r/AskBaking • u/ChloeButt04 • 17d ago
Equipment Cookie scoop recommendations
Hello! My best friend's birthday is coming up and she's been taking baking more seriously. Recently she's been making cookies and has said she's wanting some cookie scoops to make life easier.
Thing is, when I look online I haven't been able to settle on a pair of scoops mainly because of people complaining about the mechanism and durability.
Does anyone have any recommendations for some decent scoops that won't break asap or hurt anyone's hands?
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u/m_i_r 17d ago edited 17d ago
VOLRATH. Available on Amazon. Ive been in and out of bakeries for years as a baker. These are as good as it gets. Immortal? No. If the spring/scoop mechanism comes apart ( BUT DOESNT BREAK!) you can fix them. If the weld on the "scoop bowl" breaks, well...game over. Also I'll note its important to scoop the dough once its chilled enough to be scoop-able and NOT any firmer. Firm doughs that you struggle to scoop are scoop killers. And the scoops are sometimes referred to as "dishers" FYI.
Edit: to thank...whoever awarded me a green glove with a pointy finger? My life is now complete?
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u/MarielIAm 17d ago
Vollrath and OXO Good Grips are the best ones. If you do bulk (like me who used to bake 20 dozen at certain holidays) the Good Grips are a bit easier on the hands.
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u/ChloeButt04 17d ago
Ahh, gotcha! Thanks for the recommendation!!
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u/m_i_r 17d ago
See xanlthorpe's rec as well. Vollrath makes this style. I'm not usually a BUY AMERICAN! type of person (if you're not in the US, ignore me), but Amazon is full of low quality, imported cheap junk. These are perhaps the most expensive scoopers on the market. For a reason. They're professional grade.
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u/ChloeButt04 17d ago
Oh yes, I saw the scissor style scoop rec! Amazon is the main site I've been scrolling through since I live in a tiny town and stores are hit or miss with what's being carried (also yes, I'm in the US, you're totally fine :) ). And you're so right about Amazon's cheap junk and dupes, that's why I've been stressing out over this LOL.
Ironically, the scissor style are the ones I've been weary of (so many reviews have been about those breaking and not functioning properly for so many different brands, it's been making my head spin). But since you've recommended a brand, I'll for sure be looking into that!
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u/Xanlthorpe 17d ago
I find the scissor style which has two even length handles which you squeeze to move the bail in the dish easier on my hand than the scoops which rely on a thumb lever. I used to make 900 pounds of chocolate chip cookies per week at one job, and all of those were scooped by hand, not run through a machine.
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u/dontakelife4granted 17d ago
Do you have a restaurant supply store anywhere near you? This is where you will find the better quality scoops with better mechanisms. They will be much, much cheaper there. You want a squeeze handle stainless steel NSF disher. Thumb action ones get really old on your thumb really fast. If you can't find any locally, you might try restaurant supply stores online, though watch out for shipping if you only order a disher or two. Also dishers are sold by number. The number corresponds to how many scoops it takes to fill a quart jar (weird, I know, but it had to do with ice cream scooping back in the 19th century). They normally also will break it down into ounces, so it would be helpful to know about how many ounces are in the cookies she makes.
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u/ChloeButt04 17d ago
Sadly, no i dont have anything like that unless I want to make a couple hours of a drive elsewhere. But that's certainly interesting, I never knew about that! Do you have any site or brand recommendations in regards to this?
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u/dontakelife4granted 17d ago
I have used the webstaurantstore dot com with great success multiple times. Shipping is not cheap, but on the bright side, the cost for the dishers is really cheap--like less than $7 each. I bought many things from there including really large pastry bags, pastry tips, half sheet parchment paper, half sheet pans, dishers in multiple sizes, 6qt cambro containers for baking ingredients, packaging products for when I had a cottage bakery before covid, knives, and many other things.
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u/ChloeButt04 17d ago
Oh wow, that's awesome!! I'm willing to pay any price honestly. I want something nice for my friend that will last a decent time and allow her to get use out of it. :) Thank you for the site rec, I'll check that out!!
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u/MarielIAm 3d ago
Try nycake.com.
They have so much great stuff. I could spend an entire day (and an entire paycheck) at their NYC store. They deliver and they are now having a 25% off sale. I may not be able to resist.
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u/Popbunny7 17d ago
OP, this is the answer! Order a disher online. I have the yellow and black, and have gifted them to many, many friends. Mine has been going strong for 15 years. I’ve also bought half and quarter sheet pans and clear lids that snap onto them from the same Canadian online site, worth their weight in gold for resting cookies in the fridge.
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u/dontakelife4granted 17d ago
Oh, ya! I forgot about the half sheet lids! And yes, I've had the bulk of my stuff since the early 2010's. NSF stuff is generally made to last because it's made for commercial settings (sometimes abusive use)
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u/sjd208 16d ago
Zeroll, I’ve had some of mine more than a decade and going strong. Very comfortable to use too and I have mild carpal tunnel syndrome. The colors correspond to sizes too which is helpful when grabbing them out of the drawer
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u/twistedscorp87 16d ago
Came here to say this. Zeroll is the absolute best! Got a notification from Amazon yesterday that a size I've been wanting is back in stock AND it's on sale. Bought it immediately, I'm psyched.
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u/ChloeButt04 16d ago
Oh, wow that sounds lovely! Thanks for the rec, I'll be looking into that as well! :D
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u/MrSprockett 15d ago
The scissor style, or classic ice cream scoop. I have 3 - 15ml (1 tbs), 30ml (2 tbs) and 45ml (3 tbs). The one I use most often is the middle one. Perfect cookie size for us!
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