In Memorium: Black and Decker 220 Watts Power Pro Hand Mixer

Last night, at approximately 8:02 pm MST, we lost our beloved Black and Decker 220 Watts Power Pro Hand Mixer to an electrical short which fried his power cord. This final batch of whipped cream, meant to top a sensational fresh peach pie, proved too much for him, thus ending a long life of faithful, useful, and dependable service.

The Fresh Peach Pie that needed cream.

Providence brought Black and Decker 220 Watts Power Pro Mixer to the Little Red Hen 12 years ago as a wedding gift. Whether he was just a great deal, or on the Target Registry we will never know. What we do know is that Mixer quickly became key to thousands of kitchen successes, and a few Pinterest fails.

Ergonomically designed with his white, gray, and navy blue color scheme, Mixer was ahead of his time. His Power Pro levels ranged from 0-5, with an additional POWER BOOST button that wasn't necessary because Mixer was perfectly powerful on settings 1-3. Meringues were a cinch. Cookies were easier than pie. Brownies were nothing. Cakes were a cakewalk. He could even fluff up mashed potatoes perfectly, as long as you weren't too heavy handed. Mixer was sturdy, even when creaming butter and sugar for a quadrupled batch of chocolate chip cookies. His bore the marks of his service proudly- cocoa powder and butter covering the warnings in English, French, and Spanish on his underside, cream cheese frosting  on the side, and more cocoa powder on the front grill. How he loved to whip that chocolate!

When we had to start holding the power cord in place while mixing, we knew a short was imminent. Still, Mixer continued to give his all as Little Red Hen baked her way through Chocolate Chip Cookie Week, and the development of Little Red Hen. Monday night, while preparing a Mississippi Mud Cake for a pre-birthday barbecue, Mixer suddenly mixed like he hadn't in months, as if his short didn't exist! A new lease on life? We now know he was giving his all for the last cake he'd ever make in this life. We pray that at the Great Cookie Council in Heaven we will meet again, fully restored to our perfect frame, ready to create together again.

Mixer is survived by his fellow appliance cupboard companions- Bosch, Crock Pot, Rice Cooker, George Foreman Grill, and his trusty understudy, the Whisk. Flours and Amazon Gift Cards are being thankfully received and managed by the Little Red Hen, in behalf of those who loved Mixer best.

Though none can take his place in our hearts, we do hope something will fill his spot in the cupboard soon because this ache in our right arm has got to go. It turns out whipped cream is a big job with just your own brute strength, the need for cream, and a Whisk.