A cookie scoop is your not so secret weapon to an easier, quicker batch of perfectly shaped, evenly baked homemade cookies.
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No one “needs” any baking equipment per se but transferring your cookie dough from the mixing bowl to the cookie sheet will be significantly easier and faster, not to mention more sanitary (thanks Mom) with a cookie scoop.
Cookie scoops are based on old-school ice cream dishers.
The number on the scoop refers to how many level scoops fit into a quart, which means scoops are measured by volume, not by weight.
Because cookie dough density varies, the same scoop will create cookies with different weights depending on the recipe.
For example, a chocolate chip cookie will weigh more than a sugar cookie made with the same size scoop.
How to Use Cookie Scoop Video
Why Do I Need a Cookie Scoop?
If you use a scoop, your cookies will be:
- More polished and uniform in appearance.
- Consistently the same size and shape, which means evenly baked cookies.
- Easier to form balls of dough with a scoop when you're working with softer dough like chocolate crinkle cookies.
How Will a Scoop Help?
Using a cookie scoop makes the process of baking:
- Faster-Baking cookies will be a much faster process using a scoop, just be sure whatever scoop you get has a spring-loaded handle.
- Cleaner (no sticky paws–this may help bakers with sensory issues). You’ll squeeze a lever on the handle and a guide on the inside of the scoop itself will push the dough out so you can drop it hands free onto your baking sheet.
Did you know scoops were once called cookie droppers?
Scoops will help your cake mix cookies look professional like the Cake Mix Snickerdoodle cookies below.
What size cookie scoop should I get?
The best all-purpose size for you will be a #30 or a #40, which is my preference.
A #40 will hold 1.6 tablespoons of dough and a #30 will hold two tablespoons of dough.
Remember, the higher the number on the scoop, the less dough it holds. To that end, if you want to make tiny cookies, look for a #100 scoop.
I use a #40 Winco scoop for the majority of my cookie baking.
(Shout out to my fellow Gen Xers. I wrote Wilco instead of Winco through this whole post. Just caught it before I hit publish.)
A #40 is perfect for drop cookies, including Gingersnaps (Just Like Grandma's!), Peanut Butter Hershey Kiss Cookies (Perfect for New Bakers) and Nestle Toll House Cookies Recipe as well as Chocolate Chipless Cookies.
| Cookie Size | Scoop Size | Tablespoons | Grams | Ounces |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mini | #100 | ½ | 7 | 0.25 |
| Small | #60 | 1 | 15 | 0.5 |
| Medium | #40 | 2 | 30 | 1 |
| Large | #30 | 3 | 45 | 1.5 |
| Extra Large | #20 | 4 | 60 | 2 |
| Jumbo | #16 | 5 | 75 | 2.5 |
But what about big bakery style cookies?
If you’re thinking of big bakery-style cookies (the kind from the bakery that rhymes with tumble), this is the info you want.
For oversized, bakery-style cookies, bakers typically use larger scoops such as a #8 or #6.
Because scoop numbers are based on volume, bakers who want exact weights will portion with a scoop first then fine-tune the size using a digital kitchen scale.
What’s the best brand to buy?
I recommend a Winco or an OXO as well as Vollrath scoops.
There are a lot of cookie tools on the market.
It seems like anyone with a hand or brand in an oven sells cookie dishers, including King Arthur, Pampered Chef, Sur La Table and Williams Sonoma.
Be sure whichever brand you grab that it has a release mechanism.
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Reader Testimonial
In full disclosure, the reader is my mom. I bought her a Vollrath for her birthday last year and she's a total cookie scoop convert now.
1. It took about 2 batches of cookies to get comfortable using it. I was used to using 2 spoons to drop dough on my cookies sheet for one cookie. It's now a breeze to drop dough using this tool.
2. It's faster than my 2 spoon method.
3. Size and shape of cookies are consistent therefore, the cookies come out of the oven in a regular or consistent size. Also, since size is the same, the baking of the cookies is consistent, le, no overbaked or underbaked on the cookies sheet (if I am alert to hot spots in my oven and turn the cookie sheet).
4. The uniform size of the cookie makes for a good presentation on a plate of cookies or dessert tray.
5. Sometimes I make cookies that need to be flatten before going into the oven. I can use the back of the scoop for that process....scoop dough onto the cookie sheet, flip the tool over and use the back of the scoop to flatten the dough.
"I would encourage any cookie baker to purchase and use a cookie scoop. I cannot see any negatives to using a scoop." --Becky Sanborn, Maine
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You may find these baking posts helpful: from How to Avoid Flat Cookies, How to Freeze Cookie Dough, Room Temperature Butter for Baking to Salted or Unsalted Butter for Cookies? to Do I Need A Cookie Scoop?, Cookie Size Chart to What Should a Beginner Bake? to Where Can I Buy Sprinkles?, Why is my sugar cookie dough too sticky? and Cookie Holidays. What is Sanding Sugar and Do I need Parchment Paper? might also be helpful. This Cuisinart 5-speed is my favorite hand mixer. Why do my hand mixer beaters fall out? Cookie dough freezes great as do already baked cookies but find out what other desserts you can freeze.
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