Catastrophe!

This is my mixer. I use it every day. I love it. However, I killed it last week. I taught a cookie-making class on Wednesday in my kitchen. The mixer worked very nicely. Then Wednesday night I thought I would get a head start on my Valentine sugar cookies for the next day. So I made the dough and put it in the fridge. Thursday morning I baked the cookies, and they were very wrong. I realized that while I had made the dough with 1 1/2 times the ingredients, I had only used a regular amount of flour. So I had to throw them in the trash and start all over again. I made the dough, paying close attention to my multiplication this time. It was perfect. And then on the last spin after the last addition of flour, something bad happened. The motor was whirring, but the mixer was not mixing. I had stripped out a gear!

I was relieved that the dough was at least mixed. I proceded to roll and cut out 100 cookies. I baked them. They were perfect. And then I realized, "I cannot make frosting!" Not only did I need frosting for my cookies, but also I needed it as a first grade class was awaiting my frosting to proceed with their Valentines Day party. I thought that for the first time in my life I would have to buy canned frosting. But then I had an idea.

My mixer has a friend. It is a 14-cup Cuisinart food processor. They are neighbors on counter. I use the Cuisinart a lot. When I saw the Cuisinart on the counter, I remembered that it had come with a "dough blade" which I had never used. I dug in the cupboards and found it. I put all of the frosting ingredients in the Cuisinart, and VOILA! I had perfect frosting. I frosted the cookies and made another batch for the first graders. Who knew my food processor was so versatile?

My next project is to take my mixer apart and see if I can order a part to fix it. I fixed the dryer, why should a little old mixer be any trouble?