My kitchen counter is about two feet of usable space between the toaster and the knife block. For years, in our old house, I had a stand mixer, because that is what every baking article seemed to say a serious baker needs. When Ray and I downsized, it simply did not fit, so it went to my daughter's house and I did not replace it. For a while I worried that I had given up something I needed. Then, in September of last year, my old hand mixer burned out mid-batch and I bought the KitchenAid 5 Ultra Power Speed Hand Mixer to replace it. That December, with the parish bake sale coming up and thirty-six cookies cooling on every flat surface, I found out exactly why I had bought it. I made my mother's recipe for chocolate chip cookies, then a batch of my own sugar cookies, then a double batch of frosting for the Sunday dinner cake, and I never once missed the stand mixer. By Sunday evening I understood that I had spent years making room for a machine I did not need. Here are ten reasons a hand mixer suits a small kitchen, tested over many batches of my own.
A Hand Mixer That Earns Its Spot on the Counter
The KitchenAid 5 Ultra Power Speed Hand Mixer handles the mixing, whipping and folding I do most weeks, then tucks into a drawer when I am done. See today's price on Amazon.
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A stand mixer is a permanent resident of your counter. A hand mixer goes back in the drawer when the batter is in the pan. That alone is worth the switch in a small kitchen, because every inch of counter space is precious when you are rolling out pie dough or cooling cookies.
It Weighs Only Two Pounds
At two pounds, this KitchenAid hand mixer is light enough to hold over a bowl for the full five minutes of a meringue without your arm complaining. The first time I made a lemon meringue pie for the bake sale with it, I stood at the counter holding the mixer at speed five for the whole five minutes, and my arm was fine. With my old stand mixer, I would have had to lift the head, lock the bowl in place, and then lift the whole machine back into the cabinet, and by the third pie of the morning my shoulder would be talking to me. The KitchenAid hand mixer measures eight inches deep, three and a half inches wide, and six inches high, so it also fits in a drawer I never could have used for anything else. Two pounds is the difference between reaching for it and talking myself out of baking.
Five Speeds Cover the Range I Actually Use
Speed one folds in nuts and chocolate chips gently. Speed five whips cream and egg whites. The KitchenAid hand mixer's five push-button speeds sit right where my thumb lands, so I can slow down when flour starts to fly without hunting for a dial on the side of a machine. The day I learned to respect speed one was a Saturday in October, when I dumped a cup of walnuts into a batch of banana bread batter at speed three and spent the next ten minutes chasing walnut pieces around the kitchen floor. Now I start every batch of cookies at speed one, add the flour in two additions, and only move up to speed three once the dry ingredients are mostly in. For whipped cream, speed five takes about a minute and a half, and I have learned to watch it closely because it goes from soft peaks to butter faster than you would think. Five speeds is exactly the range a home baker needs, and the push buttons are easy to press even when my hands are dusted with flour.
The Cord Stays Out of the Batter
The lockable swivel cord on this KitchenAid hand mixer swings out of the way while you mix. In a small kitchen, where the outlet is never quite where you want it, that means the cord is not dragging across the bowl or catching on the edge of the counter.
The Beaters Come Out With One Hand
When the mixer is covered in batter, the last thing you want to do is wrestle the beaters out. The single-handed press of the button on this KitchenAid hand mixer releases the included stainless steel Turbo Beater accessories quickly, so I can drop them straight into the sink without making a mess of the counter.
It Mixes in the Bowl You Already Own
A stand mixer locks you into its own bowl. A hand mixer works in whatever you have, whether that is a glass mixing bowl, a plastic one, or the pot you plan to cook in. In a small kitchen, that means one less large bowl to store and one less thing to wash.
It Reaches Into Corners a Stand Mixer Cannot
When I am folding whipped cream into a chocolate mixture, I can tilt the bowl and move the beaters around the edges. A stand mixer sits in one place and the bowl spins, which is fine for some things but not for the gentle folding that makes a good mousse.
It Cleans Up in Less Than a Minute
The beaters go in the sink or the dishwasher, and the body of the KitchenAid hand mixer just needs a wipe. There is no heavy bowl to wash around a central post, no attachments to scrub by hand. When you bake in a small kitchen, cleanup is half the battle.
It Does Not Heat Up the Kitchen
My kitchen has one standard electric oven that runs a little hot, and in July I do not want any extra heat. A hand mixer adds none. The KitchenAid hand mixer's 60 watts is plenty for the jobs I ask of it, and it never makes the room feel like a bakery in August. Last July, when my granddaughter asked for a strawberry birthday cake, the house was already warm enough that the frosting kept sliding off the sides. I made the batter in the kitchen with the hand mixer, and the only heat in the room came from the oven itself. With my old stand mixer, the motor would hum along and throw off warmth for however long the mixing took, and on a ninety-degree day that mattered. When I was done, I wiped the mixer down and put it in the drawer instead of leaving a big machine to radiate heat on the counter all afternoon.
It Costs Less, So It Is Easier to Replace
A stand mixer is an investment you hesitate to replace even when it gets cranky. A hand mixer is a practical tool at a practical price. When this KitchenAid hand mixer eventually wears out, I will buy another one without a second thought, and my kitchen will not have missed a beat.
What I'd Skip
If you bake bread every single week and knead for ten minutes at a time, a hand mixer is not going to replace a stand mixer. Neither is it the tool for a big batch of stiff cookie dough that needs a dough hook. For my kind of baking, which is cakes, cookies, frostings, and the occasional meringue, the KitchenAid hand mixer does everything I need. But if your kitchen is large and your stand mixer already lives on the counter, there is no reason to switch.
The KitchenAid hand mixer weighs two pounds, folds at speed one, whips at speed five, and lives in a drawer when the baking is done.
Make Room for the Baking
If you bake for family and bake sales like I do, a hand mixer may be the most practical tool in your kitchen. The KitchenAid 5 Ultra Power Speed Hand Mixer is the one I reach for every weekend. Check today's price on Amazon.
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