My love for Amy's Oat Scone inspired me to share their goodness with friends and family. I love seeing their happy faces and knowing that I - ok, truth: I wanted to be able to make them whenever the urge struck. They are the best scones I've ever eaten - but, that is not the point of this post. My sister bought me their cookbook for Christmas one year, and I immediately devoured the "Tips & Techniques" section. The expert and creative bakers at Amy's, in addition to their strict adherence to the usage of food scales for precise measurements, heavily touted the advantages of using parchment paper. I am an obedient recipe-follower, and after my first parchment paper-baking experience, I was hooked. No longer was there a need for greasy cooking spray or messy shortening or, the worst offense: wasting delicious butter. Clean up is easier with parchment paper - while the pan or dish used still needs to be washed, it does not need to be scrubbed. It also adds a layer of protection to your bakeware, and there's no fuss when removing the baked food. I now use parchment paper whenever I bake, for whatever I bake: cookies, certain cakes, meatloaf, biscuits, bacon. You can also use it when recipes call for baking pockets (often for fish or vegetables). It is sold alongside aluminum foil and wax paper (note: never confuse wax paper and parchment paper! Google it!), and there are usually coupons available.