Whipping up Shortbread With the Hamilton Beach Stand Mixer

Disclosure: I received a stand mixer to facilitate this post. All opinions are my own.

My youngest daughter has always shown interest in helping in the kitchen from a very young age. While my eldest daughter has no interest, her little sister makes up for it. Every time, when I’m starting to bake or cook, she is right there to help. She really is a great little helper, and when I received a Hamilton Beach 7 speed Orbital Stand Mixer, she was ready to help.

The Seven speed Hamilton Beach Orbital Stand Mixer lets you go from a slow stir to a fast mix, with exact control at each one. Plus,there is also a helpful guide on top of the mixer, that lets you know which speed to use for various mixing methods. It also has nonslip feet, that keep the mixer still while in use. I One of my favourite features is the splatter shield, that protects against messy spills.  I love, that you can put all the attachments, as well as the stainless steel 4-quart mixing bowl into the dishwasher for an easy cleanup.

Hamilton Beach 7 Speed Orbital Stand Mixer Features

• Mixing action gives complete bowl coverage
• Powerful 300 watt motor
• Offers better mixing than 2-beater stand mixers
• Includes flat beater, whisk, and dough hook & splatter shield
• 4 quart stainless steel bowl with handles
• Mixing guide
• Tilt-up head lifts out of the way for easy bowl access
• Nonslip feet

One of our favourite foods to make together is whipped shortbread.  Done right it is incredibly light and fluffy and almost falls apart in your mouth. However, we were always doing it by hand and this can be incredibly time consuming as the whip part is long and tiring done that way.

For the past few years I have been looking at various stand mixers, in an effort to allow me the opportunity to expand the work I do in the kitchen. Hamilton Beach’s stand mixer is going to allow me to do a lot more and it really made the process of whipped shortbread a whole lot easier.  Best of all it was even more fluffy and light then when I did it by hand.

Whipped Shortbread Recipe

Ingredients

1 cup butter, softened

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar

1 cup of chocolate sugar coated balls

1 tube of icing sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
   
2. Cream butter in mixer until fluffy, then add flour and confectioners’ sugar.  Beat for 10 – 15  minutes, until light and fluffy.
3. Cut out desired shapes with a cookie cutter and place onto cookie sheets, spacing cookies at least 2 inches apart.
   
4. Bake for 12 to 17 minutes. Cookies should be lightly brown on the bottom. Remove from oven, and let cool on the cookie sheet, then transfer on to a wire rack to cool.
5. Decorate with icing sugar and chocolate sugar coated balls.
6. Once set, store in an airtight container, separating each layer with waxed paper.