Meet the unsung hero of the baking world: the cookie scoop. This handy tool is a game-changer for anyone looking to effortlessly and consistently portion cookie dough.
Not only does it save time and ensure your cookies bake evenly, but it also opens up a world of possibilities, from mini treats to generously sized delights. With a variety of sizes at your disposal, finding the perfect scoop for any cookie recipe has never been easier.
🗝️Key Takeaways
- Essentials of Cookie Scoops: A stainless steel cookie scoop ensures uniform cookie sizes, saves baking time, and prevents the dough from sticking.
- Sizing and Selection: Cookie scoops vary in size, with numbers indicating volume; choose based on the desired cookie size, from bite-sized to large.
- Usage Tips: For best results, chill the dough, use the scoop to portion, and scrape off excess dough for even sizes; lightly flour the scoop for sticky dough.
- Versatile Kitchen Tool: Beyond cookies, use scoops for making evenly sized meatballs, ice cream balls, muffins, and more, ensuring consistency in your cooking and baking.
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🍪Why should you use a stainless steel cookie scoop?
When it comes to baking perfect cookies, having the right tools is essential. A stainless steel cookie scoop set is one of the most useful tools you can have in your kitchen. Here are a few reasons why:
- It allows you to easily portion out the dough into uniform pieces, so your cookies all turn out evenly sized.
- Cookie scoops make quick work of forming and portioning out dough, saving you time and energy in the kitchen.
- Stainless steel cookie scoops have sturdy construction that ensures that they won’t bend or break when scooping even the stiffest cookie dough.
- Since they’re made from stainless steel, they’re easy to clean and sanitize.
“I love cookie scoops for consistency. Not just in the same size, but for bake time and yield. When I use a scoop, I know that my cookies will be the perfect level of done at the same time, every time, for every cookie. I also know I’ll always get exactly 20 cookies from my favorite recipe.”
— Renee Gardner, https://reneenicoleskitchen.com/
❓️What are the different sizes of cookie scoops?
Cookie scoops come in a variety of sizes, allowing you to bake beautiful cookies from big to small.
Because cookie dough scoops are simply ice cream scoops, the scoop numbers are based on the number of scoops you can get from a quart. Home bakers may not find the numbers useful, but the higher the number, the smaller the scoop.
What is the standard cookie scoop size? When buying scoops, each brand has different sizes, so for cookies, look for the number of teaspoons or tablespoons the scoop holds.
#100 scoop
Small 1-inch scoop: Holds 1 teaspoon. Use these for making bite-sized cookies or truffles, as a melon baller or fill a deviled egg.
#60 scoop
Medium 1 1/2 inch scoop: Holds 1 tablespoon. Ideal for classic chocolate chip cookies and mini cupcakes.
#20 scoopLarge 2 ¾ inch scoop: Holds 4 tablespoons or ¼ cup. Use this scoop for giant cookies, as an ice cream scooper or to fill cupcake pans with batter.
📝How to use a cookie scoop
It’s not hard using a cookie scoop, but there are a few tricks to get the scooper filled properly.
- Start by prepping your dough. Chill it in the fridge for at least an hour before scooping, and make sure it’s soft enough to scoop easily, but not so soft that it’s sticky.
- Choose the right size of cookie scoop for your recipe and fill it with dough.
- Using the scoop, scoop down into the dough, overfilling it. Use the side of the mixing bowl to scrape off the excess, or use a bench scraper to remove the excess dough.
- Firmly press the handle down until it pushes out all the dough. If the dough starts sticking, lightly dip the scoop into flour or sugar first.
- Place the cookies onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet, leaving enough space between them so they don’t run into one another while baking.
- Bake according to the recipe directions, and enjoy your perfectly portioned cookies.
⭐Don’t Miss These Cookie Recipes
- Cookie Monster Cookies: These vibrant blue cookies are packed with chocolate chips and Oreo chunks, perfect for any Cookie Monster fan craving a sweet, eye-catching treat.
- Tie Dye Jello Cookies: Bright, colorful, and fun, these cookies incorporate Jello powder for a burst of flavor and a tie-dye effect that’s sure to impress at any gathering.
- Ruby Chocolate Chip Cookies: Featuring the unique taste of ruby chocolate, these cookies offer a fruity, slightly tart twist on the classic chocolate chip cookie.
- Heath Bar Cookies: Crunchy, buttery Heath bars are chopped and mixed into the dough, creating cookies that are a delightful blend of chocolate and toffee flavors.
- Lemon Whippersnaps: These zesty Cool Whip cookies are light and airy with a bold lemon flavor, making them a refreshing choice for citrus lovers.
- Ricotta Cookies: Soft, moist, and delicately sweet, these cookies use ricotta cheese to achieve a tender texture and are finished with a simple glaze.
🍨What else can you use cookie scoops for?
Even though we call these cookie scoops, they are the perfect tool for other foods.
- Ice Cream Balls — use these scoops to perfectly fill an ice cream cone, to make frozen bite desserts.
- Use a large cookie scoop for muffins or cupcake batter to fill the pans.
- Make your pancakes all the same size using a cookie scoop.
- Turn your cookie scoop into a melon baller.
- Use a medium scoop for perfectly proportioned meatballs.
- Proportion foods like salmon patties, potato cakes or arepas.
- If you like making truffles, a cookie scoop will make the perfect size.
- Use the large scoop for portioning out chicken or tuna salad for sandwiches.
- Make a nice round scoop of mashed potatoes or rice.
“I like to use a cookie scoop for cookies so they look uniform and for consistent bake times. I also love to use a cookie scoop for other things like making meatballs or matzoh balls.”
— Robin Donovan, All Ways Delicious
Using cookie scoops for baking cookies and other foods is a great way to achieve consistent results and save time in the kitchen. The scoops come in different sizes so you can pick the ones that are perfect for your baking and cooking needs.
This article originally appeared on Food Drink Life
