Fave: Odd-Sized Measuring Cups

Standard measuring cups come in a set of four: 1/4 cup, 1/3 cup, 1/2 cup, and 1 cup. You can assemble pretty much any measurement with these tools.

But if you bake a lot, it can be annoying to scoop BOTH 1/4 cup AND 1/2 cup to make 3/4 cup. #firstworldproblems #foodbloggerproblems #momthisisahashtag

In all seriousness – as serious as a blog post about measuring cups can be – it’s nice to have some additional options. I admit I lose track when I’m scooping, whether I need five cups of flour, or 2/3 cup of sugar. I scoop two cups… or three… the phone rings… I stare blankly at the stand mixer.

Honestly, it’s amazing. A recipe can call for two cups of sugar, and after one cup I have to think REALLY hard about how much I have already put in.

{This is not dissimilar to the Microwave Meal Phenomenon that SLRH and I discovered in law school. How many times do you check the back of a microwave meal box for the instructions? Like seven? Seven times. The instructions are ALWAYS: poke holes, microwave on medium for three minutes, remove plastic, stir, microwave for three more minutes. Yet I need seven reminders, including removing it from the garbage at least once. But SURELY, I digress.}

This set of Odd-Sized Measuring Cups comes with four sizes to fill in the gaps: 2/3 cup, 3/4 cup, 1.5 cups and 2 cups. I want to say they were a treat for myself when I was on a baking streak a good while back, but I don’t really remember – they are just one of those things I’ve always had. I don’t always use them, but in my new kitchen there is room in my baking cabinet for them to be more accessible, so they have made a comeback. I love that they are a different style than my standard cups so I can easily differentiate (this set has a curved handle and sloped sides to the cup). While I recall this set being from Williams-Sonoma, I don’t see it for sale on the website now, and the current model only has three sizes instead of four. If you are looking to make a purchase, this set of four from Crate and Barrel looks nice to me.

I last used this set during a recent Experimental Healthy Baking Day with AWP. We made a joint Pinterest board, pinned a bunch of “healthy” baked goods we had been meaning to try out, and got to work. We wanted to experiment with home-made power bars, PB2, and more. I admit I did not do enough research for this session, and my results were … not worth sharing here. I mean, worth eating by myself in my kitchen (obviously), just not worth sharing (and I will try different recipes next time). But I learned a lot! And AWP had some success. I look forward to another “go” at it – but maaaaybe I’m more looking forward to our next Holiday Baking Day. No applesauce-instead-of-oil required on Holiday Baking Day!

In any case, it was really useful to have this set of Odd-Sized Measuring Cups available when we had four or five recipes going at once. If you are a baker, or are buying a gift for a baker {like if you want to make a baking-themed wedding present}, these are a great tool.