Small Retro Kitchen Appliances

For those that embrace the unique elements of mid-20th century design, finding small retro kitchen appliances has never been easier. When you shop online, you'll find a much larger selection than you'd ever find locally. What's even better is that you can read product reviews, compare name brands and find the lowest prices, all while sitting at home in your PJ's.

If you've spent any time at all in the kitchen preparing home cooked meals, then you already know that well functioning appliances help reduce food preparation time, giving you more time to spend with your family (or with a good book.)

But just because small appliances help you perform ordinary tasks doesn't mean they can't look extraordinary.

The small kitchen appliances featured here combine modern technology with sleek retro-style, in colors that will blend seamlessly with any decor; whether you're adding red appliances to a neutral kitchen, or stainless and chrome appliances to a colorful one.

You can't stop staring at this KitchenAid Artisan Stand Mixer, can you? And it not only looks great, it works great too. It's 10 speed controls let you stir, mix or whip in the 5 quart stainless steel bowl that locks in place. It comes with a dough hook, wire whip and flat beater attachments that mix everything from bread dough to delicate meringues; freeing you to do other things. Includes a 1 year warranty.

Just think of all the Christmas cookie dough you could mix up with one of these!

Classic Christmas Cookies

• 2 1/4 cups of sifted flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 tsps baking powder
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 TBLS milk

Sift flour, salt and baking powder together. Cream shortening and sugar together, add eggs and vanilla, then add sifted ingredients and milk. Roll and cut with holiday shaped cookie cutters. Bake at 375 for approx. 12 minutes. Cool completely before frosting. Makes 2 1/2 dozen cookies.

This affordable red Sunbeam Heritage Hand Mixer has six speeds, with a burst of power feature to tackle the toughest mixing tasks. It has a 250-watt motor, chrome beaters and comes with its own display stand.

Cuisinart's cool classic 4-slice toaster toaster has 1 1/2" wide slots with a six setting dial that ensures everyones toast is browned to perfection. It has bagel, reheat, defrost and cancel buttons, each with an LED indicator light. It's brushed stainless body features one flat side to sit flush with the wall. Comes with a 3 year limited warranty.

The retro green Waring Drinker Mixer is more than just eye candy, its a workhorse. It blends milkshakes, whips cream and mixes eggs in a generous 28oz stainless steel cup. It's heavy duty 2-speed motor comes with a five-year warranty.

Dark Chocolate Peppermint Milkshake

• 3 scoops of chocolate ice cream
• 1/2 c milk
• Chocolate syrup to taste
• 1 to 2 tsps peppermint extract

Put all ingredients in mixer cup. Mix for 1 minute and serve.

Make your smoothies in style with this 5 cup capacity chrome Beehive Blender by Oster. It features an all metal drive system and stainless steel blade for extra durability.

• The stand mixer was invented in 1908 by an engineer named Herbert Johnson, but it wasn't until 1954 that KitchenAid stand mixers came in any other color but white.
• Early electric toasters only toasted one side of the bread at a time, and you had to manually pop it when the toast looked done. It wasn't until 1919 that the automatic pop-up toaster was developed