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Shea McGee's favorite Christmas treat recipe uses this essential kitchen appliance – and we're obsessed with the iconic color choice

Interior designer Shea McGee shares with us one of her favorite holiday bakes, and as much as we love the recipe, it's the color of her staple appliance that's caught our eye

Shea McGee in her kitchen
(Image credit: Studio McGee)

One of the most joyful parts of Christmas is the delicious food and drink, and many of us spend a great deal of time over the holiday period making an impressive array of festive treats. 

A Christmas tradition that Shea McGee likes to do every year is making her favorite chocolate crinkle cookie recipe (delicious), and in a post shared on the Studio McGee Instagram, Shea takes us through the recipe – and there's one stylish key ingredient that really steals the show.

Shea McGee
Shea McGee

Interior designer, Shea McGee founded her iconic design firm, Studio McGee, with her husband Syd in 2014. They later launched their e-commerce brand, McGee & Co, and starred in their very own Netflix show, Dream Home Makeover.

'A Sunday in December = cookie baking in the McGee home. I love to bake, but I especially love during the holidays, that's when I have a lot of good baking memories with my own mum, and I hope to create many more with my own girls. This is one of our favorite cookie recipes to bake,' says Shea.

To make her Christmas cookies, Shea uses the KitchenAid Artisan Series Stand Mixer, voted our number one KitchenAid mixer in our Best KitchenAid stand mixer buying guide.

Not only has she opted for one of the most iconic and versatile kitchen appliances on the market, she has chosen a KitchenAid design in the luxurious and classic copper finish.

Studio McGee are renowned for their use of more natural, neutral color palettes across their interior designs and product collections at McGee & Co., and the stand mixer's elegant copper finish adds an unexpected and unique note of stylish contrast to the relaxed, neutral kitchen.

Kitchen appliances, such as kettles, toasters and stand mixers, can be a simple yet highly effective way of introducing an accent color. In Shea's kitchen, we love how the metallic KitchenAid contrasts with the off-white kitchen cabinet color, painted in Creamy White by Benjamin Moore, yet beautifully complements the warming wooden kitchen door.

Whether you opt for a luxurious metallic finish, a bold, bright shade, or keep things more simple and neutral, a colorful KitchenAid will not only elevate your holiday baking skills, it will create a stylish and enduring design feature in your kitchen space.

KitchenAid Artisan Series 5 Quart Tilt-Head Stand Mixer | Was $449.99

KitchenAid Artisan Series 5 Quart Tilt-Head Stand Mixer | Was $449.99 now $349.99 at Wayfair
Wayfair are currently having a Big Holiday Sale and there is $100 off our favorite KitchenAid Artisan stand mixer.


If you're in the market for a new stand-mixer, as well as a collection of top-rated designs from KitchenAid, the other stand-mixers rated highly by our product testing team include the Wolf Gourmet High-Performance Stand Mixer, available at Amazon (voted the best luxurious stand mixer) and the Cuisinart Precision Stand Mixer, available at Wayfair (voted the best value stand mixer) – this design currently has a huge 64% off.

Zara Stacey
Managing Editor

Zara is the Managing Editor at Homes & Gardens. She joined the brand in February 2022 as an Interiors Content Editor, specializing in writing content on interior color trends, decorating ideas and design inspiration. After studying English Literature at University, she worked as an Ecommerce Website Editor, Content Writer and Buying Intern at multiple independent businesses within the luxury retail and lifestyle sectors. She enjoys nothing more than discovering new trends, brands and products, whether that be in fashion, interior design or lifestyle.