Do I really need a "paddle attachment"?

I heard food scientist Shirley Corriher on NPR the other day talking about chocolate crinkle cookies, and they sounded so yummy that I would just love to try them.

Problem: the recipe calls for a “mixer with paddle attachment” and says to line a baking sheet with “release foil.” I have been baking cookies since before Barack Obama was born, and I never heard of either of these things. Do I really need them? Can I substitute for them somehow? I’ve always mixed cookies by hand.