Stand mixers

[Drummer's Wife]

so, I know I want one, it's just a matter of which one. Does anyone have a standing mixer they would recommend besides a Kitchen Aid? Or, should I just get a kitchen aid because it's really the most wonderful one? Do other brands have as many fun attachments? I just keep thinking I'm not sure if I should spend that much money, when there are nice looking mixers for under $100. But I will, if the kitchen aid is far superior.

This coming from someone who has been using a very old hand-held mixer with one wand. Surely, anything would be better at this point! I keep wanting to grab a cheap hand mixer from somewhere like target for $20, but then convince myself I'll love a standing one.

[Jackies Ladybug]

i have a kitchen aid after a long battle with several cheapies before i will NEVER go back! i LOVE IT!
i spent about $220 after rebates and price comparisons, not bad considering i bought 4 $100 mixers that i HATED before i bought this one, now THAT was a waste of money!
i got the basic 5 quart with the tilt head in black so it will always work in whatever kitchen i have.

(no, i'm not paid by kitchen-aid, although it would be nice!)

PS, i also have a cheapie hand mixer that i love for different reasons, they are two totally different machines.

[elisheva]

I love my kitchen aid. Worth.every.penny. Great for bread, cakes from scratch, whipping eggwhites. Huge time-savings over my little electric hand mixer.

[Masel]

I just got a Kitchen Aid and I love it. I've went through 3 lesser stand mixers (though one was second hand.) My mom has had a Kenmore mixer for 40 years that still works great but my newer one didn't last. If you are only going to do batter with it should be okay but I have this tendency to want to make very hardy oatmeal cookies.

[EricaDoula]

I got a kitchen aid for Christmas. I love it! I had blown the motor out on 3 small hand mixers over time, mixing up frostings for cakes. And, I am sooo in love with my kitchen aid! It's one buy, you won't regret!!

[EFmom]

The Kitchen Aid is so worth the money. I burned out a few cheaper ones and when I went to replace the last one, dh insisted we get a Kitchen Aid as he bakes bread. He was so right. For me, it's not the attachments (other than the dough hook). It's that it's powerful and works beautifully.

[meg-momto2]

you got my vote for a Kitchen Aid. if price is an issue check out the refurbished section on their site. i got my 5qt Professional Plus for less then $250.

[MeepyCat]

I adore my stand mixer, but I don't think it adores me back. I have the 5-qt. KitchenAid Artisan, and ever since I started frequent heavy bread baking, it's been whiny. I'm thinking of upgrading to the 6-qt. model, and if I had it to do over, I'd have just started there.

[soxthecatrules]

I got a KA for Christmas also. I'm loving it and look forward to getting attachments!!! I have a friend who absolutely ADORES her Bosch mixer. So you might want to look at those also. Don't buy a cheap under $100 one. We did that last year and here we are again....buying another stand mixer. The cheapo is fine if all you do is make cakes and cookies. Forget bread.

[paxye]

I have a 7 qt Cuisinart and I love it! The motor is more powerful than the Kitchenaid model and I am able to make larger quantities with it... I make our bread so I can make 4-5 loaves at a time without a problem with my mixer... It saves a lot of time in my kitchen, I use it almost everyday for so many things...

It also has a timer on it which is great because I can walk away at times when the kids need me and it will shut off by itself... and a fold setting which is equally useful...

You can also get all of the cool attachments for it but I think that the price is a bit higher than the Kitchenaid...

[mamadelbosque]

I have the kitchenaid 600 professional (twas my xmas present to mysefl w/ xmas money last year, and I *love* it! The longer I've had it, the more uses I've found for it - I've learned how to make tortillas, pie dough, even meat balls in it. It makes soo many things SO much easier. Go for a KA - they're great!!

[SunshineJ]

My mom upgraded her KA about 6-7 years ago and passed along her old one to me. It had to be at least 15 yrs old at the time. Last spring I upgraded to a new one when Target had a great deal on them. The old one worked great, I just wanted a more powerful one for breads. Skip the 250 watt, you'll want the extra power at some point. Even at 20+ years old that mixer worked PERFECT and I was able to sell it for $60! (Honestly I probably could've gotten $75 but we were moving and I needed it gone!) I have never once regretted my KitchenAid!

ETA: I would still recommend a cheap hand mixer though. Sometimes, especially for something that's light and a small quantity they're better for the job than a stand mixer. But if I had to choose only one, it'd be a stand mixer!

[vm9799]

ditto to all the positive responses about the kitchen aid. i have one and LOVE it! worth every penny.

[Ola_]

We have a KitchenAid mixer too and although I don't use it that much, when I do use it it's very handy (whipping egg whites, whipped cream, pizza dough most often). We have the Pro version with the bowl lift instead of the bowl that screws down (I think that's the Artisan?). We got ours at Costco, they seem to regularly run sales for $100 or $125 off, at least here in Canada. I'd definitely check out the refurbished section on their website too, as a PP suggested.

[Drummer's Wife]

You all are very helpful! Thanks!

okay, I'm convinced I want a KitchenAid now. Especially after looking through all the color options. Orange would be sweet!

I will look into the other brands a couple of you mentioned just in case I change my mind, so thanks for the suggestions.

I guess I was just looking at them and seeing $200-500 and thinking, yikes! Then I noticed similar looking stand mixers for about $100 and wasn't sure if it was just a brand name thing that upped the price so much. It helps that I have a $100 GC to Macy's, so if I buy it there the cost won't be so high. Now it's just deciding which model best meets my needs.

Thanks again, all.

[Tizzy]

My mom used to have a Bosch that had a pile of fancy attachments, she used it for *everything* and sold it 10 yrs later for $300.

Personally I'm holding out for a Kitchen Aid 600+ because I'm pretty sure I'd wear out a smaller/less powerful one. I saw refurbished ones last time I was at the outlet mall in Pa. for $400 which is a deal compared to the 250watt ones being $400 up here in Canada.

[CrunchyChristianMama]

I love my Bosch and use it almost everyday. I have the dough hook, cookie paddles, and whisks for mixing and the blender and grain mill for attachments. It's wonderful!

[ArtsyMomma]

I have a KA Artisan. I bought it refurbished. I don't use it very often, but I'm glad I bought it. It's one appliance I don't want to get rid of. It's great when I do use it.

[cristeen]

Honestly, I know everyone raves about the KA, but I read too many reviews about them breaking, stripping gears, wiring needing replacing, etc. There's a reason you can find a refurbished one so easily.

So I got a Viking instead, and I LOVE it. It has many of the same attachments available as the KA, and also has a blender attachment. The big one it doesn't have is the ice cream maker, but since I already had one of those it wasn't even on my radar.

[lucyem]

My kitchen aid is about 12 years old and going strong. It is just the basic tilt head model. I love it.