While in this post I refer to a pastry blender I actually have pastry knives (not to be confused with the butter knives) pictured here. They’re pretty much the same thing, in fact most people don’t know there’s a difference. A pastry blender has a set of wires while the pastry knives is stamped metal.

I prefer the pastry knives as they feel sturdier to me and I can use them on cold butter-some how I always seem to forget to put my butter out to soften. Any one else do that? The blender feels a little flimsier but can be used in a plastic bowl while the pastry knives tend to make cuts in the plastic if you push down too hard. So I just use a metal or glass bowl with my pastry knives.

When the hubster and I were newly freshly married (after 5 pregnancies, 2 kids, a couple of college degrees together we still act newly wed) we didn’t have a hand mixer. To add insult to injury it felt like every baked good recipe called for one. Sad day. 🙁 Luckily I grew up with a handy momma who taught us the way to cut fat in by hand. (more…)