Why You Need a KitchenAid Mixer + My Favorite Oatmeal Cookie Recipe

About 10 years ago, I got bought myself one of the most expensive gifts ever. To this day, I can’t remember the last time I spent $400 on myself in one transaction. I was working my butt off, in college & barely making any money. But I remember the day I got a major commission bonus clearly. I didn’t go to Nordstrom to buy an expensive handbag or shoes, I went to Macy’s (because they have the best kitchen deals) and bought myself a stand mixer.

To this day, my KitchenAid mixer sits on our counter and is my ride or die kitchen tool. My mandolin, food processor, juicer, etc all sit in the back of a cupboard collecting dust & are only taken out during the holidays. But the splurge I made on my mixer has paid off time and time again because I actually use it almost every day!

What the Hell is a Stand Mixer?

Let’s start things off by breaking down what exactly a stand mixer is. FYI, other brands make stand mixers, but KitchenAid is the OG, one you really want to get your sticky cookie dough covered mitts on. Most people automatically imagine the KitchenAid version. They’ve been in business for 100 years and sell over 2.5 million mixers a year! Meaning, they know what they’re doing.

Any cooking show you watch on food network: has a KitchenAid Mixer. 99% of wedding registries: have a KitchenAid Mixer listed. They’re the home chef’s most sought-after pie of equipment! Oddly enough, they were originally created to save commercial bakers time. They were designed to handle the task of mixing bread dough. Before they were a kitchen staple, the US Navy stocked the larger 80 quart versions to help sailors save time and efficiently feed large crowds.

After the commercial mixers huge success, they started working on a home model. As the story goes, once a prototype was completed, select executives and engineers took mixers home to their wives while they tossed around ideas for a catchy commercial name. When one of their wives praised the mixer as “the best kitchen aid”, the name KitchenAid was coined.

One of the greatest things about the design of the KitchenAid is that they’re build to last! Now in their 100 year anniversary run, there are still original models out there, whipping frosting & kneading dough. Another awesome part of the design is that even old attachments will still work on new mixers! If you rummage through estate sales or flea markets, you can find discontinued 50s era attachments that will shell peas, buff silver & open cans — and they’ll still work!

If you’re still unclear on what the mixer is, it’s basically like having an extra pair of strong hands in the kitchen. You can use it to help with mixing while you’re doing another task of your recipe across the kitchen. It’s also a lot more efficient at evenly combining ingredients & cuts down on prep time.

What Can I Use a Stand Mixer For?

The options are endless! As is, the mixer comes with three bald attachments. You get a beater, a whisk and a dough hook. Let’s talk about what you can do with your basic attachments first.

The Beater

This attachment is for beating. Think: mixing cookie doughs, cake batters & frostings. But you can also do fun things like shredding meat, mixing meatloaf or meatballs, mashing potatoes (one of my all time favorite uses), mixing ingredients, stirring various ingredients… literally anything you can think of that needs to be combined.

The Whisk

I hate whisking things, it takes forever. That’s where the whisk attachment comes in handy! You can beat eggs for a scramble or turn up the speed and cream them into fluffy peaks for for a soufflé! It’s way easier than having to whisk milk by hand to turn it into whipped cream!

The Dough Hook

The dough hook is a life saver if you need to knead something. Think: bread, rolls, cinnamon rolls, pizza dough, etc! Not only does it knead faster, it requires literally no energy!

Other KitchenAid Attachments

After your initial purchase, you can also buy a ton of awesome attachments to get the most out of your mixer. There are so many options, but I want to share a few of my favorites:

The Flex Edge Beater

The Flex Edge Beater is my second beater. The difference is that it has a flexible silicone edge, which scrapes the edge of the bowl while it mixes. It helps mix all of your ingredients from the sides and bottom of the bowl so you don’t miss any ingredients. It’s also great for wiping the bowl clean when pouring batters and frostings from the bowl! It’s also dishwasher safe so you can throw it in for easy cleaning when you’re done.

Gourmet Pasta Press

Tony bought me the KitchenAid Pasta Press attachment for my birthday and I almost cried. It’s literally the most amazing attachment. It comes with 6 interchangeable pasta plates. You can make spaghetti, bucatini, rigatoni, fusilli, large & small macaroni. The attachment makes it so fast & easy to make fresh, homemade pasta. It’s soooo much easier than having to use the crank pasta rollers. You can make a ton of pasta for friends/family in a fraction of the time.

Slicing & Shredding Attachment

When we have friends or family over, I love to wow people with my slicing/shredding attachment. It’s genius. You can grate an entire wedge of cheese in like 30 seconds and not have to worry about knocking your knuckles when grating the nub of cheese at the end. It comes with a slicer, coarse shredder and fine shredder. The slicing blade is great for slicing potatoes, onions, vegetables & fruits. The coarse shredder is great for shredding carrots & other root vegetables, cheese, fruit for pies, nuts for salads, chocolate for garnishing, etc. And the fine shredder is great for shredding things into smaller pieces, I like using it when I’m making oatmeal cookies to ground the oatmeal into smaller pieces & to cut up zucchini for zucchini bread!

Other Awesome KitchenAid Attachments:

My Favorite KitchenAid Mixers

KitchenAid Mixer Bowls

My Favorite Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 cup unsalted butter softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs slightly beaten
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 3 cups quick cooking oats
• 1 cup chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line your baking sheet with parchment paper. 
2. In a medium bowl or using your stand mixer, cream together the butter, white sugar, and brown sugar. Beat in each of the eggs one at a time, then stir in vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a separate bowl and stir into the creamed mixture. Using your shredding attachment or, food processor or blender, chop the oats into smaller pieces. Then, mix in the oats and chocolate chips. 
3. Use a small cookie scoop and drop the dough 2 inches apart on cookie sheet. Flatten each cookie slightly.
4. Bake for 8 minutes in preheated oven. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for at least 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.