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 love using my little cookie scooper to fill cupcakes too! It keeps everything from getting so messy. I’m glad to find out I wasn’t being kooky. Well, then again, maybe we’re both being kooky…but we’re in good company!
I use my scoopers for SO many things in the kitchen. They’re right up there with my microplane!
LOVE my scoops and use them all the time :)
You’ve got some great tips here! While I don’t have the Pampered Chef brands, I always use small scoops for cookies and mini muffins, and my ice cream scoop for pancakes and larger muffins. I agree with you 100%!
Really great tips :)
I’m totally embarrassed to admit that I’ve never thought of using a scoop. I still use a measuring cup. Haha, I need to get with the times!!
Can’t imagine making 600+ cupcakes! Wow! This is such a great tip, I need a large scoop for muffins, I couldn’t do without a scoop for cookies.
A scooper is EVERYONE’s best friend literally! I still remember trying to use a spoon a couple years ago and how messy it could get.
Cookie scoops are some of my secret weapons in the kitchen. They are so useful! Great post, Ali.
I have two of the large scoops and love them. I use one for sweets (cupcakes, muffins, etc…) and the other for savory (mostly just meatballs) – they work great!