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8 Unexpected Ways to Use an Ice Cream Scoop

Everyone likely has an ice cream scoop in their kitchen. It’s an essential tool when it comes to scooping out cold and creamy ice cream, but what else can it be used for? As it turns out, lots! Check out these eight ways to get the most out of your ice cream scoop.

1. Make it the ultimate scooping machine for everything

Yes, it can scoop some ice cream out of a tub, but what else? We love its versatility, and it makes a great tool for scooping out fruit (especially when you use it as a decorative bowl!) and vegetables. That Halloween pumpkin that you painstakingly have to hollow out each year? Dig out the seeds and stringy bits with ease using your trusty scoop.

2. Portion muffin batter

If you’re baking muffins or cupcakes, the last thing you want is for them to be different sizes! Not only will an ice cream scoop ensure an equal amount of batter and that each treat is uniform, it makes less of a mess than using a spoon.

3. Frost cupcakes

Not only does your ice cream scoop come in handy to portion cupcakes, they are a must-have tool for frosting them, too! If you don’t own a piping bag, try this trick instead. Grab a large ice cream scoop (or a smaller one for mini cupcakes) and set a pretty mound of your frosting of choice on top of the treat. You can leave the shape as is and roll it in some sprinkles, or you can grab a knife or offset spatula and add some swirls.

4. Scoop cookie dough

Much like with the muffins above, using an ice cream scoop to portion your cookie dough ensures you have cookies that are all the same size. This is particularly important because you also want your cookies to bake evenly during the allotted cooking time. Otherwise, you end up with some perfectly baked cookies, whereas bigger or smaller ones will be under- or over-baked.

5. Form evenly sized meatballs

Forming a large batch of meatballs can take some time; optimize the task by using an ice cream scoop. You get perfectly uniform meatballs and they already come out in a round shape; all that’s left to do is smooth them out by gently rolling each in your hands.

6. Divvy up patties

Fritters, crab cakes, burgers and more; much like meatballs, the ice cream scoop comes in handy when portioning out food. Some bigger scoops are available on the market for large burger patties, for example, but if you only have a small one in your kitchen, you can portion out two scoops, shape and press down.

7. Use it to stuff

We’ve all been there: You’re stuffing the likes of devilled eggs or peppers with the help of a spoon, and while the first few are filled to the brim, the portions seem to get smaller and smaller until you reach the end and don’t have enough filling left! Avoid this problem by starting out with an ice cream scoop to ensure that you fill each cavity or wrapper with the same amount of filling.

8. Dole out large servings of food

Making tuna or egg salad sandwiches for the kids and their friends? Or maybe it’s the holiday season and you’re doling out rice or mashed potatoes on a dozen or so dinner plates? Your ice cream scoop will make things go quicker and easier by ensuring that everyone gets an equal-sized serving!