Sunbeam FPSBHS0302 250-Watt 5-Speed Hand and Stand Mixer Combo, Black

Although I'm an avid baker, I've never really desired a KitchenAid Stand mixer--not only do they seem way too expensive (my mother offered to buy me one for a wedding gift, as she did for each of my two sisters, but I turned her down), but also they just seem too impractical. I mean, really--I bake relatively frequently, but I'm a CASUAL baker, not a professional one, and I so I couldn't see the purpose of having a large, unwieldy stand mixer that would be difficult to store, impractical, and would like spend most of the time sitting on a shelf.

On the other hand, I certainly CAN see the advantages of having a stand mixer on hand. For example, sometimes you want to let the mixer take over while you add ingredients, and sometimes you have certain recipes requiring longer-duration mixing (e.g., meringues, whipped cream, pound cake) when a stand mixer definitely comes in handy. For this reason, I began researching lower-cost stand mixers some time ago. I also mentioned...Read more

We bought this mixer after being unable to find another Euro Mixer at Target. We didn't want a big heavy duty unit as we just don't use ours for much more than occassional mashed potatoes and cookie dough. The Sunbeam works very well for this application. Locking the mixer to the base was a slight initial problem, but once you learn how it is done all goes well. We've owned the mixer for less than a month, but to this point it is working well, seems well made, and has encouraged the preparation of the aforementioned foods.....now I need to move on to the Amazon Pants and Belts department!

Seriously, a fine purchase at a very reasonable price and the always excellent Amazon deleivery service.

I had gotten rid of my humongous stand mixer, but my cheap hand held mixer just couldn't mix cream cheese. One of the beaters went flying across the kitchen as the motor broke into pieces.

I would think that if you're baking or using a mixer often that you'd want to invest in a larger (and sturdier) stand unit. For someone like me, who uses a mixer sometimes, this is a perfect compromise, plus the stand makes it convenient.