Greetings,

At our house, we seem to go through an electric hand mixer
(like, e.g.,
http://www.shopkitchenaid.com/produc...&T1=KTA+KHM3WH)
every 2-3 years. We don't use the mixer that
often, maybe two or three times per month, and yet there
always comes a time when the blades stop spinning and wisps of
smoke come drifting out of the motor, along with the awful
smell of a motor that shell spin its blades no more.

Having once again smelled the smoke of hand-mixer doom, we are
once again in the market for a new one, and so I thought I'd
post and ask: is there a mixer on the market that won't give
up the ghost after a few years (and if so where can we get
it), or are we doomed to continue contributing to the
ever-growing global waste disposal problem as long as we want
to keep making chocolate chip cookies?

(Yes, we could get it fixed, but I'm pretty certain that
getting it fixed costs more than buying a new mixer.)

(Yes, a real stand mixer would almost certainly solve this
problem, but we wouldn't use one often enough to justify the
expense, and besides, we don't have space for one in our
kitchen.)

Thanks in advance for any suggestions you can provide.

--
Jews for Obama (http://www.jews4obama.com/)

On Aug 4, 3:20�pm, (Jonathan Kamens)
wrote:
> Greetings,
>
> At our house, we seem to go through an electric hand mixer
> (like, e.g.,http://www.shopkitchenaid.com/produc...ndmixers&T1=KT...)
> every 2-3 years. �We don't use the mixer that
> often, maybe two or three times per month, and yet there
> always comes a time when the blades stop spinning and wisps of
> smoke come drifting out of the motor, along with the awful
> smell of a motor that shell spin its blades no more.
>
> Having once again smelled the smoke of hand-mixer doom, we are
> once again in the market for a new one, and so I thought I'd
> post and ask: is there a mixer on the market that won't give
> up the ghost after a few years (and if so where can we get
> it), or are we doomed to continue contributing to the
> ever-growing global waste disposal problem as long as we want
> to keep making chocolate chip cookies?

Even the best hand mixers won't stand up long to mixing heavy doughs
like for cookies. I have a 7 speed KitchenAid that's great for
whipping and mixing batters but I don't think it would last long on a
steady diet of mixing stiff cookie doughs.

Jonathan Kamens wrote:
>
> it), or are we doomed to continue contributing to the
> ever-growing global waste disposal problem as long as
> we want to keep making chocolate chip cookies?

You're doomed as long as you use the wrong tool
for the purpose. Cookie dough is way too thick
for mixing with a handheld electric mixer.
It's like using a knife as a screwdriver and
complaining when the tip breaks off.

Jonathan Kamens wrote:
> Greetings,
>
> At our house, we seem to go through an electric hand mixer
> (like, e.g.,
> http://www.shopkitchenaid.com/produc...&T1=KTA+KHM3WH)
> every 2-3 years. We don't use the mixer that
> often, maybe two or three times per month, and yet there
> always comes a time when the blades stop spinning and wisps of
> smoke come drifting out of the motor, along with the awful
> smell of a motor that shell spin its blades no more.
>
> Having once again smelled the smoke of hand-mixer doom, we are
> once again in the market for a new one, and so I thought I'd
> post and ask: is there a mixer on the market that won't give
> up the ghost after a few years (and if so where can we get
> it), or are we doomed to continue contributing to the
> ever-growing global waste disposal problem as long as we want
> to keep making chocolate chip cookies?
>
> (Yes, we could get it fixed, but I'm pretty certain that
> getting it fixed costs more than buying a new mixer.)
>
> (Yes, a real stand mixer would almost certainly solve this
> problem, but we wouldn't use one often enough to justify the
> expense, and besides, we don't have space for one in our
> kitchen.)
>
> Thanks in advance for any suggestions you can provide.
>

I wouldn't use a hand mixer for cookie dough but KitchenAid does
make a dough hook for the model you picked (the cheapest by the way).
Were you using the dough hook? Using beaters for dough is guaranteed
to burn out the motor. I'd also go with the strongest mixer I could get;
i.e. the 9-speed KA.

/da

In article >,
says...

> (Yes, a real stand mixer would almost certainly solve this
> problem, but we wouldn't use one often enough to justify the
> expense, and besides, we don't have space for one in our
> kitchen.)
>
> Thanks in advance for any suggestions you can provide.

I've got an older (90's) Sunbeam Mixmaster stand/detachable unit that
just goes and goes. I paid $50 for it though now I see they want $169 or
so for the same thing.

However their hand mixers are based on the classic:

http://www.sunbeam.com/category.aspx...=kitchen&cid=6

Mark Thorson > writes:
>You're doomed as long as you use the wrong tool
>for the purpose. Cookie dough is way too thick
>for mixing with a handheld electric mixer.

I suppose I should have been clear that when the dough gets
too thick for the hand mixer, we switch to a spoon. Granted,
perhaps we are not switching soon enough, and perhaps that is
what is causing our mixers to die a premature death, but I was
hoping that perhaps there is a better answer than that...

--
Jews for Obama (http://www.jews4obama.com/)

Jonathan Kamens wrote:

> Greetings,
>
> At our house, we seem to go through an electric hand mixer
> (like, e.g.,
> http://www.shopkitchenaid.com/produc...&T1=KTA+KHM3WH)
> every 2-3 years. We don't use the mixer that
> often, maybe two or three times per month, and yet there
> always comes a time when the blades stop spinning and wisps of
> smoke come drifting out of the motor, along with the awful
> smell of a motor that shell spin its blades no more.
>
> Having once again smelled the smoke of hand-mixer doom, we are
> once again in the market for a new one, and so I thought I'd
> post and ask: is there a mixer on the market that won't give
> up the ghost after a few years (and if so where can we get
> it), or are we doomed to continue contributing to the
> ever-growing global waste disposal problem as long as we want
> to keep making chocolate chip cookies?
>
> (Yes, we could get it fixed, but I'm pretty certain that
> getting it fixed costs more than buying a new mixer.)
>
> (Yes, a real stand mixer would almost certainly solve this
> problem, but we wouldn't use one often enough to justify the
> expense, and besides, we don't have space for one in our
> kitchen.)
>
> Thanks in advance for any suggestions you can provide.

That is the same hand held mixer that I have been using for years and mine is
still going strong. I use it for chocolate chip cooks, meat loaf and other tough
jobs and it works fine.


>
>
> --
> Jews for Obama (http://www.jews4obama.com/)

"Jonathan Kamens" > wrote in message
...

> Having once again smelled the smoke of hand-mixer doom, we are
> once again in the market for a new one, and so I thought I'd
> post and ask: is there a mixer on the market that won't give
> up the ghost after a few years (and if so where can we get
> it), or are we doomed to continue contributing to the
> ever-growing global waste disposal problem as long as we want
> to keep making chocolate chip cookies?
>

Well, I use either a pastry cutter
(http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Cookbook:Pastry_Cutter) or a potato masher,
which I think works better than a pastry cutter, to cream the butter and
eggs together, then a wooden spoon to stir in the chocolate chips and the
optional nuts. Neither of those things burn out.

I have mixed the cookies using an electric device like a mixer or food
processor from time to time, but it is neither faster nor "easier" than
using the hand tools, at least in my opinion. It is just more clean up.

You can even mix the chips in with your hands as the following recipe
recommends: http://theppk.com/recipes/dbrecipes/...p?RecipeID=111. I
have never done it that way, but I would highly recommend washing your hands
before doing the mixing, even though you washed your hands, or at least
should have, before you started cooking.

I don't know if you use the mixer for something else, but the bottom line is
that cooking had been done with hand tools for a lot more of human history
than power tools, and quite often, they are actually the better choice
(though one time I tried making mayonnaise with a whisk, and that is just
for the birds).

Brian Christiansen

On Aug 4, 2:20*pm, (Jonathan Kamens)
wrote:
> Greetings,
>
> At our house, we seem to go through an electric hand mixer
> (like, e.g.,http://www.shopkitchenaid.com/produc...ndmixers&T1=KT...)
> every 2-3 years. *We don't use the mixer that
> often, maybe two or three times per month, and yet there
> always comes a time when the blades stop spinning and wisps of
> smoke come drifting out of the motor, along with the awful
> smell of a motor that shell spin its blades no more.
>
> Having once again smelled the smoke of hand-mixer doom, we are
> once again in the market for a new one, and so I thought I'd
> post and ask: is there a mixer on the market that won't give
> up the ghost after a few years (and if so where can we get
> it), or are we doomed to continue contributing to the
> ever-growing global waste disposal problem as long as we want
> to keep making chocolate chip cookies?
>
> (Yes, we could get it fixed, but I'm pretty certain that
> getting it fixed costs more than buying a new mixer.)
>
> (Yes, a real stand mixer would almost certainly solve this
> problem, but we wouldn't use one often enough to justify the
> expense, and besides, we don't have space for one in our
> kitchen.)
>
> Thanks in advance for any suggestions you can provide.
>
> --
> Jews for Obama (http://www.jews4obama.com/)

Dunno. I have a KA hand mixer, the 6 speed, and I've used it at least
once or twice a week for about a decade now. I'm thinking about
getting a 7-speed, with a whip attachment, actually.

N.

On Aug 4, 3:17*pm, "Brian Christiansen" >
wrote:
> "Jonathan Kamens" > wrote in message
>
> ...
>
> > Having once again smelled the smoke of hand-mixer doom, we are
> > once again in the market for a new one, and so I thought I'd
> > post and ask: is there a mixer on the market that won't give
> > up the ghost after a few years (and if so where can we get
> > it), or are we doomed to continue contributing to the
> > ever-growing global waste disposal problem as long as we want
> > to keep making chocolate chip cookies?
>
> Well, I use either a pastry cutter
> (http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Cookbook:Pastry_Cutter) or a potato masher,
> which I think works better than a pastry cutter, to cream the butter and
> eggs together, then a wooden spoon to stir in the chocolate chips and the
> optional nuts. *Neither of those things burn out.
>
> I have mixed the cookies using an electric device like a mixer or food
> processor from time to time, but it is neither faster nor "easier" than
> using the hand tools, at least in my opinion. It is just more clean *up..
>
> You can even mix the chips in with your hands as the following recipe
> recommends:http://theppk.com/recipes/dbrecipes/...p?RecipeID=111. *I
> have never done it that way, but I would highly recommend washing your hands
> before doing the mixing, even though you washed your hands, or at least
> should have, before you started cooking.
>
> I don't know if you use the mixer for something else, but the bottom line is
> that cooking had been done with hand tools for a lot more of human history
> than power tools, and quite often, they are actually the better choice
> (though one time I tried making mayonnaise with a whisk, and that is just
> for the birds).
>
> Brian Christiansen

I can't think of anything easier than creaming shortening and sugar
with an electric stand mixer. Clean-up? Pshaw, a quick hot-water
wash (under the running water) with a little soap smeared on, and the
beaters are good to go. Plus, I can finish the recipe in the stand
mixer, using only that one bowl and a spatula. I'd never try creaming
shortening and sugar by hand - it just doesn't work as well. IMO, of
course.

As for the OP, I can't imagine mixing cookie dough with a hand mixer.
I use mine sometimes for brownie batter (homemade- it's thinner than a
box mix, actually), frosting, and beating eggs for whatever. That's
about all I use it for.

N.

Jonathan Kamens wrote:
> Greetings,
>
> At our house, we seem to go through an electric hand mixer
> (like, e.g.,
> http://www.shopkitchenaid.com/produc...&T1=KTA+KHM3WH)
> every 2-3 years. We don't use the mixer that
> often, maybe two or three times per month, and yet there
> always comes a time when the blades stop spinning and wisps of
> smoke come drifting out of the motor, along with the awful
> smell of a motor that shell spin its blades no more.
>
> Having once again smelled the smoke of hand-mixer doom, we are
> once again in the market for a new one, and so I thought I'd
> post and ask: is there a mixer on the market that won't give
> up the ghost after a few years (and if so where can we get
> it), or are we doomed to continue contributing to the
> ever-growing global waste disposal problem as long as we want
> to keep making chocolate chip cookies?
>
> (Yes, we could get it fixed, but I'm pretty certain that
> getting it fixed costs more than buying a new mixer.)
>
> (Yes, a real stand mixer would almost certainly solve this
> problem, but we wouldn't use one often enough to justify the
> expense, and besides, we don't have space for one in our
> kitchen.)
>
> Thanks in advance for any suggestions you can provide.
>


The ad for your mixer says it's "powerful enough to mix double batches
of cookie dough" If that's their claim, they should stand by it. Have
you contacted them?

Personally, I mix heavy cookie dough by hand. It helps to establish the
calorie deficit so I can eat more cookies without getting fat :-)

--
Janet Wilder
Bad spelling. Bad punctuation
Good Friends. Good Life

Jonathan Kamens wrote:
> Greetings,
>
> At our house, we seem to go through an electric hand mixer
> (like, e.g.,
> http://www.shopkitchenaid.com/produc...&T1=KTA+KHM3WH)
> every 2-3 years. We don't use the mixer that
> often, maybe two or three times per month, and yet there
> always comes a time when the blades stop spinning and wisps of
> smoke come drifting out of the motor, along with the awful
> smell of a motor that shell spin its blades no more.
>
> Having once again smelled the smoke of hand-mixer doom, we are
> once again in the market for a new one, and so I thought I'd
> post and ask: is there a mixer on the market that won't give
> up the ghost after a few years (and if so where can we get
> it), or are we doomed to continue contributing to the
> ever-growing global waste disposal problem as long as we want
> to keep making chocolate chip cookies?
>
> (Yes, we could get it fixed, but I'm pretty certain that
> getting it fixed costs more than buying a new mixer.)
>
> (Yes, a real stand mixer would almost certainly solve this
> problem, but we wouldn't use one often enough to justify the
> expense, and besides, we don't have space for one in our
> kitchen.)
>
> Thanks in advance for any suggestions you can provide.
>


Was it really a Kitchenaid, or was it maybe a Sunbeam that kind of looks
like the one you linked?

Bob

On Mon, 4 Aug 2008 20:08:06 +0000 (UTC),
(Jonathan Kamens) wrote:

>Mark Thorson > writes:
>>You're doomed as long as you use the wrong tool
>>for the purpose. Cookie dough is way too thick
>>for mixing with a handheld electric mixer.
>
>I suppose I should have been clear that when the dough gets
>too thick for the hand mixer, we switch to a spoon. Granted,
>perhaps we are not switching soon enough, and perhaps that is
>what is causing our mixers to die a premature death, but I was
>hoping that perhaps there is a better answer than that...


Probably time to switch to a stand mixer. You can get a refurbished
tilt head for $169.00. That's not much more than the cost of 2 of the 7
speed hand mixers or 3 of the 3 speeds. For $200 you can get the heavy
duty 5-qt Professional model (475 Watts, all metal construction).

http://www.shopkitchenaid.com/produc...AND&HDR=outlet

FWIW, the 3 speed has a 170 Watt motor.

Jonathan Kamens wrote:
>
> I suppose I should have been clear that when the dough gets
> too thick for the hand mixer, we switch to a spoon. Granted,
> perhaps we are not switching soon enough, and perhaps that is
> what is causing our mixers to die a premature death, but I was
> hoping that perhaps there is a better answer than that...


I mix cookies by hand with a metal spoon and have never had a problem.
The only reasons I'd be tempted to use a standup mixer or other
electronic help would be:


if I were making an especially large batch as though making them
commercially

if I had arthritis or other medical condition which made using my arm in
that way difficult.


I thought there would be a whole list, but I can only come up with the 2
possibilities. If you don't have either of these, I'd suggest just
mixing by hand from the start. You can let the fact that the hand
mixers die prematurely, or you can say that clean-up is easier.


Good reasons for using the hand held mixer: egg white and cream. And
even then, a hand whip works fine.


--Lia

In article >,
(Jonathan Kamens) wrote:

> Thanks in advance for any suggestions you can provide.

I'm very happy with my Braun Multi-Mix unit. Includes a stick blender,
chopper, and a tall container for doing some stick blending. Don't know
if they still sell it, but it does what I need it to do when I don't
want to haul out the KA stand mixer.
--
-Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ
http://web.mac.com/barbschaller , blahblahblog is back and
is being updated quite regularly now.
"rec.food.cooking Preserved Fruit Administrator
'Always in a jam. Never in a stew.'" - Evergene

On Mon 04 Aug 2008 12:20:15p, Jonathan Kamens told us...

> Greetings,
>
> At our house, we seem to go through an electric hand mixer
> (like, e.g.,
> http://www.shopkitchenaid.com/produc...xers&T1=KTA+KH
> M3WH) every 2-3 years. We don't use the mixer that
> often, maybe two or three times per month, and yet there
> always comes a time when the blades stop spinning and wisps of
> smoke come drifting out of the motor, along with the awful
> smell of a motor that shell spin its blades no more.
>
> Having once again smelled the smoke of hand-mixer doom, we are
> once again in the market for a new one, and so I thought I'd
> post and ask: is there a mixer on the market that won't give
> up the ghost after a few years (and if so where can we get
> it), or are we doomed to continue contributing to the
> ever-growing global waste disposal problem as long as we want
> to keep making chocolate chip cookies?
>
> (Yes, we could get it fixed, but I'm pretty certain that
> getting it fixed costs more than buying a new mixer.)
>
> (Yes, a real stand mixer would almost certainly solve this
> problem, but we wouldn't use one often enough to justify the
> expense, and besides, we don't have space for one in our
> kitchen.)
>
> Thanks in advance for any suggestions you can provide.
>

I don't know of a current model hand mixer that I would recommend, as I
haven't needed a new one.

My dad bought my mother a "Dormey" hand mixer made by Dormeyer in 1954.
She used it until she passed away in 1998, and I have been using it since
then. I also happen to have a KitchenAid stand mixer, but I still use the
hand mixer for many things.

The are frequently sold on eBay. Currently there are two for sale. If you
don't mind buying something used, buy one of these.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Dormeyer-Dormey-...xer-Model-7500
_W0QQitemZ160267075932QQihZ006QQcategoryZ11653QQss PageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZ
ViewItem

or

http://tinyurl.com/5zerga

As a side note, I have since bought two of these mixers on eBay "just in
case" mine dies. I doubt that it will, though, so here I sit with three of
them. :-) Oh, the two on eBay are *not* being sold by me.


--
Wayne Boatwright
-------------------------------------------
Monday, 08(VIII)/04(IV)/08(MMVIII)
-------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------
Where am I going, and why am I in this
handbasket?
-------------------------------------------

On Mon 04 Aug 2008 12:20:15p, Jonathan Kamens told us...

> Greetings,
>
> At our house, we seem to go through an electric hand mixer
> (like, e.g.,
> http://www.shopkitchenaid.com/produc...xers&T1=KTA+KH
> M3WH) every 2-3 years. We don't use the mixer that
> often, maybe two or three times per month, and yet there
> always comes a time when the blades stop spinning and wisps of
> smoke come drifting out of the motor, along with the awful
> smell of a motor that shell spin its blades no more.
>
> Having once again smelled the smoke of hand-mixer doom, we are
> once again in the market for a new one, and so I thought I'd
> post and ask: is there a mixer on the market that won't give
> up the ghost after a few years (and if so where can we get
> it), or are we doomed to continue contributing to the
> ever-growing global waste disposal problem as long as we want
> to keep making chocolate chip cookies?
>
> (Yes, we could get it fixed, but I'm pretty certain that
> getting it fixed costs more than buying a new mixer.)
>
> (Yes, a real stand mixer would almost certainly solve this
> problem, but we wouldn't use one often enough to justify the
> expense, and besides, we don't have space for one in our
> kitchen.)
>
> Thanks in advance for any suggestions you can provide.
>

I would not be happy with anything currently on the market. However, some
of the older hand mixers have survived decades of use.

My dad bought my mother a "Dormey" hand mixer made by Dormeyer in 1954.
She used it until 1998 when she passed away. I now have it and use it
regularly, although I also have a KitchenAid stand mixer that I use for
heavier mixtures.

You can usually find one on eBay, in fact, they are several currently
listed now. Here is one:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Dormeyer-Dormey-...xer-Model-7500
_W0QQitemZ160267075932QQihZ006QQcategoryZ11653QQss PageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZ
ViewItem

OR

http://tinyurl.com/5zerga

If you don't mind buying something used, I can't recommend this highly
enough.

--
Wayne Boatwright
-------------------------------------------
Monday, 08(VIII)/04(IV)/08(MMVIII)
-------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------
Where am I going, and why am I in this
handbasket?
-------------------------------------------

Melba's Jammin' wrote:
>
>I'm very happy with my Braun Multi-Mix unit. Includes a stick blender,
> chopper, and a tall container for doing some stick blending. Don't know
> if they still sell it, but it does what I need it to do when I don't
> want to haul out the KA stand mixer.

I have the Braun, too. I wouldn't even consider
using it on cookie dough.

"Jonathan Kamens" > wrote in message
...
> Greetings,
>
> At our house, we seem to go through an electric hand mixer
> (like, e.g.,
> http://www.shopkitchenaid.com/produc...&T1=KTA+KHM3WH)
> every 2-3 years. We don't use the mixer that
> often, maybe two or three times per month, and yet there
> always comes a time when the blades stop spinning and wisps of
> smoke come drifting out of the motor, along with the awful
> smell of a motor that shell spin its blades no more.
>
> Having once again smelled the smoke of hand-mixer doom, we are
> once again in the market for a new one, and so I thought I'd
> post and ask: is there a mixer on the market that won't give
> up the ghost after a few years (and if so where can we get
> it), or are we doomed to continue contributing to the
> ever-growing global waste disposal problem as long as we want
> to keep making chocolate chip cookies?


http://www.cooking.com/products/shprodde.asp?SKU=142281

You need a mixer with dough hooks for making cookies,
Or get a kitchen aid.


--
Old Scoundrel

(AKA Dimitri)

Jonathan Kamens wrote:
>
> Greetings,
>
> At our house, we seem to go through an electric hand mixer
> (like, e.g.,
> http://www.shopkitchenaid.com/produc...&T1=KTA+KHM3WH)
> every 2-3 years. We don't use the mixer that
> often, maybe two or three times per month, and yet there
> always comes a time when the blades stop spinning and wisps of
> smoke come drifting out of the motor, along with the awful
> smell of a motor that shell spin its blades no more.

Symptoms precisely describe crap made in China, especially if they occur
immediately after the return limit date.

(Jonathan Kamens) wrote in
:

> Greetings,
>
> At our house, we seem to go through an electric hand mixer
> (like, e.g.,
> http://www.shopkitchenaid.com/produc...HDR=handmixers
> &T1=KTA+KHM3WH) every 2-3 years. We don't use the mixer that
> often, maybe two or three times per month, and yet there
> always comes a time when the blades stop spinning and wisps of
> smoke come drifting out of the motor, along with the awful
> smell of a motor that shell spin its blades no more.
>
> Having once again smelled the smoke of hand-mixer doom, we are
> once again in the market for a new one, and so I thought I'd
> post and ask: is there a mixer on the market that won't give
> up the ghost after a few years (and if so where can we get
> it), or are we doomed to continue contributing to the
> ever-growing global waste disposal problem as long as we want
> to keep making chocolate chip cookies?
>
> (Yes, we could get it fixed, but I'm pretty certain that
> getting it fixed costs more than buying a new mixer.)
>
> (Yes, a real stand mixer would almost certainly solve this
> problem, but we wouldn't use one often enough to justify the
> expense, and besides, we don't have space for one in our
> kitchen.)
>
> Thanks in advance for any suggestions you can provide.

I have a late Sunbeam mixer. It's still going..
after many cookies. :-) Circa late '60's or Very early '70's.
Harvest gold.

zxcvbob > writes:
>Was it really a Kitchenaid, or was it maybe a Sunbeam that kind of looks
>like the one you linked?

I don't think the one we had was a KitchenAid. I don't remember what
the brand was.

If the answer to my question is, "Some of the brands are garbage. You
should get a <x>," then I'd love to hear that :-).

--
Jews for Obama (http://www.jews4obama.com/)

Jonathan Kamens wrote:
> Mark Thorson > writes:
>
>>You're doomed as long as you use the wrong tool
>>for the purpose. Cookie dough is way too thick
>>for mixing with a handheld electric mixer.
>
>
> I suppose I should have been clear that when the dough gets
> too thick for the hand mixer, we switch to a spoon. Granted,
> perhaps we are not switching soon enough, and perhaps that is
> what is causing our mixers to die a premature death, but I was
> hoping that perhaps there is a better answer than that...

I really don't have room for a stand-up mixer in my kitchen. But, in
point of fact, I don't have room for my hand mixture, either. It's kept
downstairs, pretty much right where I'd keep a stand-up mixer. So, when
this latest one finally dies I'll replace it with a stand-up unit.

Meanwhile, I prolong the life of my current handheld mixer by making
sure that the butter and eggs are at room temp before attempting to beat
them.

Jonathan Kamens wrote:

> Having once again smelled the smoke of hand-mixer doom, we are
> once again in the market for a new one, and so I thought I'd
> post and ask: is there a mixer on the market that won't give
> up the ghost after a few years (and if so where can we get
> it), or are we doomed to continue contributing to the
> ever-growing global waste disposal problem as long as we want
> to keep making chocolate chip cookies?

I'm an old fashioned girl. I just make cookies with a bowl and large
mixing spoon with a little elbow grease behind it. I never seemed to
need a mixer? Is this something you might be able to try doing?

"Jonathan Kamens" > ha scritto nel messaggio
is there a mixer on the market that won't give
> up the ghost after a few years (and if so where can we get
> it),

I have the Braun Multi Mix which includes mixer, stick blender, dough hooks
and mini chopper. I have had it 8 years and use it professionally as well
as domestically. For very heavy doughs use the dough hooks. Otherwise it
does what it does and does it very well indeed. Mine is 350 watts but I
think the newer ones are higher wattage.
I had to replace the blade and staff of the chopper once, but the rest keeps
on trucking. I have rarely been this pleased with an appliance and I use it
every day for something.

On Aug 4, 11:27�pm, Kathleen > wrote:
> Jonathan Kamens wrote:
> > Mark Thorson > writes:
>
> >>You're doomed as long as you use the wrong tool
> >>for the purpose. �Cookie dough is way too thick
> >>for mixing with a handheld electric mixer.
>
> > I suppose I should have been clear that when the dough gets
> > too thick for the hand mixer, we switch to a spoon. �Granted,
> > perhaps we are not switching soon enough, and perhaps that is
> > what is causing our mixers to die a premature death, but I was
> > hoping that perhaps there is a better answer than that...
>
> I really don't have room for a stand-up mixer in my kitchen. �But, in
> point of fact, I don't have room for my hand mixture, either. �It's kept
> downstairs, pretty much right where I'd keep a stand-up mixer. �So, when
> this latest one finally dies I'll replace it with a stand-up unit.


Then you really need both... for the vast majority of mixing a hand
mixer surffices just fine, and is far easier to clean and store. I
don't even have a stand mixer anymore... for the teensy quantity of
dough a 5-6 quart KA can handle I'd rather by hand. The *only*
reasonS anyone needs a KA sized stand mixer at home is if they are
handicapped or a kitchen snob.

On Mon, 4 Aug 2008, Jonathan Kamens wrote:

> Mark Thorson > writes:
>> You're doomed as long as you use the wrong tool
>> for the purpose. Cookie dough is way too thick
>> for mixing with a handheld electric mixer.
>
> I suppose I should have been clear that when the dough gets
> too thick for the hand mixer, we switch to a spoon. Granted,
> perhaps we are not switching soon enough, and perhaps that is
> what is causing our mixers to die a premature death, but I was
> hoping that perhaps there is a better answer than that...
>
Huh?

It's easy to hand mix at the beginning, it's later that it
becomes too much trouble.

If you can mix by hand when you add the flour, then you might
as well do the whole thing by hand.

Michael

Michael Black wrote:
> On Mon, 4 Aug 2008, Jonathan Kamens wrote:
>
>> Mark Thorson > writes:
>>> You're doomed as long as you use the wrong tool
>>> for the purpose. Cookie dough is way too thick
>>> for mixing with a handheld electric mixer.
>>
>> I suppose I should have been clear that when the dough gets
>> too thick for the hand mixer, we switch to a spoon. Granted,
>> perhaps we are not switching soon enough, and perhaps that is
>> what is causing our mixers to die a premature death, but I was
>> hoping that perhaps there is a better answer than that...
>>
> Huh?
>
> It's easy to hand mix at the beginning, it's later that it
> becomes too much trouble.

Don't chocolate chip cookies start with creaming the butter
and sugar until fluffy? I find that much easier with a mixer.

nancy

(Jonathan Kamens) wrote in news:g77nj6$2bm$2
@jik3.kamens.brookline.ma.us:

> Mark Thorson > writes:
>>You're doomed as long as you use the wrong tool
>>for the purpose. Cookie dough is way too thick
>>for mixing with a handheld electric mixer.
>
> I suppose I should have been clear that when the dough gets
> too thick for the hand mixer, we switch to a spoon. Granted,
> perhaps we are not switching soon enough, and perhaps that is
> what is causing our mixers to die a premature death, but I was
> hoping that perhaps there is a better answer than that...
>

Move on up to power tools...use an electric drill. Put the mixer
attachments in the chuck of an electric drill. The motors are larger, so
they will last longer.

--

The house of the burning beet-Alan

In article >,
says...
> (Jonathan Kamens) wrote in news:g77nj6$2bm$2
> @jik3.kamens.brookline.ma.us:
>
> > Mark Thorson > writes:
> >>You're doomed as long as you use the wrong tool
> >>for the purpose. Cookie dough is way too thick
> >>for mixing with a handheld electric mixer.
> >
> > I suppose I should have been clear that when the dough gets
> > too thick for the hand mixer, we switch to a spoon. Granted,
> > perhaps we are not switching soon enough, and perhaps that is
> > what is causing our mixers to die a premature death, but I was
> > hoping that perhaps there is a better answer than that...
> >
>
> Move on up to power tools...use an electric drill. Put the mixer
> attachments in the chuck of an electric drill. The motors are larger, so
> they will last longer.
>
>

Sounds like you've been watching too much Good Eats. A tool should
always have more than one use and you've definitely done that here.

For the more engineering inclined you could actually design a fixed
platform to attach the drill and then a gearbox to spin two or more
beaters.


The nice thing about the drill is the variable speed and torque.

On Aug 5, 9:28�am, hahabogus > wrote:
> (Jonathan Kamens) wrote in news:g77nj6$2bm$2
> @jik3.kamens.brookline.ma.us:
>
> > Mark Thorson > writes:
> >>You're doomed as long as you use the wrong tool
> >>for the purpose. �Cookie dough is way too thick
> >>for mixing with a handheld electric mixer.
>
> > I suppose I should have been clear that when the dough gets
> > too thick for the hand mixer, we switch to a spoon. �Granted,
> > perhaps we are not switching soon enough, and perhaps that is
> > what is causing our mixers to die a premature death, but I was
> > hoping that perhaps there is a better answer than that...
>
> Move on up to power tools...use an electric drill. Put the mixer
> attachments in the chuck of an electric drill. The motors are larger, so
> they will last longer.

The drill motor will last but it will probably wreck the typical hand
mixer beater... and unless one has a sturdy device for securing the
bowl this idea can even prove dangerous... I don't recommend this
cockamamie method, certainly not for anyone not physically able to mix
cookie dough entirely by hand.

Most cookie recipes begin:
"In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat
in eggs and vanilla."

This can easily be accomplished with any hand mixer.

Then the dry ingredints:
"Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt."

Needs two minutes with a sturdy wooden spoon is all.

My KA hand mixer came with a dollars-off coupon for heavy duty beaters
(looks like just larger diameter wire) but I never ordered them, the
regular beaters do fine for all my whipping and beating needs.
Actually for cookie dough it's better to make up each single batch
recipe separately.

On Mon, 04 Aug 2008 23:55:28 -0400, Goomba wrote:

> Jonathan Kamens wrote:
>
>> Having once again smelled the smoke of hand-mixer doom, we are
>> once again in the market for a new one, and so I thought I'd
>> post and ask: is there a mixer on the market that won't give
>> up the ghost after a few years (and if so where can we get
>> it), or are we doomed to continue contributing to the
>> ever-growing global waste disposal problem as long as we want
>> to keep making chocolate chip cookies?
>
> I'm an old fashioned girl. I just make cookies with a bowl and large
> mixing spoon with a little elbow grease behind it. I never seemed to
> need a mixer? Is this something you might be able to try doing?

at least you're not claiming hand mixing produces a better texture.

your pal,
blake

All together now in the key of C

Jesus wants you to get a Sunbeam . . .

or maybe a Hamilton Beach. I've been happy with both.

Lynn in Fargo

blake murphy wrote:

>> I'm an old fashioned girl. I just make cookies with a bowl and large
>> mixing spoon with a little elbow grease behind it. I never seemed to
>> need a mixer? Is this something you might be able to try doing?
>
> at least you're not claiming hand mixing produces a better texture.
>
> your pal,
> blake

Well, I do like my cookies better than most everyone elses! LOL
Perhaps it is the inclusion of classic elbow grease that makes them so good?

Sheldon wrote:
>
> The drill motor will last but it will probably wreck the typical hand
> mixer beater... and unless one has a sturdy device for securing the
> bowl this idea can even prove dangerous... I don't recommend this
> cockamamie method, certainly not for anyone not physically able to mix
> cookie dough entirely by hand.

Hardware stores sell attachments for drills
for mixing. Combine this with a stand to turn
the drill into a drill press, and you'll have
a mighty tool that will stand up to any
cookie dough.

On Aug 4, 6:20*pm, "Dimitri" > wrote:
> "Jonathan Kamens" > wrote in message
>
> ...
>
>
>
>
>
> > Greetings,
>
> > At our house, we seem to go through an electric hand mixer
> > (like, e.g.,
> >http://www.shopkitchenaid.com/produc...ndmixers&T1=KT...)
> > every 2-3 years. *We don't use the mixer that
> > often, maybe two or three times per month, and yet there
> > always comes a time when the blades stop spinning and wisps of
> > smoke come drifting out of the motor, along with the awful
> > smell of a motor that shell spin its blades no more.
>
> > Having once again smelled the smoke of hand-mixer doom, we are
> > once again in the market for a new one, and so I thought I'd
> > post and ask: is there a mixer on the market that won't give
> > up the ghost after a few years (and if so where can we get
> > it), or are we doomed to continue contributing to the
> > ever-growing global waste disposal problem as long as we want
> > to keep making chocolate chip cookies?
>
> http://www.cooking.com/products/shprodde.asp?SKU=142281
>
> You need a mixer with dough hooks for making cookies,
> Or get a kitchen aid.
>
> --
> Old Scoundrel
>
> (AKA Dimitri)- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

Oh, poppycock and balderdash. You don't need dough hooks to make
cookie dough. Where did that idea come from? You use the KA paddle
beater for cookie dough. Dough hooks are for kneading bread dough.

N.

"Goomba" > wrote in message
...
> Jonathan Kamens wrote:
>
>> Having once again smelled the smoke of hand-mixer doom, we are
>> once again in the market for a new one, and so I thought I'd
>> post and ask: is there a mixer on the market that won't give
>> up the ghost after a few years (and if so where can we get
>> it), or are we doomed to continue contributing to the
>> ever-growing global waste disposal problem as long as we want
>> to keep making chocolate chip cookies?
>
> I'm an old fashioned girl. I just make cookies with a bowl and large
> mixing spoon with a little elbow grease behind it. I never seemed to need
> a mixer? Is this something you might be able to try doing?

Before I had my KA stand mixer, I used to start out the process with a hand
mixer, and then finish the process by hand with a heavy mixing spoon and the
previously mentioned "elbow grease". Never burnt out a hand mixer motor in
many years of cookie making.

TammyM

"Nancy2" > wrote in message
...
On Aug 4, 6:20 pm, "Dimitri" > wrote:
> "Jonathan Kamens" > wrote in message
>
> ...
>
>
>
>
>
> > Greetings,
>
> > At our house, we seem to go through an electric hand mixer
> > (like, e.g.,
> >http://www.shopkitchenaid.com/produc...ndmixers&T1=KT...)
> > every 2-3 years. We don't use the mixer that
> > often, maybe two or three times per month, and yet there
> > always comes a time when the blades stop spinning and wisps of
> > smoke come drifting out of the motor, along with the awful
> > smell of a motor that shell spin its blades no more.
>
> > Having once again smelled the smoke of hand-mixer doom, we are
> > once again in the market for a new one, and so I thought I'd
> > post and ask: is there a mixer on the market that won't give
> > up the ghost after a few years (and if so where can we get
> > it), or are we doomed to continue contributing to the
> > ever-growing global waste disposal problem as long as we want
> > to keep making chocolate chip cookies?
>
> http://www.cooking.com/products/shprodde.asp?SKU=142281
>
> You need a mixer with dough hooks for making cookies,
> Or get a kitchen aid.
>
> --
> Old Scoundrel
>
> (AKA Dimitri)- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

Oh, poppycock and balderdash. You don't need dough hooks to make
cookie dough. Where did that idea come from? You use the KA paddle
beater for cookie dough. Dough hooks are for kneading bread dough.

N.

What do you use when you don't want to get out the KA?


--
Old Scoundrel

(AKA Dimitri)

Sheldon > wrote:
> On Aug 4, 11:27?pm, Kathleen > wrote:
>> Jonathan Kamens wrote:
>>> Mark Thorson > writes:
>>
>>>> You're doomed as long as you use the wrong tool
>>>> for the purpose. ?Cookie dough is way too thick
>>>> for mixing with a handheld electric mixer.
>>
>>> I suppose I should have been clear that when the dough gets
>>> too thick for the hand mixer, we switch to a spoon. ?Granted,
>>> perhaps we are not switching soon enough, and perhaps that is
>>> what is causing our mixers to die a premature death, but I was
>>> hoping that perhaps there is a better answer than that...
>>
>> I really don't have room for a stand-up mixer in my kitchen. ?But, in
>> point of fact, I don't have room for my hand mixture, either. ?It's
>> kept downstairs, pretty much right where I'd keep a stand-up mixer.
>> ?So, when this latest one finally dies I'll replace it with a
>> stand-up unit.
>
>
> Then you really need both... for the vast majority of mixing a hand
> mixer surffices just fine, and is far easier to clean and store. I
> don't even have a stand mixer anymore... for the teensy quantity of
> dough a 5-6 quart KA can handle I'd rather by hand. The *only*
> reasonS anyone needs a KA sized stand mixer at home is if they are
> handicapped or a kitchen snob.

Or they do a hell of a lot more dough than you do and arent stupid enough to do that by hand.

On Tue, 5 Aug 2008, Nancy Young wrote:

> Michael Black wrote:
>> On Mon, 4 Aug 2008, Jonathan Kamens wrote:
>>
>>> Mark Thorson > writes:
>>>> You're doomed as long as you use the wrong tool
>>>> for the purpose. Cookie dough is way too thick
>>>> for mixing with a handheld electric mixer.
>>>
>>> I suppose I should have been clear that when the dough gets
>>> too thick for the hand mixer, we switch to a spoon. Granted,
>>> perhaps we are not switching soon enough, and perhaps that is
>>> what is causing our mixers to die a premature death, but I was
>>> hoping that perhaps there is a better answer than that...
>>>
>> Huh?
>>
>> It's easy to hand mix at the beginning, it's later that it
>> becomes too much trouble.
>
> Don't chocolate chip cookies start with creaming the butter and sugar until
> fluffy? I find that much easier with a mixer.
>
Yes, you're right.

My point wasn't in fast stirring, but that the initial ingredients
are really easy to stir while once you add the flour it can get
stiff. Whenever I make gingerbread cookies, I basically stop
adding flour when I'm tired of mixing it all.

That said, I've never made chocolate chip cookies by hand. Always
with a mixer. I had a Mixmaster forever, and I never removed the
mixing part from the stand to use it as a hand mixer. There was no
need. I never damaged that Mixmaster.

For a decade I've made a lot of chocolate chip cookies, sometimes in
very close together batches (making ten batches right after the other)
and have never burned out a mixer. The fact that I have a Kitchenaid
now is merely because it was a gift.

I did burn out the elements in the oven one year, both went within
a few weeks of each other, but that was merely because the elements
were old at that point.

Michael