UPDATE: Our Silpat giveaway winner was Amy Lents, who says she hides the Snickers and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups in the bottom of her candy bucket, so if she has any leftovers, they’re all her favorites. Obviously, she is an evil genius we can all learn from. Congratulations, Amy!

Hey! Don’t you hate scraping gunk off your baking sheets? And throwing away rolls of aluminum foil and parchment paper?

Me, too! Let us not put up with that.

Silpats are a pro baker’s secret weapon. They’re non-stick baking mats that fit right inside your baking sheets. Parchment paper will give you a non-stick surface, but Silpats also distribute heat evenly, so you don’t get those hot spots that turn some of your cookies super-dark while others stay light. You get a consistent, bakery-perfect finish. Your friends will probably hate you. High-five!

How many times can you use the same Silpat? Thousands. I’ve been using one of mine for seven years now, and it still works like a boss.

So, what can you do with a Silpat? Here are some ideas:

Bake things. Cookies, turnovers, cinnamon rolls, cheese straws, galettes … pastries love Silpat.

Roast things. Since Silpat is a non-stick surface, you don’t have to add nearly as much olive oil and/or butter to keep vegetables from sticking as they roast. And there’s no scraping those pans. Yes!

Make candy. Silpats can handle temps up to 480 degrees F, so I love using them to make things like toffee, pralines and peanut brittle. And they’re great for for working with melted chocolate. Everything peels right up like a dream.

Recently Demarle, the company that makes Silpats, sent me a new one to check out, as well as something I’d never seen: a Silpain Perforated Baking Mat for baking bread and bready things, like pizza, dinner rolls, pretzels, biscuits and croissants. I tested it out on the pretzel rolls, and the perforations let air reach the bottoms of the rolls, so they got nice and crusty instead of damp.

It’s also great for reheating leftover pizza.

The Giveaway:

To nab a Silpat and a Silpain all for yourself, please leave a comment below answering the following question –

What Halloween candy would you steal from a baby?

Are you a bona fide candy corn junkie? Do you hope no one knocks on your door, so you can keep those thumb-sized candy bars all to yourself? Or, are popcorn balls and candy apples your thing? We need to know.

To make sure the odds are ever in your favor, I’ll enter your name twice if you “Like” Silpat’s Facebook page or follow Silpat on Twitter, and tell me about it in the comments. Do both, and I’ll count your name three times. That’s thrice.

The Rules: One comment per person, please. This contest is open to U.S. residents only. The winner will be chosen using Random.org and announced Tuesday, Oct. 16.

Good luck!

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