So last weekend I needed exactly 1200 grams of flour for this big batch of cookies. My digital kitchen scale? Dead as a doornail – batteries totally fried. Panic mode! Here’s how I hacked my way through it with basic kitchen stuff.
The Great Measuring Cup Hunt
First I grabbed my trusty 1-cup measuring cup. Scooped a full cup of flour right to the brim, no packing or tapping. Weighed it on my neighbor’s scale later – turned out just 125 grams per cup. Did the math in my head: 1200 divided by 125 equals 9.6 cups. Messy! Who measures 0.6 cups?
The Water Trick Disaster
Then I remembered water: 1 milliliter = 1 gram. Hauled out my big Pyrex jug. Poured in 1200 ml water – looked like half the Pacific Ocean. Tried substituting flour… except flour doesn’t pour like water! Flour mountain on the counter, coughing fit included. Zero out of ten, don’t recommend.
Sugar to the Rescue
Switched to granulated sugar since it flows better. Measured 200 grams in a cup – filled exactly half my standard measuring cup. Lightbulb moment!
Step-by-step what worked:
- Grabbed sugar instead of flour (way less messy)
- Filled half-cup measure precisely – leveled with a knife
- Dumped 6 level half-cups into my mixing bowl (6 × 200g = 1200g)
- Double-checked with spoons: 3 full tbsp sugar = roughly 36 grams
Final Flour Swap
Poured all that sugar into a ziplock bag. Used same half-cup to scoop flour into bowl six times – gentle shake to level, no packing. Bang on 1200 grams when verified later. Cookies came out perfect. Moral? Know your tools and improvise!