Earlier this year we talked about using a mixer for cookie dough versus stirring it by hand.That topic got me thinking about mixers in general and I have had it on my list of Ask the Readers questions for awhile. I thought today would finally be a good day to talk mixers.
I am curious do you own a mixer? If so is it a stand mixer and what brand do you like? Or do you mix your doughs and batters with a hand mixer or just by using a bowl and spoon?
I would love to hear what you all use for cooking and baking in your kitchen. It is so fun to hear what works for others, so please share your thoughts and what works for you.
I have a KItchen Aid – these days my arms aren’t strong enough for hand stirring.
I have a KitchenAid stand mixer that was a gift at our wedding just shy of 14 years ago. I’ve had to replace the paddle a couple of times, but love that mixer. I use it all the time for bread and baking but I’ve also used the extra attachments that can be purchased for grinding meat. That thing is a beast!
I have a kitchen aide x 2, a yellow one that is probably 20 years strong, and a newer white model. Love love love them.
I have an inexpensive hand mixer for convience.
I have a Breville stand mixer that I’ve had for several years and love. I’ve never had/used anything else. I use the mixer about once a week, for anything from batter to cookie dough to shredding chicken or making frosting. If this one ever dies (knock on wood) I would gladly purchase the same brand again.
I have a Rival stand mixer that is at least 15 years old. It works great, except I can’t use it when people in the house are sleeping because it’s so loud. It has a dough hook, mixing paddle and wire whip (which I never use). It’s not as pretty as a KitchenAid, but until it stops working there’s no good reason for me to replace it.
I have two mixers that I use. My favorite one is my KitchenAid stand mixer. My other one can be used as a stand or hand held mixer. The brand is Sunbeam.
I only have a hand mixer. I don’t do a lot of baking and don’t really have room for a stand mixer.
I’ve had a KitchenAid for 15 years now. My mother and grandmother have only used KitchenAid mixers as well- it runs in the family so I’m a little bias 🙂 It’s definitely the workhorse in my kitchen as I use it for everything. Like someone mentioned above, I love it for grinding meat too.
I have a basic Kitchen Aid stand mixer that we received as a wedding gift 16.5 years ago. Still like it, but I don’t use it very often. The main reason being…our house is very small so I don’t have counter space to store it and digging the heavy thing out from the cupboard is a pain. But, when I do need it, I’m very glad for it. I’ve been wishing for the meat grinder attachment. Maybe some day…..
I own two mixers; a really nice KitchenAid stand mixer and a small GE portable mixer that is at least 30+ years old. I hardly ever use the stand mixer. It’s just too convenient to grab the little portable one, plug it in & go! I keep expecting it to die, but it keeps chugging on! They truly don’t make them like this anymore! 🙂
Definitely KitchenAid! I LOVE mine! We use it for everything. Well, everything but cookie dough, remember. 😉 It is a refurb, but I have used it for about 10+ years. We have a couple of attachments… the grinder and the slicer/shredder. We use those all the time too! Hope to get more! The pasta attachment intrigues me, as well as the ice cream maker! MMMMM!
I’m primarily a wooden spoon gal myself. I love the feeling/process of mixing batter, dough, etc. with a good wooden spoon. I actually bought a wooden utensil that is for batter a while back. It’s more substantial than your average wooden spoon. I also have a fear of losing my arm strength, which happens to women as they get older. Continuing to stir/mix does help maintain that arm strength.
I occasionally use my handheld mixer which is an ancient Hamilton Beach model (still works great though!). I do have a Kitchen Aid, but it stays in the cabinet. I haven’t used it in over a decade. I have thought about it using it for that tip you shared on using it to shred meat though. 😉
Shirley
I have a kitchenaid stand mixer that I bought refurbished several years ago. It’s a beast. I use it almost daily
I own a Kitchen Aid 600 lift-bowl stand mixer. I bought a refurbished one from Kitchen Aid’s ‘Outlet’ on their website and saved a ton of money. It’s tough as nails. I make our family’s bread – three loaves every four days and it takes all that bread dough in stride.
I own a Kitchen Aid stand mixer and use it most. I also have a Kitchen Aid hand mixer. To be honest, there are still times when I use the mixer to do the creaming, flour, etc. Then I add the chips and oatmeal and nuts by hand……….literally by washed hands, not a spoon. I am not sure why, because the stand mixer does a great job. Maybe because my mother did?
I have two mixers:
An electric hand mixer that I’ve had since college (25+ years). It’s very handy for pudding, etc.
A KitchenAid stand mixer that my parents first used in a deli they owned – it is 30+ years old and still going strong!!! I have a paddle, whip, dough hook, and some attachments such as shredders. I use it ALL THE TIME, for mixing batters and doughs, whipping cream, shredding cheese and meat, and all kinds of things. LOVE IT! No matter how small my kitchen might ever be, it will always have a place on counter!
I recently spent two weeks staying in my grandmother’s house. She’s in a nursing home now, and she has already started giving many of her possessions to children and grandchildren, including her stand mixer (to one of my cousins). While in her home I prepared a dinner for 20 people which involved making two cakes and shredding 6 pounds of cooked pork loin. Did I ever miss my KitchenAid mixer!!! Fortunately there was a hand electric mixer, which helped with the dessert-making, but the whole experience made me SO grateful for my stand mixer at home!
KitchenAid stand and hand mixer.
I had a KitchenAid stand mixer for 24 years and I loved it. However, 4 years ago I started baking all our bread and the KitchenAid could only do 2 loaves at a time which meant I had to bake bread twice a week. Last year I gave my beloved KitchenAid to one of my daughter’s teachers (22 years old, just married and learning to bake bread from scratch 🙂 and bought a Bosch.
My new Bosch is large enough to make 5 loaves of bread at a time and is strong enough to mix the extremely stiff Christmas Cookie dough batter that my Kitchen Aid couldn’t budge but I still miss my KitchenAid…
I have a Kitchen-Aid mixer that I got for mothers day a decade ago. I use it fairly frequently – except for quickie stuff like cake mixes or cornbread, then I just hand stir. I also have a grinder attachment that I use to grind up leftover cooked roast beef for hash/shepherds pie and a couple years ago I got the ice cream attachment which is really fun, thouhg I probably only use it 3-4 times a season.
I have two KitchenAid stand mixers and I use them for everything. No more mixing by hand unless is something easy like icing for cookies.
What has been your greatest advantage to having 2 stand mixers? (Are they different colors?)
I have the Artisan and its pink. It gets used for most everything. The other mixer is the Professional and its red. I use it when mixing breads or doubled or tripled recipes.
Got it! I didn’t know there were different kinds of KitchenAids! Pink is my favorite color but red is my accent color in kitchen. I love the splash of red here and there. Thanks for sharing!!
I’ve got a Kitchen Aid stand mixer, which I love. Sometimes I wish I had a hand mixer for smaller things. I use the KitchenAid for cookies, cakes, bread dough. I make most quick breads by hand, things like corn bread, beer bread, pumpkin bread, muffins.
I have a Sunbeam mixer. The first one I had (worn out after a lot of years) served me so well, that I bought another. Also a very good mixer.
I have a Kitchen Aid stand mixer, which mostly sits in the cupboard! I love my Kitchen Aid *hand* mixer, though, which has so far taken everything I’ve thrown at it, with much more ease than the stand mixer. I use a dough whisk to make bread, biscuits, etc. by hand, just because it’s even easier to wash than the hand mixer. 🙂
Kitchen Aid stand mixer is my favorite for most things I bake. I have a hand held mixer for mashed potatoes or pudding.
I love my Kitchenaid stand mixer. It’s probably 15 years old but I still use it daily. I bake bread and use the dough hook for most of the mixing and that’s usually every other day. It is the smaller mixer but I can still make 3 loaves at a time which is all I would want to make at one time anyways or it would get stale too quick. I love it for mixing cookie dough, bread and roll dough, muffins batter, ground beef for making meatloaf, pudding…actually I truly use it for any mixing. I don’t have a hand mixer and have never needed one. I can’t say enough good about it. 🙂
Yes, a Kitchen aid, it is wonderful!
I’m 49 and have only ever had a hand mixer and have never thought that it wasn’t sufficient for anything that I’ve ever done with it.
Thanks to you Lynn I now have a brand new Kitchen Aide that I got for Christmas! I really wanted it when I learned that it could shred chicken and other meats. I use it for cakes and cookies too.
I use a kitchen aid mixer, it sits on my counter. Don’t ask me how old it is, hubby found it at a garage sale and paid $50.00. I also have a hand mixer for smaller stuff. I went through too many hand mixers trying to mix cheesecakes and sooo wanted a stand mixer and now that I have one I hardly make cheesecakes anymore.
I’ve had my Kitchen Aid for about 10 years and love it. I use it almost daily for cookie dough, cake batter, whipped cream, shredding cooked chicken, making bread, grinding meat and more.
I do want to get a Bosch though for making bread. I agree that the Kitchen Aid can only hold enough for 2 loaves, and I have friends that can do up to 6 in the Bosch. But I would always keep the Kitchen Aid for the everyday stuff.
I have a KitchenAid, 14 years old and still going strong. My husband has blessed me with several attachments for it, which I love. I told him if we ever have to evacuate, and I’ve got time to grab something, I’m taking the the KitchenAid! 😉
I mix small batches of batter and cookie dough by hand; large batches of cookie dough and batter, or a loaf of bread with my Kitchenaid stand mixer; my Electrolux Assistant for very large batches of bread, etc. They all get equal time and are used a lot. I make all our baked goods plus some to give to extended family. I fretted over the cost of the Electrolux when searching for something to accommodate my mixing needs. It has paid for itself in a few short years with the savings from making my baked goods at home compared to purchasing at the store. And to be honest, they never, never, ever break down. It is a piece of equipment that gets passed from one generation to another. My daughter has her eye on it, lol.
I have a Kitchen Aid Pro and a Bosch. I primarily use the Bosch for bread. My husband likes the Kitchen Aid. We’re geeky like that.
We were give a Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer for our wedding 21 years ago. I use it several times a week. Love the paddle, whip and dough hook. Also have several attachments. I have never had a problem with it. I Love it.
I own several mixers. One is an ancient stand mixer from the 40s or 50s or so that belonged to my grandmother, plus two hand mixers. One is a cheap one whose slowest speed is extremely fast and one is a very good heavy-duty mixer, but is also very heavy to use. I user my mixers for mixing cookie dough except when I am mixing delicate ingredients; then I use a spoon (usually wooden).
I have a Kitchen Aide stand miixer. I use it often since hand stirring is more tiring now that I’m older! I would recommend a Kitchen Aide to anyone in the market.
I have two KitchenAid mixers and a small hand mixer as well. Couldn’t think of getting along in the kitchen without them.
Hi Lynn
I have a KitchenAid 6 quart professional mixer! My mother-in-law bought it for me years ago for my birthday and I love it! I use it all the time.
pretty red KA stand mixer with various size bowls & types of whisks/dough hook/beaters for bigger jobs. also use lots of regular sizes of hand whisks and a Ninja 3 size containers with one motor system most often which has easy to dishwash most parts.
I own a KitchenAid stand mixer thatI received 5 years ago at my bridal shower. I think I use it the most for whipping mashed potatoes 🙂
I have a Kitchen Aid 5 qt stand mixer – it belonged to my mother – can’t imagine life without it! However, when the time comes for the KA to go to that big pantry in the sky, I have a Breville mixer I got for a song and have never used. I also have a hand mixer which was my mother’s and I have a back-up for that! I do most of my mixing in the KA, but muffins or banana breads which don’t require a lot of horsepower I mix by hand.
I loved my Sunbeam stand mixer that I had for years, but it died on Thanksgiving Day 2010. In the middle of bread dough! It was tragic. I hand mixed until that Christmas when I got a KitchenAid hand mixer. I love it, and since I have six square feet of counter space, it’s even better than a stand mixer.
I have a KitchenAid Professional stand mixer and a hand mixer. If the stuff I’m making is large enough I like using the Stand mixer. Simple things like whipping cream I go for the hand mixer. Even simpler like mixing brownies or something that doesn’t actually need a lot of mixing, I prefer my own arms with a whisk
I’ve had my KitchenAid stand mixer since I got married 12 years ago. My whole family has one!
I have two KA mixers one is a commercial size 6 quart which I hardly use and a 4 quart that’s perfect for everyday use.
kitchenaid artisan
I have a Kitchen Aid hand mixer for egg whites and mashed potatoes and a Electrolux Kitchen Assistent for the heavy lifting like making/kneading bread.
I have 2 Kitchen Aids–one on its last legs, and one that didn’t match my mom’s kitchen when they rebuilt after a house fire (I’m just not that picky!)–and a Bosch Universal. I use the old KA for most basic batters–cakes, cookies, and frostings, and such. The other KA is only used when I’m making something monstrous (like wedding cake, or umpteen batches of cupcakes), and it will replace the first when it gets laid to rest. But the Bosch is my fave. It is my bread kneader–5 loaves at once! With it, I can make 10 loaves of bread (requiring only one rise) in about 2.5 hours. The only drawback is that the wire whips are not a fan of cookie dough, and I’ve had to replace them due to my stubborn insistence that a batter wasn’t THAT thick. I’ve learned my lesson–paddles are for cookies; whips are for frosting and egg whites.
Several years ago hubby bought me a stand Sunbeam mixer for my birthday. I love to bake and cook so I did not mind getting a kitchen tool as a gift. I enjoy the mixer and it is great for what I need.
I received a kitchen aid stand mixer for my bridal shower, so on my wedding registry I requested an extra mixing bowl. When I’m making The Big Cake (a huge chiffon cake) I don’t have to stop what I’m doing to wash bowls. That egg white bowl has to be immaculate. At any rate, I use my mixer 3-4 times a week.
I have a Kitchen Aid mixer, one of the more basic models, in a beautiful verdant green. I don’t bake much these days, but I do really love my mixer. I use the Kitchen Aid for cookies and pizza dough, primarily, and occasionally bread. I also have a hand mixer (given to us) which sees even less use.
My in-laws bought me a Kitchenaid mixer when my husband and I got married 17 years ago. It’s still going strong and has never given me any issues. When the time comes for me to replace it, it will be another Kitchenaid. I love it! I use it ALL the time 🙂
LOVE my Universal Bosch!! Now that they have side scrapers for smaller batches I use it even more so.
I have a hand mixer, Sunbeam…and a stand mixer, Kitchenaid. I use to stir all my cookie dough by bowl and wooden spoon but since arthritis has gotten worse I use the Kitchenaid for cookies and just about everything else.