Cuisinart's poweful, new 9-speed hand mixer is a stylish and reliable workhorse. The 220-watt motor powers through even double batches of cookie dough without bogging down. The 3 lowest speeds feature Cuisinart's exclusive SmoothStart mechanism, which turns on the motor slowly to avoid splattering, then ramps it up to the desired speed.

An LED display shows you which speed you're using and there's an easy-to-use speed control, a one-step power switch and a beater eject lever. The beaters themselves are extra long with no center posts to get clogged up. There's even a swivel cord, so the mixer is equally convenient for both right and left-handers. Plus, the clear storage case not only holds the beaters, the whisk and the spatula, it serves as a holder for the mixer, for more compact storage. It's all backed up by a 3-year limited warranty.