I told you it was going to be a foodie week : )
I’m so excited to share the news: I’ve recently partnered up with Hamilton Beach to become a Brand Ambassador! I’m extremely thankful to Hamilton Beach for reaching out to me and I’m looking forward to being able to bring you detailed and honest product reviews. But the best part? I’ll be offering a giveaway with the chance to win the same products I am reviewing!
We’re going to kick things off with two of Hamilton Beach’s most iconic products: the SoftScrape 6 Speed Hand Mixer, reviewed below and the 6 Speed Stand Mixer that I will cover tomorrow. Each post will contain a separate entry form for the featured appliance; see the bottom of this post.
I consider a hand mixer a staple product in the kitchen: they eliminate lumps much better than hand mixing and can be used for a multitude of recipes. The cool thing about the SoftScrape mixer is that it comes with a snap-on storage case. All of the attachments can be placed inside the case with the unit set on top. Then the whole thing can easily be stored in your cabinet.
It’s a minor thing, but I love that the marketing sticker on the storage case is comparable to a window cling, and peels right off! Nothing is worse than buying a new product with a sticker on it and having to obsessively scrape the sticker off.
The mixer comes with two sets of beaters, plus a whisk attachment. The red coated beaters are the SoftScrape ones; they claim to thoroughly incorporate the ingredients as you mix. The design also will prevent scratching bowls/nonstick pans and they are dishwasher safe. The other set of beaters are traditional metal ones. And the whisk is also considered to be the SoftScrape technology.
Now let me tell you: anytime I make a recipe involving a hand mixer, I have the hand mixer in one hand and a spatula in the other to constantly scrape the sides of the bowl. I didn’t realize until well into the baking process that I was barely having to reach for a spatula! And even then, it was mostly to scrape all of the dough together to prep for placing on the cookie sheets. The SoftScrape design definitely is not a gimmick!
As for the other set of beaters: I’m not sure why you would need the two different sets. Maybe if you were making multiple items at once that needed to be mixed you could easily transition without needing to wash the beaters first? Honestly with the SoftScrape technology, I will always choose to use that set versus the regular metal ones. I have not used the whisk attachment but I like having it as an option.
Now this is a 6 speed mixer, however I didn’t go past the first speed! This is definitely a powerful mixer. It is not a negative; just something that you should keep in mind when reading a recipe. For example, my cookie recipe originally stated to mix the sugar and butter for 3 minutes. With the SoftScape mixer, I really only needed to mix this for half of that time. Any in-tune cook can easily assess when something has been properly mixed, and with this mixer you’ll be able to get it done quicker!
It’s also important to note that the mixer is quiet. Unlike some appliances that are obnoxiously loud, this mixer simply has a gentle hum as it works.
Overall I would highly recommend this mixer. Prior to trying this product, Hamilton Beach was not the first brand that comes to mind when I think about mixers. But in using this to make my cookies I was truly impressed by the SoftScrape technology. I also think that the storage case is genius, especially for someone obsessed with keeping their cabinets neat!
While this post is all about the mixer, I must draw attention to the recipe I used to test it out. I pulled it from a magazine article on the best cookies, made a few lazy girl adaptations (aka removing the step to transfer the cookie sheet from a high rack to a low one midway through baking) and brought a batch to work where I knew my coworkers would be honest. Considering they seriously raved all afternoon and asked for the recipe, I would consider the title “world’s best” justified : )
World’s Best Cookies: Chocolate Chip with Sea Salt-makes about 45 cookies
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
12 ounce bag of chocolate chips
1 cup finely chopped walnuts or pecans
Sea salt flakes (I prefer Maldon)
Heat your oven to 375 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Whisk together flour, salt and baking soda.
With a mixer, beat together butter and sugars for a few minutes until well blended. Beat in vanilla. Add in the eggs one at a time, beating for 30 seconds or so after each addition. Add the dry ingredients in three portions, mixing only until each addition is incorporated. By hand, stir in chocolate and nuts.
Spoon dough in slightly rounded tablespoonfuls onto the baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches between each.
Sprinkle with a generous pinch of sea salt.
Bake cookies for about 10 and a half minutes or until golden brown. (Note: DO NOT overcook your cookies! They will be soft in the middle when you remove the sheets and probably look not done…however they will firm up once they are out of the oven).
Allow cookies to rest 1-2 minutes, then carefully transfer them to racks to cool.
Repeat with the remaining dough.
Cookies can be kept in a sealed container for about 4 days or wrapped airtight and frozen for up to 2 months.
Whew, that was a long post! Now, FINALLY, for the giveaway!
The details:
-This giveaway will run from Tuesday, May 6th (12 AM) to Friday, May 9th (11:59 PM).
-To clarify, you are entering to win a brand new Hamilton Beach SoftScrape 6 Speed Hand Mixer. I will coordinate with the winner and Hamilton Beach to have the mixer shipped directly to you from their distribution center.
-Using the Rafflecopter box below, log in and leave me a comment below telling me what your favorite dessert is!
-You can also follow me on Twitter (@loganmer) for extra points to win!
-Make sure you have clicked the link for this particular post so that the comment box shows up!
-Rafflecopter will randomly select the winner, who I will reach out to over the weekend.
Good luck!
Update: This giveaway has ended and a winner has been selected at random by Rafflecopter. Thank you to all who entered and I appreciate you checking out Sage & Serendipity!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
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