Yahoo Lifestyle8 Hand Mixers That Will Make Your Holiday Baking So Much Easier
- 1/9
8 Hand Mixers That Will Make Your Holiday Baking So Much Easier
We updated this story in June 2022 to ensure all picks tested and vetter by the Good Housekeeping Institute Kitchen Appliances and Culinary Innovation Lab were available, in stock and correctly priced.
Less expensive and more compact than a stand mixer, a handheld electric mixer is just the thing for whipping up an easy baking recipe or your favorite holiday dessert. A hand mixer is an important tool for any home cook or baker because it will whip, blend and mix a variety of foods — everything from mashed potatoes to cake batter to egg whites.
While an immersion blender, food processor and blender can perform similar tasks to a hand mixer, like whipping eggs or emulsifying a dressing, there are still plenty of tasks that a hand mixer does best. Beating up light and fluffy frosting is just the beginning of what you can do with this tool. With a hand mixer, you can whip heavy cream and coconut milk into a fluffy coconut whipped cream to top coconut cream pie, create glossy soft peaks of egg whites for peppermint meringues or cream butter and sugar for pumpkin spice cupcake batter.
Our top picks:
In the Good Housekeeping Institute Kitchen Appliances and Culinary Innovation Lab, we put hand mixers to the test both in the Lab and at home by testing a range of tasks. During testing, we assess the ease of use, overall quality and cleanability. Of the 22 models we have tested, these eight beat the rest — literally. Below you will find picks starting at $23, here are the best hand mixers you can buy now.
amazon - 2/9
1) Handy Mix Scraper
Breville
amazon.com
$139.95
Breville's hand mixer won our Kitchen Appliances Lab's test, earning top scores in egg white whipping, cake batter beating, oatmeal cooking mixing, bread dough kneading and more. This nine-speed model is able to recognize which attachment you've inserted (beaters, dough hooks or whisks) and automatically adjust its speed to the optimal level for each task. We love the quiet scraper beaters with a silicone coating that minimizes the sound caused by beaters hitting the bowl. There is also a light that turns on while beating, which helps you see into the bowl and ensure everything is thoroughly incorporated.
amazon.com - 3/9
2) Softscrape 6 Speed Hand Mixer
Hamilton Beach
walmart.com
$34.99
For less serious mixing tasks like boxed brownies or cake mix, we recommend this affordable model. The Hamilton Beach Softscrape Hand Mixer comes with a set of traditional beaters; a set of silicone-coated beaters that are designed for use with nonstick cookware, bakeware and plastic bowls; and a single whisk — all of which fit neatly in a snap-on storage container.
In our tests, the hand mixer showed superior performance at whipping cream and egg whites and mixing yellow cakes. When mixing cookie dough, it needed some assistance to incorporate all the ingredients. We found it very easy to attach the accessories and use the controls. In addition to six speeds, this hand mixer offers a quick burst of power feature that can be used at any speed and is comparable to the pulse feature on a blender. It’s especially handy when rewhipping a stiff frosting or creaming butter that isn’t fully softened.
Hamilton Beach - 4/9
3) 6-Speed Electric Hand Mixer
Hamilton Beach
amazon.com
$22.99
Though we haven't formally tested this pick in the Lab, more than 31,000 reviewers can't get enough of this budget-friendly mixer that has a convenient snap-on case to neatly stow loose beaters. What Amazon reviewers rave about most is that built-in storage: They feel organized now that they're not losing beaters in kitchen drawers. The mixer has six speed settings and comes with traditional beaters and a whisk attachment. Take note that even with six speeds, many reviewers noted that there isn’t a low speed, which means it's more difficult to start off gently or to slowly mix flour into a batter.
Hamilton Beach - 5/9
4) Power Advantage Plus 9-Speed Hand Mixer
Cuisinart
walmart.com
$79.95
This top-tested model from Cuisinart had great results in our lab testing and is also highly reviewed on Walmart.com. It has nine speeds, including three low-start speeds that help prevent splattering and comes with two beaters, a whisk, two dough hooks and a spatula, which all store nicely in a snap-on storage container.
We found this hand mixer to be lightweight, which is great for preventing strain. The cord also swivels so the mixer can be used easily by both right- and left-handed consumers. This model received a perfect score for mixing oatmeal cookie dough and an almost perfect score for whipping cream. Take note: In our testing, we did have to scrape down the bowl regularly to help mix the cake batter.
Cuisinart - 6/9
5) Ultra Power 5-Speed Hand Mixer
KitchenAid
amazon.com
$79.99
The KitchenAid Ultra Power hand mixer might be small, but it can knead dough as well as a stand mixer, and in our tests also whipped cream perfectly. This hand mixer has five speeds, but includes only beater attachments (and no storage container). We found that this model’s motor is quieter than other hand mixers that we tested, and because it comes in blue or red, it adds a nice pop of color to your kitchen. The beaters are dishwasher safe, and the power cord also swivels, making it easy to maneuver whether you are left- or right-handed.
amazon.com - 7/9
6) MultiMix 5 Hand Mixer
Braun
amazon.com
$71.99
No matter what type of baker you are ― from novice to expert ― the Braun MultiMix will suit you. It aced our egg white whipping test and cookie dough test, so you can use it to mix ingredients for delicate and heavy baked goods alike. It also has nine speed settings and comes with two beaters, two whisks, two dough hooks and a storage pouch so you can keep track of all those (dishwasher safe!) attachments. There's a rotating dial to select your speed, allowing you to easily shift between different settings when incorporating flour into a batter or gently folding nuts into a dough.
Braun - 8/9
7) Hand Mixer with HeatSoft Technology
Oster
amazon.com
$59.99
This Oster model is great for spur-of-the-moment baking when your butter is just not at room temperature. It has a built-in fan that will blow warm air onto cold butter in your mixing bowl so it will gently soften ― no waiting around or uneven microwaving required. It gets you going faster, and you'll appreciate this model's ability to plow through cookie dough, whipped cream and more. It comes equipped with seven speed settings, beaters, dough hooks and a whisk attachment, which all fit in a snap-on storage container. Take note that all attachments are hand wash only.
Oster - 9/9
8) Cordless Hand Mixer
KitchenAid
amazon.com
$99.00
KitchenAid’s Cordless Hand Mixer is not only a very attractive piece of kitchen equipment, but it also has a lot of great features. Because you are not tethered to an outlet, you can use the hand mixer wherever you want, and the manufacturer claims you can make up to four batches cookies on one charge. There are seven speeds and a convenient soft-start feature, which allows you to gradually work up to your desired speed while reducing splatter. Take note that this model comes with only beater attachments and no storage container. We haven’t tested this hand mixer yet, but according to Amazon reviews, it's quiet, holds its charge and is lightweight. We also appreciate that without a cord, this model is great for both left- and right-handed users.
amazon.com
