The Sad Thing That Happens When Your Cookie Dough Scoops Are Way Too Big

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Let's say you're thinking of baking a batch of delicious chocolate chip cookies this week, but notice the only cookie dough scoops you have are way too big. Before you go ahead and make those cookies anyway, here's something you should note: Using oversized scoops — think the 4-tablespoon versions — can lead to cookies that end up a little sad. And I know because I've baked thousands of cookies when testing recipes for my cookbook, "108 Asian Cookies."

Cookie dough scoop sizes matter, and sometimes, bigger isn't better. Bigger scoops mean bigger cookie dough portions, longer baking times, and potentially unevenly baked cookies. When the huge cookie dough balls bake in the oven — each over about 70 grams — you often end up with cookies with set, golden-brown edges while the centers remain gooey or cakey. The middles can remain slightly underbaked and appear paler than the rest of the cookies. The result? The cookies may look a little, well, unappealing.

Or instead of chocolate chip, let's say you're aiming to make perfectly crinkled cookies. When the dough portion is too large, the cookie may puff up in the center instead of spreading and cracking properly, leaving you with a cookie that looks domed or has an unsightly hump in the middle rather than those beautiful crinkles.

When baking cookies at home, I usually reach for my smaller cookie dough scoops, anywhere from 1 teaspoon to about 2 tablespoons. Since I bake a lot of cookies as a cookbook author and for my charity bake sale events, it makes sense to make large batches of smaller cookies. That way, I'm not accidentally giving folks cookies with raw middles. 

Additionally, I tend to avoid large cookie dough scoops when making cookies that are meant to spread or bake up thin and crispy, like lace cookies or Tuiles. Larger dough portions can spread too much in the oven, leaving you with cookies that are overly wide, like a large cookie puddle, if you know what I mean. 

All that said, there are in fact times when a large cookie dough scoop is useful and necessary. My signature cookie, similar to Tasting Table's copycat Levain chocolate chip walnut cookie recipe, is the monster matcha cookie. It is about 90 grams pre-baked and requires the largest cookie dough scoop one can find. The key to baking such large cookies perfectly comes down to adjusting the oven temperature and baking time, along with a few more tips you can find in my cookbooks.