Review: I LOVE My Sunbeam Stand Mixer.....

Me too!!! I've been drooling over a very pretty pink Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer, but I have 4 kids who are always needing something so I can't really afford to get a Kitchen Aid for $300 on up. I looked for a long time for one I could afford, and was thrilled when I was contacted by a lady about a Sunbeam brand Stand Mixer.

I'll confess I'm a little bit of a brand snob, and although I do have other sunbeam products, I haven't ever really considered them quality products. This Sunbeam Stand Mixer was priced for $25 at her store, so of course I nabbed it up. It's priced at about $100 at Walmart, so $25 for a decent stand mixer isn't too bad in my opinion.

I've had my Sunbeam 2371 MixMaster Stand Mixer for about 4 weeks. Despite my hesitation to buy it because it wasn't a more expensive brand of product, I have been quite surprised and very pleased to say the least.

Product Details:

• 350 Watts plus 12 speeds
• soft grip handle
• soft start technology
• tilt locking head with bowl sector switch
• includes 2 bowls a 2 quart as well as a 4 quart
• includes chrome beaters, whisks, dough hooks
• Measures: 13-3/5" long, 12" wide, and 14-4/5" high

Since I've had my Sunbeam mixer, it hasn't been put up because I am constantly making something. I have had several hand mixers in the past that were cheap and broke after one use.....I'm serious, but as I said, cheap, and you get what you pay for I guess. So I didn't know what to expect with this mixer.

The first thing I made with it was a cake. I honestly didn't realize that there would be such a big difference in the consistency of my cake by using a better mixer. The only way I can describe it is that it was airy and moist.

To go with my cake, I tried my hand with some homemade icing and it was a HIT!!! I love the way the mixer worked. With the cake batter I only had to switch it on and leave it on about 2-3 for a few minutes while it spun and mixed.

The icing I made consisted of a whole bag of sugar and some Crisco lard so it was a thicker consistency, but my Sunbeam tackled it no problem. For this task I put it on about 4. It turned out perfect.

Then I made another one of my Strawberry Pina Colada Pies (cheesecake yum) and again, no problem for my mixer.....it actually came out better than the first because it was mixed more thorough.

I have also made a large batch of sugar cookies for my daughters birthday.....and even though my decorating skills need some major work :) the cookies and the frosting (again) tasted awesome. At least that's what I heard from everyone at the party.

The most recent thing I made with my mixer was a batch of biscuit dough for my Cheesy Chicken Biscuits. If you have made biscuits, you know how thick and sticky they can be. The Sunbeam mixer with the dough hooks had no problems mixing this. I put the ingredients in a little at a time, turned it to about 3-4 and every now and then I helped scrape some off the side of the bowl to help it it along.

Overall, I give my Sunbeam mixer 4 stars out of 5, just for the simple fact that it isn't as pretty as some of the other ones I've seen, as well as the manual adjust feature. Which isn't that bad really, it's the switch at the bottom of the base that goes one side to the next allowing you to switch between center mixing and mixing on the outer edge of the bowl. No biggie.

What I liked was everything else :). It's quiet, stable, and the bowl is open so I can add my ingredients pretty easily. I never had problems with things spewing out of the bowl.......yet. But I haven't used my BURST POWER BUTTON located on the top of the handle much either.....

I also like the fact that it's easy to clean, and the mixer can actually come off of the stand with the click of a switch in case you need to mix something in another container. Then it clicks right back on.

The product details states that you can fold, knead, stir, blend, mix, cream, whip and more with this Sunbeam Stand Mixer, and so far it has done just that for me.

I would definitely recommend this product for anyone like me who wants a good stand mixer but who doesn't want to or just can't spend the money to buy one of the better known, more expensive brands. I'm not a professional cook, baker, or whatever, I do it simply for my family here at home, so this is perfect for me.