Cleaning Cookie and Baking Sheets

Whether you’ve been roasting a lot of vegetables or you’re just on a snickerdoodle kick because you’ve been binging too many shows about culinary competitions, sending your oven into overdrive can result in your baking sheets looking downright gross. Fortunately, cleaning cooking sheets coated in grime is a gingersnap! Learn how to clean a baking sheet — and how to keep it from getting gross again. 
 

Method 1: How to Clean Cookie Sheets with Baked-On Grease Using Ammonia

• 1/2 cup of ammonia
• Dishwashing liquid (Make sure this doesn’t have any bleach in it. Ammonia and bleach are two household cleaners that should never be mixed.)
• A small bowl
• A non-scratch scouring pad
• Microfiber cloths
• Dishwashing gloves (optional)

1. Make sure your oven is off and completely cool.
2. Pour the ammonia into the bowl. Set this on the top rack of your oven.
3. Place the greasy cookie sheet on the bottom rack.
4. Close the oven door and let this sit overnight. (Do not turn the oven on.)
5. In the morning, don your gloves. Then, use the non-scratch pad and water to clean the baking sheet.
6. Wash the sheet normally with dish soap and water.
7. The ammonia may very well have loosened up a lot of the oily remnants from meals past on your oven door or walls, so take some time to wipe those down with microfiber cloths.

Method 2: Cleaning Cookie Sheets Using Baking Soda and Vinegar

• 1/2 cup of distilled white vinegar
• 1/2 cup of baking soda
• A clean kitchen sink
• A non-scratch scouring pad

1. Plug in your stopper and fill the sink with hot water.
2. Mix the baking soda and vinegar with the water.
3. Submerge your cookie sheet as much as possible. If you have a large pan, you may have to clean half at a time.
4. Let the pan sit for 30 minutes to an hour. This should loosen anything that’s baked on.
5. Gently scrub away the baked-on gunk using the non-scratch pad.
6. If you have a larger cookie sheet, refill the sink with a fresh batch of the cleaning mixture and submerge the dirty half of the pan.
7. Repeat Steps 4 and 5.
8. Hand wash the pan as you normally would and let it dry before putting it away.
9. Make sure to clean the sink so it doesn’t get stinky.

Method 3: How to Keep Baking Sheets Looking Good

The key to keeping your cookie sheets from getting those gross dark patches is preventing fats and oils from coming in contact with them. The best way to do this is to line your pans with parchment paper, aluminum foil or silicone mats made specifically for baking. (The food you are cooking will determine which liner you choose.) Another way to make your cookie sheets last longer is to clean them in the sink rather than the dishwasher. 

Now you know the secret to cleaning cookie sheets so that they look great for years to come. But what sort of condition is your oven in? Tackle that mess with these tips on washing a glass oven door. 

And if you don’t want to deal with the oven, you don’t have to! Oven cleaning is just one of the many specialty services we offer to make your life just a bit easier. Contact your local Merry Maids today!