This KitchenAid Stand Mixer Attachment is Here to Help Your Holiday Baking

I have a confession to make: I’m an avid anti-sifter. If I’m reading through a potential recipe (like our contest-winning Lemon Chiffon Cake) and see the words “sift together dry ingredients” I tend to skip over that step. Not surprisingly, this has led to some less-than-ideal results, like clumps of baking soda in my cookie dough (yuck!) or flat, dense cakes.

That’s why I was so excited when I heard about KitchenAid’s new Sifter + Scale attachment. This gadget does it all—accurately weighing, sifting and depositing dry ingredients directly into the bowl of your stand mixer. I was lucky enough to get my hands on one of these attachments so I could put it to the test.

What’s All in the Box

I was amazed at how many pieces go into this attachment. There’s six parts all together—the scale plate, ingredient hopper and valve, sifter assembly, digital scale, swivel chute and sifter housing. Plus, some of those pieces come apart, too. Whew! The good thing is that all but two parts are dishwasher safe.

You also get two manuals—a quick start guide and a full instruction book. Even without the manuals, I was able to put the attachment together pretty quickly.

Psst! Find out why KitchenAid is our best-loved stand mixer brand.

How It Works

The attachment works by connecting to your stand mixer’s power hub, and it’s designed to fit all KitchenAid models. Once assembled and connected to the mixer, you simply tare the scale and add your dry ingredients until you’ve reached the desired weight for your recipe. Then, turn the mixer on, open the ingredient valve and prepare for sifting magic!

You can also use the scale and ingredient hopper separately on the counter—it doesn’t have to be connected to the mixer—so this attachment can replace your stand-alone kitchen scale.

New to the weighing process? Here’s how to accurately measure dry and wet ingredients.

What We Loved

For me, the best part of the attachment was the speed. Normally, when using an old-fashioned sifter, It’ll take me several minutes (and some muscle) to work my way through a few cups of flour. But this attachment completed the job in mere seconds. I couldn’t believe how quickly it worked.

I also loved that the scale helps cut bank the number of bowls you need to dirty. I will typically dirty three bowls when baking—one for my dry ingredients, one for my wet and one stand mixer bowl for combining them. But the scale eliminates a need for the dry bowl—I can measure straight from container to stand mixer.

What We’d Change

As great as this gadget is, there were a few downsides. I noticed right away that the plastic ingredient hopper was very fragile. It accidentally slid off my counter and onto the hard tile floor and suffered a few small cracks. Though it still functions, I’m worried one more mishap will finish it off.

Also, the digital scale only measures in grams. This is nothing new, but can still take a little time to get used to. Luckily, I had this conversion chart handy and was able to adjust my recipe before I even started baking.

The Verdict

All in all, this gadget is pretty great—especially if you’re an avid baker. I can see myself using it a lot during the holidays as I whip up a batch of Peanut Butter Blossoms or try my hand at French Macarons. It’s a bit pricey (retail price is $129.99), but since you’re getting two products (a sifter and a scale) it’s justifiable.

Check out our other top KitchenAid attachment picks, along with this genius organizer to go with them!