Paula Deen Speckled Bakeware (and King Arthur Flour cookies)

Let's be honest here. It's hard for me not to fall in love with new bakeware. I've been known to ogle new cake pans, pie plates, and Bundt pans whenever I see them in a store.

So when I saw a photo of the new Paula Deen speckled bakeware in dark blue, I had to ask for a sample.

Reminiscent of the old-school granite ware that my mom had when I was still using an Easy Bake Oven, this has random white speckles on a very dark blue background.

Unlike that ancient cookware, this stuff is super-slippy nonstick, as I found out when I baked some cookies.

It took me a while to decide exactly what I wanted to make on my new baking sheet. I thought maybe a loaf of free-form rustic bread would be nice.

But then I decided I needed some dessert, and I remembered that I had a box of King Arthur Flour chocolate chip cookie mix in the pantry. They had send me samples of a few different mixes a while back, and this one was still waiting for me.

So the cookies had to be baked. Had to.

The cookie mix was super simple to put together, and the cookies were pretty darned good. The bakeware was very very nonstick ... much better than I expected. The baked cookies slipped around the pan easily, leaving very little trace of their presence on the pan when they were removed.

While I only received the cookie sheet, I'm sure the other bakeware is just as good - there are round cake pans and 9x13 cake pans available, as well.

Purty, isn't it?

And here's the cookie mix box:

FYI, King Arthur Flour donates money to Feeding America when you buy their Essential Goodness mixes. Check out their website for details.

Who's the bakeware for: People who bake. Also nice for food photos.

Pros: Pretty. Nonstick.

Cons: The baking sheet is 10x15, which is slightly smaller than a half-sheet pan which measures 11x16. This isn't going to make a difference to most people, but it's something to keep in mind.

Wishes: I'm hoping they add a pie plate to this collection. Not that I need one, but a speckled pie plate would look awesome in photos.

Source: I received the cookie sheet and cookie mix from their respective manufacturers at no cost to me.