Tip Friday Scooping Dough

Scooping Cookie Dough

There was a period when I used to use two spoons. Now that I bake more cookies “To Go” I found a cookie scoop is a better choice. The cookie scoop results are more consistent, and it’s a quicker way to get the job done.

With the spoon method I would place my spoon halfway with a stiff dough. Then using another spoon of the same size, scrape the dough off the first spoon onto the baking sheet.

Then I discovered the dough scoop! But there is a slight inconvenience using them.

I still scoop the dough against the side of the bowl and slide the scoop on the lip of the bowl to level off the bottom for a flat surface. Then I squeeze the scoop’s handle to release the dough onto a baking sheet.

When the dough begins to stick in the scoop I rinse it with warm water. The caveat having to do this with every scoop or I lose the ball shape trying to dig the dough out of the scoop. I find this way tedious. On a good note though the dough balls are uniform.

I bake a lot, providing my cookies for community gatherings ranging from church bake sales to school fairs and gift tins at the Holidays.

And at times I am baking batch after batch after double batch of cookies the old fashioned way, using a spoon to drop dough onto the pan. I often make 15 dozen cookies or more at a time. See my post A Baker’s Tale.

First make a batch of drop cookie dough. They are the kind of cookies you shape by dropping balls of dough onto a baking sheet. The are not cookies requiring rolling out and cutting with a cutter, or baking in an iron. See my article on Shaping Batter Cookies.

Drop cookies tend to be peanut butter cookies, snickerdoodles, oatmeal cookies, chocolate chip cookies. The usual cookies you find passed around at a cookie exchange.

Next, scoop the dough onto a pan. Depending on the size of the cookies I want I scoop 15 cookies onto a parchment lined baking sheet or silicone mat using a regular spoon.

I get sticky dough all over my finger from scraping the dough off the spoon. I frequently roll the dough in my hands and try to make each one the same size. This makes them round but they can easily be uneven once they are baked.

When using a cookie scoop my fingers fingers stay slightly cleaner. Using the spoons though takes less time since I am not constantly dipping the scoop into a glass of warm water.

The with a scoop the finished cookies include some that aren’t perfectly round either, but there are the same thickness and size. Since the scoop lets you portion out the same amount of dough each time your cookies will be very consistent.

Cookie scoops come in a range of sizes. But the teaspoon and tablespoon scoops don’t measure out an exact teaspoon or tablespoon of dough.

Which size cookie scoop should you choose? That all depends on how large and crispy you like your finished cookies.

The tablespoon scoop is perfect when you want a more impressive cookie. It’s large enough that you’ll be satisfied with just one. (Cough, cough. It ain’t happening in my home.)

The biggest scoop is usually for where you want to sell individual cookies.

To sum it up, here’s how a cookie scoop helps you:

•Saves time.
•Makes uniform-sized, round cookies.
•Keeps your hands clean.
•Allows you to choose your favorite size cookie, from kid sized small to bake sale large.

To be very honest for my needs the spoons are better. But I use the scoops for those times I am talking them somewhere and I want them be be special!!

So make your own decision on what will work best for you. And happy baking!

Learn more cookies secrets by reading Cutting Into Bars, or Shaping Batter Cookies. All are a part of my tip Friday Series. check it out!

Most images in my Tip Friday Series use free stock photos. This article is part of the Tips That Help in the Kitchen Series, Tip Friday.