper to cook bacon. I line a baking sheet with parchment paper, put the bacon on top of the paper, and pop it in the oven for about 10-15 min at 400 degrees. The bacon turns out awesome and it is so much easier to clean-up.

Here are a few other uses for parchment paper you might want to consider…

1. Parchment Paper Dinners – You’ve heard of aluminum foil dinners, right? Well, you can do the same thing with parchment paper. Get a square of parchment paper, put down some raw veggies first, top with some meat, drizzle with oil or seasoning, wrap it up, and bake it all together in the oven. Yum, yum!

2. Muffin/Cupcake Liners – Did you ever find yourself out of muffin liners when it’s time to pour your batter in the pan? I’ve got the solution! Cut small squares of parchment paper and stick them in the muffin tin.

3. Make Grilled Cheese Sandwiches- This idea is near and dear to my heart because we consume a lot of grilled cheese sandwiches at our house. You can use parchment paper to line a grill or panini press when making grilled cheese. There’s no mess! Or, you can wrap a cheese sandwich in parchment paper and stick it in the oven or toaster oven. The bread will come out crispy and the cheese will melt evenly.

4. Keep your Microwave Clean with Parchment Paper – Instead of using a paper towel to cover your splattering food in the microwave, try a covering your messy leftovers with a piece of parchment paper. Unlike a paper towel, the parchment paper will not become soggy and will likely stay in place better.

5. Gift Wrap for Baked Goods – I used to gift loaves of bread to people wrapped in plastic wrap, but bread wrapped in parchment paper is more fun! In the words of Rachel Ray, it looks “chic and rustic.” You can tie the parchment paper with a piece of ribbon or twine.

6. Freeze Cookie Dough – Roll a log of cookie dough and wrap it in a large piece of parchment paper. Freeze the wrapped dough. When it is time to pull it out of the freezer and bake the cookies, you can just cut the dough into slices and bake them on the same piece of parchment paper. This would be a fun gift idea too!

7. Make Piping Bags – If you find yourself in need of a piping bag to pipe frosting or something else, cut a piece of parchment paper and fold in into a cone shape. Cut the end off the cone and voilá, you have a piping bag.

8. Easy Transfer Pie Crust – Pie crust can be difficult to transfer into a pie dish. Next time you make a pie, try rolling out your pie crust on a piece of parchment paper. It will be much easier to pick up the pie crust on the parchment paper and then “unpeel it” into the pie dish. Some people also like to put another piece of parchment paper or even plastic wrap on top of the pie crush they are rolling too so it doesn’t still to the rolling pin.

Well, there you have it… A few ideas to get you using that parchment paper! Another thing to consider is that parchment paper can often be reused and recycled. I used to shy away from buying it because it was expensive, but once I figured out that high quality parchment paper can be reused, I found more justification in buying it. I hope you find this helpful. Now get stocked up on that parchment paper before baking season!