Thought I would pop in a quick baking tip to go with the Lemon Blueberry Muffins recipe I shared today!
When cooking with friends over the years, I’ve noticed most of my friends have never heard about the easy (and foolproof!) trick for how to fill cupcake liners. I didn’t learn about it myself until a few years ago when I just started blogging. But now that I do, I use it every single time I make muffins and cupcakes. The trick?
A scoop!!
Kitchen scoops now come in 3-4 sizes, offered by countless brands. But after experimenting with a few over the years, my favorite by far is the Pampered Chef large scoop (for regular-sized cupcakes and muffins) and small scoop (for mini cupcakes and muffins). They have proven to be the sturdiest in my kitchen, and I love the sleek and clean look.
But more than anything, I love that using scoops for cake batter guarantees that your cupcakes will be nice and evenly-sized and evenly-cooked-through. For those of you into efficiency and minimal kitchen messes, they also allow you to fill a dozen cupcakes in less than 30 seconds with very little dripping. (Or if you decide to be crazy like I was a few years ago and make 624 cupcakes for a party, these scoops will literally save your life!)
I was gushing talking with Pampered Chef a few months ago about how much I adore their scoops. :) And around the holidays, they generously sent me a few more that I now keep in my food styling kit when I go on the road. Plus, they also included all sorts of other great PC goodies that I have had fun cooking and baking with over the past two months. (I’ve included a few of my favs below, including the measuring spoons my mom and I used to use all of the time when I was a kid and my favorite baking sheet.) Their products never fail to amaze me!
So if you are a cookie or muffin baker, hope this tip might help! Happy scooping! :)
Scooping Tip:
90% of the time, I find that it works best to fill the scoops perfectly level with cake batter. The only exception has been for more dense muffins that don’t rise quite as much. Then I fill a “heaping” (slightly rounded) scoop with batter.
My Favorite Scoops:
Pampered Chef’s Large Scoop — perfect for standard-sized cupcakes and muffins (approx. 3 tablespoons)
Pampered Chef’s Small Scoop — perfect for mini cupcakes and muffins (approx. 1 tablespoon)
Pampered Chef’s Adjustable Measuring Spoons — I use these all the time for everything!
Large Sheet Pan — One of the first pans I’ve had that doesn’t buckle under the heat. Love. It.
Happy scooping!
Disclaimer: I was provided with a baking set from Pampered Chef for review. I was not compensated to write this post, and all opinions are 100% my own.
Pampered Chef has great products but tend to be a little pricey, My sister and I have found our favorite shopping place for our kitchen product needs is a local resturant supply store. Most sell to the public also. And wow great prices and some of the coolest things we find there….. The baking sheets! Great heavy product, the best cookie sheet ever, commercial grade, easy clean up, and the prices are unbelievable. Now we have found some the are very espensive but 4 different supply stores in a local city here have great prices. Scoops, baking sheets, cake pans, dinnerware, knives, cooking utensils, Its our favorite shopping place for wedding gifts or starting new household gifts! Check out your local Resturant supply store~
I am definitely going to order a large scoop . Is that the right amount of dough for cookies to?
Hi Tracy,
Awesome! Usually for cookies you want to use a small (tablespoon) scoop. Most of my cookie recipes call for a heaping tablespoon of dough per cookie. :)
~Ali
Thanks, Ali
This is the first time I ever posted something on the blog ! great response.
Tracy
I NEED a scoop! Thing is, we can’t get the Pampered Chef brand here in Australia. I don’t suppose someone could measure the diameter of the large scoop and then I can get one the same size?
I would so appreciate this – I would totally buy the Pampered Chef one if I could.
Cheers
Suzi
I can tell you that the large scoop from Pampered Chef holds approximately 1/4 cup of cookie dough. I believe this to be equivalent to a size 16 scoop or 2 oz.
I love Pampered Chef products too! Everything is so well made.
BIG fan of Pampered Chef products here, as well!!! My favorite mini whisk is from them. I’ve often thought about becoming a consultant, but I’m afraid I’d spend every penny I might earn on more gadgets!
Great tips! I love my scoopers!
I need some ideas to use them and then I will purchase.
I need these scoops in my life! I am so tired of using spoons!
I love Pampered Chef products, and their scoops are truly the best! Great post, Ali!