tools we love: cookie scoop

My all-time favorite party tool is an Evite invitation, of course, but there are other items I can't imagine planning a party without. First thing to come to mind? My beloved OXO cookie scoop.

The primary purpose of a cookie scoop is to help you form round, perfect cookies much more quickly and easily than you can with the traditional two-spoon method. You need no longer fear the words "drop by rounded teaspoon." Or watch the dough you worked so hard on bake into sad little blobs. The scoop delivers round cookies with minimal effort. True story!

Using a scoop also helps you cut down on burnt or oozy cookies, since uniformly sized cookies bake more evenly...as anyone who has watched helplessly as the small cookies on a tray burn into charcoal briquettes while the larger cookies remain stubbornly raw in the middle.

OXO scoops come in three sizes, so you can choose the one that makes you feel the least guilty. With the large scoop, you can say, "I only ate one cookie. Good for me!" And with the small scoop, you can tell yourself, "They're so small, I probably need three."

Best of all, these are not just one-trick wonders. I use my scoop to measure cupcake and muffin batter — again for the consistent baking and even results. I've also used it to make perfectly round chocolate truffles, silver dollar pancakes and tiny, artsy-looking scoops of ice cream and sorbet. They're also great for forming all sorts of round deliciousness, like meatballs, melon balls, hush puppies and falafel balls, and for turning out fancy little servings of everything from mashed potatoes to risotto.

In other words, this one little scoop is certainly worth its weight in cookies.