KitchenAid Hand Mixer wins Hands Down!

While some might dream about vacations, pampering or even a white Christmas, I tend to dream in terms of "Kitchen" and "Aid"--and ooooh, what a wonderful dream that is! My dream of owning a KitchenAid stand mixer is still only in my baking fantasies, but I have acquired a little piece of KitchenAid baking heaven--a handheld KitchenAid mixer that has won me over.

The model, KitchenAid Ultra Power Plus 7 Speed Mixer, is a powerhouse of a hand mixer. It gives you 7 speeds, with a "soft start" so your ingredients don't immediately fly all over the place when you first start mixing. The lowest two speeds are best for those "starting points" in recipes--when your ingredients are not mixed well enough to prevent flour, water and oil from going airborne at the first touch of a mixer. The highest speed is great for making whipped cream or frothing egg whites.

The remaining speeds can handle your common baking and cooking requirements. I have used my KitchenAid hand mixer for mixing countless cakes and quick bread batters, beating egg whites for meringue, and mixing cheesecake batter. The cheesecake mixture, in particular, tested the KitchenAid's "TurboBeaters," which are thin and wiry-looking. I was not sure the "TurboBeaters" would handle blending the cream cheese into the egg and sour cream mixture without leaving loads of odd lumps. However, the mixer did a great job smoothing out the mix and didn't let me down.

I think one of the amazing perks with this mixer is how quiet it is when you are operating it, even at its highest speed. My previous hand mixers were all incredibly loud once you got beyond the first speed! I am also impressed with the weight of this hand mixer, which is a bit heavier than my old ones, but not overly heavy. All of the mixers in my past eventually burned out (literally smoking) even though I didn't attempt overly heavy mixing. The KitchenAid's electrical cord is substantially heavier than your sundry hand mixers, and they also offer a safety feature so your mixer doesn't immediately whip to "On" by accident when you plug it in. To operate the mixer, you have to switch a manual "On/Off" button on the side of the appliance. From that point on, you can turn the mixer on and increase speeds using a soft touch pad on the top of the handle, and the speeds are displayed as lit-up digital numbers.

The only limitation with this mixer concerns mixing bread dough. The appliance handbook notes that a special dough hook is required--so mixing and kneading can be done with this handheld mixer as long as you have the proper accessory. At the KitchenAid website, the dough hook for this mixer is listed at $19.99.

Is there a spot in your kitchen for this KitchenAid? The Ultra Power Plus 7 Speed Mixer offers great mix-ability, topnotch safety features, easy cleaning and storage. The manufacturer's list price is $79.99, though I have seen it advertised online and at department stores in the $65.00 to $70.00 range. Though the price is much higher than the typical ones available at discount stores, it seems like a worthwhile investment for a much-used small appliance that carries the excellent reputation of KitchenAid's. And, if you are like me, burning out mixers every few years, a better-made hand mixer might end up saving you money in the long run.