Basically, the Silpat baking mat is a new way to bake without the hassle of foods sticking. You know what I mean.

It’s your favorite cookie recipe. You can already smell them in the oven and then the timer goes off. You take the cookies from the oven and get ready to try one, still steaming from the heat.

Suddenly, your worst nightmare is true! Your cookies have stuck to the pan because you forgot to put on your non-stick cooking spray, aluminum foil or parchment paper. Common mistakes, but either way your cookies are ruined.

With the Silpat baking mat, you will never have to spray another pan as long as you bake! The mat is 11 ¾ x 8 ¼ inches so it fits most standard baking sheets. In addition, this mat has a naturally non-stick texture which can withstand temperatures from -40 up to over 480 degrees! That means that not only can bake with this mat, but you can also chill foods like chocolate molds or ice cream sandwiches.

These convenient little sheets were developed from a cooking company in France called Demarle. They were invented in 1982 and it’s very possible that the first of all the Silpats to be used are still in kitchens today. These heavy-duty mats can be used over 2,000 times! You better get to baking… your Silpat is waiting!

It was then that he thought up a mechanical arm which would make this job much easier. It came in the form of an 80-quart mixer and by 1915 it was customary in large bakeries nationwide. In 1919, Johnson sensitive to home bakers as well, reformatted his original idea until it was just right for the every day kitchen of a consumer.

With the birth of this second generation stand mixer, people everywhere flocked to buy a stand mixer of their own. These were called Hobart stand mixers, now-a-days known as KitchenAid mixers.

Today, with a new name, KitchenAid offers many different varieties to Johnson’s classic design. Sizes for the average home, vary from 9-cups to 14-cups capacity. Stand mixers are also capable of doing many other functions besides solely mixing, like Johnson had originally planned.

KitchenAid sells attachments that even Johnson probably never imagined. A stand mixer mixes, kneads, whips, folds, (with the right attachments) makes pasta, makes ice cream, grinds meat, slices/strains fruits, grinds cheeses, grates potatoes, etc.

The possibilities are nearly as endless as the attachments you can buy for a stand mixer of your own! I’ve worked in the kitchen with my stand mixer for as long as I’ve remembered.

While, yes, every now and then it is kind of fun to knead my own breads or hand mix cookie dough, in most cases the added strain on my wrists and hands just isn’t worth the effort. After all, Johnson’s intention with the stand mixer was so that bakers would no longer have to hand mix dough. May the stand mixer dream not live in vain!

I found this fantastic site where you can send custom pictures in to their headquarters and have hand piped and iced cookies sent to you.

These cookies look so great! I’ve never seen any other cookies look so realistic.

In addition to portrait cookies, this site also does photo cookies (like an exact scan) and logo cookies. Although, I haven’t ordered any of these cookies yet they look so amazing and lifelike! I’ll be sure to bookmark this site and come back when a special occasion comes up!

Here, why don’t you check out these delicious handmade cookies too. The site is called Rolling Pin Productions and the link is directly associated with portrait cookies. You can even order cookies for yourself right from the site on the Order Page.

While, yes, I could bake my own cookies and carefully ice them, trembling as I try my best to copy the exact image of a picture or logo.

With my best guess, they wouldn’t be half as good as these so I think I’ll stick with the professionals. Still… I have to say my sugar cookies would probably taste just as good as these fancy portrait cookies!