What do dinner rolls, cornbread, cookies and pies have in common? (Aside from belonging to the "delicious carb" food group, that is.) Well, they're things that many of us will likely be tasked with making once the holiday season kicks off starting next week. And while, yes, you could do everything by hand, I -- a former professional baker -- give you full permission to do as I do, which means using a mixer. But not just any mixer. My weapon of choice? The KitchenAid 5.5-Quart Bowl-Lift Stand Mixer, which happens to be marked down to an insanely good price during the Target Black Friday Sale.
How good? Well, it's nearly 40% off, which is extremely rare for what is arguably the best appliance of its kind. You're saving $170 with this deal, so my advice? Scoop it up faster than you can say "figgy pudding!"
(Psst: Want even more savings? (Who doesn't?!) Check out our roundups of the best Black Friday kitchen deals, the best Target Black Friday deals and the best Black Friday deals overall, available as we speak.)
Here's some perspective: The KitchenAid 4.5-Quart Tilt-Head Stand Mixer is smaller than this one, less powerful and currently costs $21 less. It's still a great price for that model, but for just over 20 bucks, I'm taking the more "industrial" one! Plus, Target's price is the best we're seeing on the web, and it's not likely to dip much more, if at all. This markdown is so good, I'm tempted to buy a second! It's an investment no matter how you slice it (how you mix it?), but this appliance is built for endurance, so it'll likely last you many years.
Though I don't work in a bakery anymore, I spend tons of time making homemade treats in my own kitchen. And having used all types of mixers, from KitchenAid tilt-head models to industrial Hobarts so large I probably couldn't even fit them through my front door, I can honestly say I believe the KitchenAid 5.5-Quart Bowl-Lift Stand Mixer is the best option for home bakers.
For me, it's the perfect size in that it doesn't take up too much space on my counter but has the capacity to hold enough batter for any amount of cake, cookies or bread I'm making. (According to the brand, it can produce enough dough to make 11 dozen cookies at a time!) It's also super sturdy, and I never feel like it's in danger of flying out of control, even on high speed. In fact, the bowl-lift design, which allows you to adjust its height via a lever instead of tipping the head of the mixer back, makes the unit more stable (and thus better equipped to handle denser contents).
When I'm making a lot of food, this machine not only spares my arms from a rigorous workout, it also allows me to multitask; for instance, it can cream my butter and sugar together for cake batter while I weigh out my flour and dry ingredients. It's also extremely versatile -- it comes with a beater attachment for bringing batters and cookie doughs together, a whisk attachment for whipping up cream and meringues and a dough hook attachment for kneading bread-in-the-making.
Oh, and this mixer isn't just for baked goods, either. Some people use theirs to mash up potatoes, blend ground meat ... and with a plethora of attachments to choose from (sold separately), you can turn it into a pasta roller, veggie peeler -- even an ice cream maker.
I'm far from being this beast's only fan -- more than 1,000 Target customers say it's worthy of a perfect five-star rating.
"This mixer has significantly cut down the time it takes to complete the mixing process," shared one satisfied shopper. "This is my first time investing in a nice stand mixer, and [in] the first couple of uses [it] has already surpassed any mixing tool I've used in the past. I love this machine."
"I put 3 pounds of cream cheese in the bowl, which I thought was going to be too much, but the machine handled it perfectly," raved another. "The mixing bowl moves up and down with a simple lever, and it makes it so much easier to scrape down the sides."
"I have had one of the smaller tilt-head mixers for years," explained a third. "It was starting to make some unique noises, so I began looking for a replacement. Since almost all my baking is a double or triple batch, I wanted to size up to the appropriate motor. This mixer does not disappoint. It breezed through holiday-baking double batches without a glitch."
"It's awesome. A real workhorse," raved a generally pleased buyer, adding, "The bowl-lift style does make it a little harder to get ingredients in the bowl without mishaps."
"The size of the bowl is awesome, the color is gorgeous and it has the KitchenAid name," gushed a final fan. "At first, it was difficult to remove and reinstall the bowl to the lifting mechanism, but it did get easier with each use ... I think this mixer will last a long time, it's so durable."
Oh, and if anyone in my family is reading, this is the next piece I'd like to add to my KitchenAid collection: