My stand mixer broke mid-batch yesterday and I had to finish 4 dozen cookies by hand

Was making a double batch of sugar cookies for a church bake sale when my KitchenAid started making this grinding noise and then just stopped. The motor was smoking a little. I had all the butter and sugar already creamed so I couldn't just quit. Ended up mixing in the rest by hand with a wooden spoon. Took forever but the cookies turned out okay. Anyone else had a mixer die on them at the worst possible time and have to improvise?

5 comments

5 Comments

hall.joel29d ago

Your KitchenAid picked a real winner of a time to take a smoke break. Wooden spoon therapy is the only way to finish the job when that happens, though. At least you didn't hit that moment where the butter starts separating and you're just staring at greasy dough wondering about your life choices. The real magic trick is getting all the lumps out while trying not to think about the price of a new stand mixer.

david_jones3828d ago

Had you ever had one of those moments where you just accept the situation and keep stirring like it's 1850 again? That's where I ended up last Christmas when my sister's mixer died mid-batch of sugar cookies. I admire that you mentioned not ruining the dough with separated butter though, that's the real victory right there. Seems like the more you beat cold butter into submission with a spoon, the more you appreciate what that motor was doing for you all along. My grandmother used to say a wooden spoon never breaks down on Christmas Eve, and I think she had a point. Funny how something that frustrates you in the moment turns into a story you tell later.

michaeltorres28d ago

$400 for a new mixer? That's insane. I just looked it up and I'm honestly shook that people drop that kind of cash on a kitchen appliance. Your grandmother's saying about wooden spoons is gold though, that's the kind of wisdom you can't buy at Williams Sonoma. I've been there with the greasy dough stare-down too, it's like the universe is testing your patience one lump at a time. At least when you finish with that spoon you've earned every bite of those cookies.

the_elliot28d ago

And that's the thing right there, that whole "earning every bite" part is what makes it so good honestly. I've had my KitchenAid die on me twice now at the worst possible times and both times I ended up grabbing a wooden spoon and just going at it like my mom used to do. It's annoying in the moment but there's something about working that dough by hand that changes the whole feel of what you're making. You can literally feel when the gluten starts developing and when everything comes together right. Plus those cookies always taste better than the ones from the mixer for some reason, maybe it's the elbow grease getting mixed in there or something. Spencer's right about the longevity argument though, my aunt's KitchenAid is older than I am and still going strong, so maybe $400 is just a long term investment in your future cookie game.

spencer_coleman28d ago

Wait, is $400 really that wild when you consider that thing could outlast multiple relationships and still be making cookies for your grandkids? @david_jones38 said his grandmother's wooden spoon never broke on Christmas Eve, but my grandmother's KitchenAid is still running after 30 years and that's worth something too. People drop cash on phones that die in two years but a mixer that lasts decades suddenly feels like a rip-off?