Mixer On A Budget: 10 Tips From The Great Depression

Perfect for occasional bakers and tiny kitchens


If a stand mixer seems like more than you need (and less counter space than you have), then that
Cuisinart is a still-powerful but smaller choice.
If you think a rack mixer might be a lot of gear for you, the Cuisinart Power
Advantage Plus 9-Speed Handheld Mixer might be just right. It is really powerful and
capable of making lofty cake layers, and it has enough torque to turn thick cookie dough
without straining. We tested it against the KitchenAid Architect side by side, and it arrived

This thing is powerful; I honestly think it could work as a makeshift outboard


small boat.

couple of minutes to get that smooth ball shape a stand mixer creates), but when it
came time to make Seven-Minute Frosting, the KitchenAid Architect yielded only 4 cups
of frosting, whereas the Cuisinart yielded 8 cups.
The Cuisinart also turned the cookie dough a little more easily than the KitchenAid and


Something you should keep in mind when choosing a bowl to work in. I've found that
with hand mixers, a shallow mixing bowl doesn't really work because the beaters push
If you use a
Bowl with high sides, the contents tend to remain at the bottom, and if you're whipping a
liquid, the sides will keep it from splashing all over your countertop.
I'm not the only person who thinks the Cuisinart hand mixer outperformed the
KitchenAid Architect.
Sold it to get the Cuisinart. Plenty of other Amazon reviewers like it, giving it 41/2
I particularly like this reviewer's outline of

The competition
In 2016, KitchenAid unveiled the Artisan Mini stand mixer. We tested this smaller
Version of the traditional Artisan and found its size restrictive. The Mini's 31/2-quart bowl
was too small for us to finish a batch of Kitchen Sink Cookies. The bowl also doesn't have
a handle, so tasks like scooping cookie dough, or dividing cake batter between pans (if
It's possible to make enough batter for over one layer) are precarious. Although the Mini
Is about 20 percent smaller than the full-size Artisan, it didn't save a substantial amount
Of space on the counter. The Mini Artisan measures 113/4 by 7⅜ by 12 inches (deep,
wide, tall). By contrast, the classic Artisan mixer measures 131/4 by 8⅜ by 133/4 inches.
The Artisan Mini is super cute, and the aesthetic appeal isn't lost on us. If looks are
important to you, and you don't mind the limitations of the bowl, get this teacup version
of the popular Artisan. But if you have a small kitchen and need to do some serious
Baking from time to time, we suggest clearing some space for a normal Artisan or just
Finding a powerful hand mixer.
The Cuisinart SM-55 51/2-Quart Stand Mixer held its own with the bread test and made a
lofty cake and 9 cups of fluffy white frosting. What it couldn't handle was the thick,
chunky cookie dough. Once we added the mix-ins, the paddle pushed all the dough up
the sides. Since the splash guard snaps in, Rather than the rogue dough spinning the
plastic disc around as with other models, the dough lodged itself in the hole of the
pouring guide. The small handles attached to the lip of the bowl aren't ideal either.
While the placement makes for a snug fit in a double boiler (and the thin, tapered bowl
Makes for easy whisking), the handles are pretty much useless once you're pouring
cake batter or scooping cookie dough. A high note for this mixer, though, is that it was
The only mixer in the lineup, aside from our pick, the Artisan, that whipped one egg white
and 1/2 cup of cream. It has three power hubs for extra accessories and an Integrated timer,
which is nice.
We flip-flopped on including the Breville Scraper Mixer Pro in the testing lineup. It's a
Consumer Reports favorite, and I did like its sleek styling and its easy-to-read, backlit
LCD screen, but the reviews on Amazon are less than flattering, saying that it's not
good for bread. My testing confirmed the Amazon assessments (it rocked back and
forth as it kneaded, and the dough climbed up the hook), but that wasn't this mixer's
greatest fault. An ineffective scraper beater left me scraping down the sides several
times during mixing. What's more, after I added the chocolate chips, walnuts, coconut,
and raisins to the cookie dough, the motor started rattling, and the machine paused and
sputtered. An inability to mix thick cookie dough is definitely a dealbreaker.
I really wanted the Kenmore Elite Stand Mixer to be better than it turned out to be. It
looked so good on paper! It has two bowls, a 3-quart and a 5-quart, plus all of the usual
attachments. It comes with a five-year warranty, and its power hub accepts KitchenAid
accessories. Nevertheless, the automatic head-locking mechanism drove me batty because
raising and lowering the head took two hands. Even worse, this model strained and
rocked back and forth while kneading bread, and when it tried to turn thick cookie
dough, the paddle pushed the dough up the sides, sending the splash guard spinning
around the bowl.
The Hamilton Beach Eclectrics All-Metal Stand Mixer was definitely the quietest of all the
models in the testing group, with a pleasant low hum. But again, rocking and walking
while kneading and serious motor strain with the cookie dough were both dealbreakers.
The head-release button on this model is positioned in the back; this design is not very
Intuitive, and I struggled to find the button every time I had to lift and lower the head,
which is also unfortunately a two-handed affair. At the time of our research, this model
Was $180 on Amazon, which was one reason I included it in the testing group,
Together with favorable user reviews and the fact that Good Housekeeping called it the ideal
bang for your buck. Now the price has gone up past $200, maybe because of the
Holiday baking season, so it isn't even a good deal. With a lack of power hubs for extra
Accessories, this is a basic mixer that's good just for cakes and lighter baking, which
means you should pass on it.
The KitchenAid Architect Series 9-Speed Hand Mixer was in the running as our occasionaluse
option. It surpassed my admittedly low expectations while making bread dough, and
it turned thick cookie dough fairly well. But its weak spot is whipping: The genoise cake
Sank in the center, and the frosting recipe that was supposed to yield 8 cups yielded
only 4.