The scoop

I like to cook and I like to bake.  A few years ago I took some continuing education classes in the Chef School at George Brown College.  One of the courses was called "The Art of Cookies", and after each class I would come home with two big boxes of cookies I'd made.   In amongst all that butter and flour, I definitely picked up some useful tricks and also acquired a few kitchen tools that have become staples in my kitchen. Now when I bake cookies and share them with others, I often get asked how I get them all to be the same size and to look so uniform.

So here is the scoop on the scoops!

These are called Cookie Scoops and come in all sorts of sizes.  Their popularity has grown in the last few years for sure.  They really do help make a uniform looking cookie and they bake much more evenly.  Before I had these tools, there would always be one cookie that would come out a bit burnt because I had to make sure that another cookie on the same tray wasn't still raw!  I have one more size that is larger than the two pictured here and I use that one for muffins.  The other awesome benefit - I find it makes putting cookies on a cookie sheet so much faster!

My son loves to help me bake.  He likes to operate the stand mixer and, of course, enjoys the end product.  But I also find the scoops are a great way for him to help me out.  I scoop the dough and he likes to push the release button to put the cookies onto the cookie sheet.  It's always fun to have him help me, even if way more flour ends up on the floor.  Okay, not just flour, but brown sugar, egg shells, etc!

And here is the finished product.  Delicious, uniform and evenly baked cookies!

What are your kitchen tips and tricks?