Baking Made Easy with a Food Processor

[Mayvin]

Does anyone use a food processor for their baking needs? I have found the one I have to be so handy with making a variety of things. It is so easy to throw say some nuts in there, blend, and then use for breads or cakes. I honestly don't know what I would do without it.

 

[jesslane94]

Actually, I was thinking about this the other way, and how much I want one. I would love advice on which one to buy! Especially if you are absolutely in love with the one you have. :]

 

[stanfordsarah]

Does anyone use a food processor for their baking needs? I have found the one I have to be so handy with making a variety of things. It is so easy to throw say some nuts in there, blend, and then use for breads or cakes. I honestly don't know what I would do without it.

What brand/model do you have? I started a thread about this but nobody has responded yet.

 

[Cheerio]

I had a Black and Decker food processor that served me faithfully for many years, but after a move it stopped working. I'm not sure why. Maybe the box was dropped or something.

Now, I have a Hamilton Beach processor and it does what I need it to do. I didn't spend a lot of money on the fanciest processor available because I didn't think it was necessary for my purposes.

Mostly, I use the food processor to mix my dry ingredients together, chop dried fruits and nuts, grind crackers/cookies for crusts and toppings, and mix wet ingredients like eggs and oil. I've also used it to make whipped cream.

I haven't used it with dough because the processor I have didn't come with the paddle or hook type attachment, but I prefer not to do it that way anyway since it overworks the dough.

It's a handy tool to have and I'm not sure I would ever want to go back to not having one.

 

[stanfordsarah]

I had a Black and Decker food processor that served me faithfully for many years, but after a move it stopped working. I'm not sure why. Maybe the box was dropped or something.

Now, I have a Hamilton Beach processor and it does what I need it to do. I didn't spend a lot of money on the fanciest processor available because I didn't think it was necessary for my purposes.

Mostly, I use the food processor to mix my dry ingredients together, chop dried fruits and nuts, grind crackers/cookies for crusts and toppings, and mix wet ingredients like eggs and oil. I've also used it to make whipped cream.

I haven't used it with dough because the processor I have didn't come with the paddle or hook type attachment, but I prefer not to do it that way anyway since it overworks the dough.

It's a handy tool to have and I'm not sure I would ever want to go back to not having one.

Thanks, Cheerio!
this is a huge help. I will take a look at both versions. And I plan to use mine for the same things; i prefer to do my doughs with a dough hook or pastry cutter. Thanks!
Sarah

 

[Happyflowerlady]

I love y food processor, and use it for so many things. It is awesome for chopping up ingredients like apples, carrots, or green peppers, and for crunching up crackers to use for breading , and I love it for making cole slaw, as well.
I actually have two food processors. My big one is a kitchen aid, which I found on Craigslist, and use for big projects. I also found a small processor that fits right on my Oster blender, and this is the one that I use all the time for every day things. It doesn't do as much as the kitchen aid, but it is so handy and easy to use, and since it is so fast to process things, it is actually much faster than getting the large processor out, and all the cleanup afterward.
You can find the blender attachments in thrift stores, yard sales, ad also on eBay, and they are usually pretty cheap to pick up used.

 

[stanfordsarah]

Thank you! that one that sits on the blender sounds interesting. I have a small one already so I think I'm in the market for something larger. Going to look into the Kitchenaid model. Thanks!

 

[mommy42]

I would love a food processor too! I think I will have to see if they make one for my blender base. I never thought about checking for that! Does anyone know if they make them for all Oster blenders or just certain ones? Thanks!

 

[OhioTom76]

I've been reluctant to get one of these because they always seemed like they would be more trouble than they were worth. I don't mind chopping vegetables at all, and would be more irritated by having to clean all the parts in it afterwards. I never understood why I couldn't just do most of that in a blender that I would do in a food processor.

The only thing I don't understand is I see people making pestos and other sauces in the food processors with no trouble, but when I try to make them in a blender they won't blend they just get stuck to the sides - which seems counter intuitive since the base of the food processors are wider.

 

[Cheerio]

I never have cared for the job that a blender does. I couldn't even get mine to chop ice for a smoothie so I gave up on it at decades ago. Mine was useless and it was a good brand too. Not top of the line, but a good one.

I love my food processor. I can't say enough good things about it. It's very simple to clean. Just wash out the bowl, lid, and blade. Takes a couple minutes at most. Same amount of time to wash off your knife and cutting board.

It's for more than just shopping vegetables. A food processor will grind meat for you. It can mix dough with the proper attachments. I use mine a lot for making chicken salad and homemade salsa. When my last processor died on me, I went right out and bought a new one.

 

[Happyflowerlady]

I would love a food processor too! I think I will have to see if they make one for my blender base. I never thought about checking for that! Does anyone know if they make them for all Oster blenders or just certain ones? Thanks!

Mommy42, my blender is an Oster ! So, yes, they make them for Oster .
I would recommend looking on eBay, and just do an Oster search, and some should pop up on there.
I found mine either at the thrift store, or a yard sale, but you never know when you would run across one that way, and eBay would be much faster. They don't weigh much, so shipping should be cheap or free.
Those little processors are easy to clean up afterwards, and unless you are making a lot of something, and actually need the bigger chopping space, the little blender attachment will do the job faster and easier.

 

[Happyflowerlady]

I've been reluctant to get one of these because they always seemed like they would be more trouble than they were worth. I don't mind chopping vegetables at all, and would be more irritated by having to clean all the parts in it afterwards. I never understood why I couldn't just do most of that in a blender that I would do in a food processor.

The only thing I don't understand is I see people making pestos and other sauces in the food processors with no trouble, but when I try to make them in a blender they won't blend they just get stuck to the sides - which seems counter intuitive since the base of the food processors are wider.

Tom, I use both my processor, and the blender a lot, but they have different purposes. The blender is wonderful if you are making something from fruit or veggies that you want to drink afterwards, like a green smoothie, for instance.
However, the food processor, especially used on pulse, will simply CHOP the veggies, and not purée them like a blender does.

I use the processor for chopped carrots for salads or slaw, and for chopping up the cabbage to make cole slaw.
I make my own tarter sauce, and use the processor to chop up the onions and dill pickles for that. It makes the bits way smaller than I can hand chop them, but still not as small as a blender would make them.

I also like it for making salsa, since it will mince everything up, but not blend it beyond recognition.
I make hummus with my processor, as well. It doesn't need added liquid to mush something up like my blender does, and it is MUCH easier to get the hummus back out of then the blender would be.

 

[justusforus]

I don't use one but now you make me think whether I should swap an appliance off the counter. I do need to be conscious of space, but I have reorganized before.

 

[NThomas]

I have not use a food processor in my baking yet I am told that there some excellent recipes for pie crust and other pasties that use the food processor. I stink at making pie crust so if there is an easer way make it I would like to try it.