Which Stand Mixer Attachment is Right for the Job?

My stand mixer is one of my most utilized kitchen appliances. I still have my Kitchen Aid that I received as a birthday gift in third grade and it works just as well as it did the day I got it. There are so many attachments for your stand mixer allowing it to function as a multipurpose tool. For the sake of simplicity, today we will focus on the attachments that are included with your stand mix purchase.

Flat Beater/paddle: ideal for creaming ingredients, cookie doughs, batters and heavier frostings

The paddle attachment is my most used attachment.  Obviously I make a lot of cookies which this attachment is perfect for when creaming butter and sugars.  If your recipe calls for your ingredients to be creamed, beaten, or mixed this is the attachment you should be using.  This attachment is great for cookie doughs, cake or brownie batters.

Whisk: ideal for light frostings, meringue, egg whites, whipped cream, or any preparation that requires the addition of air

The whisk attachment is best used for incorporating air into mixtures. Use this attachment when the recipe calls for whipping or whisking ingredients. I personally don’t understand why anyone is still whipping things by hand —that process can be extremely labor intensive and no one has time for that.

Dough hook: ideal for kneading doughs

This is the best attachment for all recipes that require kneading. This tool is not super versatile, but it’s a total time saver. There are often two variations of the dough hook — the c-shaped hook and the spiral-shaped (pictured above) hook. Both work virtually identically.