Used to cream butter and sugar by hand with a wooden spoon for years

I swore it gave me more control over the texture, but after ruining 3 batches of cookies in one afternoon because my arm gave out, I finally bought a $30 hand mixer. It blends in about 90 seconds instead of 10 minutes of sweating. Has anyone else had a stubborn old habit that just wasn't worth the elbow grease?

2 comments

2 Comments

wrenh6516d agoProlific Poster

Hold on, I gotta disagree a little. I get that the mixer is faster and way easier on your arm, but I honestly think there's something different about doing it by hand. When you cream butter and sugar manually, you're not just mixing, you're actually incorporating air in a way that feels different. I've tested it side by side and the hand-creamed cookies come out fluffier and lighter, not as dense. My grandmother used to say the heat from your hand through the spoon helps the sugar dissolve better into the butter. I mean yeah, I've had my arm give out too and it sucks, but I just take breaks and power through because the texture payoff is worth it to me.

oscarb7716d ago

700 grams of butter by hand and my arm is telling me to sit this one out. I tried the side by side test too and honestly my hand creamed ones came out denser, not fluffier. Might be a technique thing, but the mixer wins for me every time.