The sacrifices I make.

One of the gifts I got for Christmas was this 'Flex Edge Beater' for my stand mixer.  I've been wanting to test/review some of my new presents, and lacking zombie heads to test my tomahawk on, I figured this was something easy to start with.

If one is testing a new tool, you might as well try a new recipe at the same time, hence, these Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins:

First, the muffins came out good.  My older daughter begged for a 3rd after having her first two.  While I've enjoyed working in the kitchen, until the last few years, I never considered myself much of a baker.  My cook meat!  With more free time on my hands the last two years, I've been spending more of it in the kitchen, working on my cooking skills.  That gave me the confidence to modify this recipe a bit, using 50-50 AP and whole wheat flour, and 50-50 white sugar and brown sugar. 

Yum.

As far as the fancy new beater paddle...it works.  I still had to scrape the bowl down with a spatula, but only once, instead of a few times.  The only negative is that tended to wipe things up the side of the bowl more than down....and it had a tendency to 'slap' the side.  I just means you need to be even more gentle in starting things up until your dry goods get incorporated. 

It's a good tool, and it will get used again.