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.
I have one of these scoops but always forget about it. Thank you for the tips and the reminder!
This is a great post, I love posts like this one, where people share their knowledge.
I love my Pampered Chef products also. The scoops are one of my favorites! I find that their products are really a great value since they come with at least a year warranty & are of great quality.
I love my Pampered Chef scoops, too and use the medium size for cookies.
I love my Pampered Chef scoops. I use the middle one for cookies! And the big one for cupcakes too!
I love your site and recipes, but please Please please don’t recommend people buying from a pyramid scheme.. or “multi level marketing” scheme. Not only are their products 3x as expensive that competitive brands, the whole business model makes me sick. Just my 30 cents.
Pyramid schemes don’t last for 34 years nor do they attract the interest and subsequent purchase by Warren Buffet.
This is genius! I have to make 50 cupcakes on Tuesday for a party on Thursday, I’m getting me an ice cream scoop!
I would be TOTALLY lost without my cookie and muffin scoops! LOVE THEM!
Love this tip! I pinned!
I use the large PC scoop for the same thing! Also, it makes making meatballs a breeze–no messy rolling by hand, just scoop them into the baking dish and you’re good to go. Probably my favorite use for it yet!