Every recipe for creaming butter mentions a "paddle attachment." I don't have the big KitchenAid mixer, mine is handheld. Can I just use that?

People have been creaming butter and sugar for centuries. You simply have to beat it until it becomes pale and fluffy. Use a hand mixer, a kitchen aid, a mix master or your wooden spoon and lots of muscel. Just make sure it is pale and fluffy

For banana bread, you are perfectly fine with a hand mixer!

The instrucrion to use a flat beater was the bane of my existence, until I finally broke down and bought a Kitchen Aid stand mixer. Now, I hardly ever use it!

Thank you! I am blending sugar and butter for banana bread, but most How Tos use the KItchenAid mixer, which has more attachments I guess!

Yes, you can cream (smoosh/soften) butter just fine with the two beater attachments on a hand mixer. You can also do it with a pastry cutter or with your own hands, using the warmth of your fingers to crumble the butter into the flour. It all depends on the recipe. What are you making?