I bought the stand mixer a couple of years ago, because it was more affordable than replacing my old KitchenAid, and I have a Cuisinart food processor and two Cuisinart hand blenders that I love &;;; use all the time. The paddle just doesn't quite connect with the sides of the bowl, so the mixer simply does not mix well, and if I'm making smaller quantities - not terribly small, but like one stick of butter & a cup of sugar it just doesn't do the job. With larger quantities, if you leave it to mix, you can see the batter clinging to the bowl is darker and not getting mixed. The bottom also - it seems to me to be a design flaw, anyway very frustrating, and I use my mixer aDon't buy this - go for the extra money of a Kitchenaid - the difference is night and day. I contacted Cuisinart and they said sorry, you have to return it to the store. No receipt, so can't do that. Ugh. lot. User's recommendation: Generally, I like Cuisinart, but this appliance is just a bad design, not nearly as good as the Kitchenaid I had previously. Huge disappointment.