If I could only have one electric kitchen appliance, the clear choice for me is my immersion blender. I use this trusty tool for everything from smashing together chickpeas, parsley, and garlic for falafel dough, to pureeing my tomato soup to creamy perfection. My old plastic stick blender was my trusty sidekick in the kitchen—that is, until I left it sitting in a boiling pot of soup a little too long and it started to melt. After an appropriate mourning period, I began looking for a replacement. I asked our test kitchen director, Kellie Evans, for a recommendation, and she pointed me towards the KitchenAid Pro Line Cordless Immersion Blender. This is the Cadillac of stick blenders, featuring 8" and 13" arms, a frother, chopper, and whisk attachment, plus a pitcher and a bowl attachment, which I use as a mini-food processor, all of it sans cord. Nothing is too tough for this beast, spice grinding and nut chopping included.