Dorie Greenspan bakes in three different kitchens (in New York, Paris, and Connecticut). She has a stand mixer in each, but the five-quart KitchenAid stand mixer in her New York kitchen has a special place in her heart. Purchased almost 40 years ago, it was an incredible splurge at the time, Dorie says. At a few hundred bucks, it's still a major expense for many of us these days, too. If you can swing it, though, Dorie calls it a very wise investment.

Before she had her stand mixer, Dorie was making everything by hand, including brioche, which demands endless mixing to achieve its brilliant texture. She saved her money to buy a white mixer with a metal bowl ("It's so old, that that was the only color it came in at the time," she says! "The bowl is metal [not glass], for the same reason.")

After she got the mixer, things changed. Dorie was able to bake more than ever and she was yielding even better results. For months after the new addition to her kitchen, her friends would marvel (more than usual) at her treats. She'd reply: "Thank you, it's the machine!"

Four decades later, the mixer is showing slight signs of aging and the cord is no longer white. (Back then, the cords used to be white!) But it still hums along as Dorie mixes her magical creations. "Until my New York mixer wears out, I would never think of replacing it," she says. "It's both my sentimental favorite and truly practical."

Do you have a KitchenAid stand mixer? Do you love yours as much as Dorie loves hers?