Stand Mixer Review and Giveaway - Cuisinart 5.5-Quart 12-Speed Stand Mixer

Just in time for the biggest baking season of the year ...

A food blogger without a heavy-duty stand mixer? Shocking! I was probably the last food blogger on the planet who did not own one, but that has all changed. Yes, I've always made most of my breads, cakes, pies, cookies ... entirely by hand or with a partial assist from either my trusty food processor or my most definitely light-duty mixer. But the time had come to resort to a labor-saving, time-saving device. So the research began.

After considering the pros and cons of all the possibilities--and knowing what a reliable workhorse my Cuisinart DLC-10E food processor (that I've had since I was a mere girl) has been and still is--I decided on the Cuisinart 5.5-Quart 12-Speed Stand Mixer (it also comes in a 7-quart model).

The mixer has been highly recommended by some venerable testing labs, and I was eager to put it through its paces in my kitchen. Here are some of the features I appreciate:

• Fairly reasonable footprint: at 15.5x10x12.5 inches high (and a hefty 21 pounds), it fits under my upper cabinets and doesn't take up too much valuable real estate in my average-size kitchen. 
• Comes in three colors: white, black and brushed chrome. I went with white. Call me dull, but even if I had gotten a mixer that comes in a vast array of colors, I would have gotten white. 
• Bowl and attachments can go in the dishwasher (ever since I got a dishwasher, I want to put everything in it!).
• Great manufacturer's warranty: limited 3-year product warranty and a full 5-year motor warranty.
• The 5.5-quart bowl can handle 12 cups of flour; double batches are no problem. Made a huge batch of cookie dough--enough to freeze dozens of ready-to-bake cookies!
• When you tilt the head back, the splashguard comes up. And the splashguard has a really handy spout for adding ingredients.
• Slow-start and gentle-fold (continuous or pulse) functions. Believe me, the mess-saving slow-start function will come in handy for someone whose husband sometimes calls her The Black Tornado (a reference to an old commercial for a cleaning product nicknamed The White Tornado). 
• The 15-minute countdown timer with auto shutoff.
• Optional accessories/attachments: pasta maker, mincer/grinder, citrus juicer, blender, small food processor. (Now I'm wishing my old blender would die so I can replace it with this one!)

 

If you'd like to win one of these fabulous Cuisinart mixers (color of your choice), see below. And come back next week for a recipe! I post every Thursday (but I posted a day early this time because I am so excited about this mixer and giveaway!). Follow me by email so you'll never miss another recipe (box in right column). 

Watch for my new recipes for big batches of cookies, breads, and more in the coming weeks.

Cuisinart Stand Mixer Giveaway 

This giveaway is open to US residents 18 years of age or older. Leave a comment below (one entry per person) that includes your color choice (black, white or brushed chrome) and the first thing you'll make with it. Please include your email address in the body of your comment. Must enter by 11:59 p.m. Eastern time Wednesday October 9. 

Winner will be chosen by random drawing and be announced here in the comments before noon Eastern time on Thursday October 10. If I don't hear back from the winner of the random drawing by noon Eastern time Sunday October 13, another drawing will be held and a new winner selected from the original entrants (those who commented before the giveaway deadline).

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Disclosure: Cuisinart provided a mixer for review purposes and a mixer for the giveaway. I received no compensation. The views expressed here are entirely my own. I always tell my readers what I really think!