Cuisinart 9
Since the Cuisinart didn’t splatter any dough or batter during our testing, we simply wiped off the machine with a damp cloth to clean, no scrubbing required. The Breville BHM800SIL is another sharp-looking little appliance. Believe it or not, a capable hand mixer can perform many of the same tasks as a stand mixer—and they don’t take up valuable counter space. Many newer models even come with handy storage cases for attachments so you don’t have to rummage through your utensil drawer looking for them.
The 9 Speed Cuisinart HM-90BCS Hand Mixer comes with beaters, dough hooks, a snap-on storage case, and more. In addition to staying organized, it keeps kitchen’s clean with the SmoothStart feature for less splatter or dry ingredient bombs. The 3-year warranty is as good as you’re going to get in this category and is one or two years more than other competitors. The unplugged hand mixer and power cord need only be wiped down with a damp rag. Speaking of the 5-foot power cord, this is actually the biggest complaint of the hand mixer. While the length is good, and it kinda-sorta swivels out of the way for left and right-handed use, it’s cumbersome when it comes to setting down the hand mixer.
Reserve higher speeds for liquid ingredients, like eggs, cream or thin batter. Start at zero when inserting the beaters or other attachments into the bowl. Move up the speed one level at a time to avoid breaking the mixer, overbeating ingredients or making a mess of your kitchen.
Rachel tested hand mixers of all kinds, from basic mixers to multi-functional mixers. We also considered personal and online reviews, selecting options that are highly-rated across many shopping platforms, including Williams Sonoma, cuisinart griddler elite Walmart, and Amazon. We loved the vintage look of this mid-level mixer, which comes in black, silver, red and white. If bells and whistles get you excited in the kitchen, and budget isn’t an issue, we highly recommend this Breville.
The Cuisinart is relatively light to hold—about 4 pounds, just like the Breville. The mixer didn’t walk around the bowl or rattle as much as the KitchenAid, but it’s not as smooth to use as the Breville. A light at the bottom of the Breville shines into the bowl so that you can easily see the state of your batter or dough. With nine powerful speeds, the Breville consistently mixes thick doughs as well as lighter batters, and it has more attachments and features than the competition. The Cuisinart has automatic feedback, which means a feedback mechanism automatically makes power adjustments based on the stress put on the beaters. We didn’t notice the power being too affected when the doughs got thick.
Reviewers call it a “great little mixer,” so it’s worth pointing out that it’s small and not as powerful as some of the others on this list, but for infrequent bakers it’ll get the job done. The Cuisinart HM-90BCS is specifically made to handle tough doughs. You might want to turn out the dough and begin kneading by hand sooner than usual, but it will mix everything together (if it doesn’t, refer to the 3-year warranty). It’s lighter than the Breville mixer at just over two pounds, with the weight distributed in a way that doesn’t feel too heavy during use. It also has a rubberized handle to prevent slipping, and a smart speed control dial for easy maneuvering between the nine different speeds. Perfect for a first apartment or dorm room cooking kit, the Dash hand mixer is just 7.3 inches by 2.5 inches by 4.5 inches.
No more rummaging around the kitchen looking for specific utensils. These come in at 7 and a half inches long, which is roughly an inch longer than most other beaters. The wire beaters work so well that many people forgo the included chef’s whisk and use these for whipping eggs and cream. A digital screen displays the speed settings which are operated with up and down buttons. The only down side to this is every time the HM-90BCS is turned off, the speed resets instead of staying at the initial setting.
That’s been an annoyance to some users, but not enough to say the machine isn’t worth it. In case you blinked and missed it, we’re already halfway through October, and that means holiday baking season is upon us. Between all the fall desserts on our to-do list—have you tried Delish’s insanely good pumpkin chocolate chip cookies yet? —and the Thanksgiving pies and Christmas cookies to come, hand mixers are about to become very, well, handy. We started by rounding up the top-rated hand mixers on the market from popular brands such as KitchenAid, Cuisinart, and Black+Decker.