Cookies are one of the most low-stress, beginner-friendly desserts you can make, and they’re always a crowd pleaser whether they melt in your mouth or crunch as you take a bite. There’s room to grow, too — as you become confident in the kitchen, you can pick more complex recipes that require a bit more skill. If you, like me, are gearing up for a holiday season that involves lots of cookie baking, read on. I talked to professional bakers about each step of the process and the best cooking baking tools to use. As an avid baker myself, I also added some of the tips and tricks I swear by. Plus, experts answered some of the most frequently asked questions about baking cookies, including what’s likely your biggest concern: how to avoid a burnt batch.Want more from Jattvibe Selected? Sign up for our newsletter, The Selection, and shop smarter.How to make cookies, step by stepStep 1: Make the cookie doughOnce you decide what type of cookie you’re making (learn about some of the most common ones here), it’s time to put the dough together. First thing’s first: read through the entire recipe and follow it exactly as it’s written, as obvious as that sounds, says Penny Stankiewicz, a chef-instructor of pastry and baking arts at the Institute of Culinary Education. Don’t substitute ingredients — if you do, your cookies won’t taste or have the same texture as the recipe intended. There’s one exception to the rule: You can play with a recipe’s flavors and mix-ins. “As long as you don’t mess with the structural ingredients of the recipe, like flour, butter and sugar, you’re not going to wreck its integrity,” says Stankiewicz. “For example, you can change how much vanilla extract you add, sprinkle cinnamon into your dough or use two types of chocolate chips instead of one.”Below are tools experts recommend using while making cookie dough.Kitchen scale or measuring cupsYou can measure ingredients by volume or by weight. Measuring by volume involves using liquid and dry measuring cups, while measuring by weight involves using a kitchen scale. Arlyn Osborne, a recipe developer, food writer and the author of “Sugarcane,” recommends measuring ingredients by weight since it’s more precise and helps ensure that cookies are consistent every time you make them.As Osborne recommends, I measure by weight while baking cookies using a digital kitchen scale like this one. I sit the scale on my counter, put a small bowl on top, zero the scale and weigh out each ingredient before adding it to my main mixing bowl. Etekcity’s scale measures liquids and solids in five units, which you can alternate between using a dedicated button. It runs on (and comes with) two AA batteries and automatically turns off after two minutes of inactivity. The scale, which has an 11-pound maximum capacity, is slim enough to put in most kitchen drawers.If you prefer measuring by volume, you’ll need dry measuring cups for ingredients like flour, sugar and baking powder. These come in an eight-piece set that measures from one teaspoon to one cup, and they nest into each other to save storage space. Their handles also snap together, keeping them connected in your drawer. The measuring cups are dishwasher safe.To prevent measurement inaccuracies, stick to measuring dry ingredients with dry measuring cups, like the Joseph Joseph ones above, and wet ingredients with liquid measuring cups, like these from Pyrex. You get three glass measuring cups in the set with capacities of 1, 2 and 4 cups. They have easily readable measurement markers in ounces and milliliters on the sides, sturdy handles and pour spouts. The cups are safe to put in the dishwasher, freezer, microwave and preheated oven.Hand mixer or stand mixerThe majority of cookies home bakers make involve the creaming method, which means the first step in the recipe is to cream room temperature butter and sugar together, says Stankiewicz. Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment is the easiest way to do so. Experts also recommend keeping a flexible silicone spatula on hand to periodically scrape the sides of the bowl. You can use a hand mixer or spoon to cream butter and sugar for cookies, but it’s not as efficient.Any brand’s stand mixer will do, but Stankiewicz prefers KitchenAid’s, and I’m loyal to mine, too. It’s one of the most reliable appliances I own and the workhorse of my kitchen, especially while baking. The mixer’s 5-quart, dishwasher-safe, stainless steel bowl can hold enough dough to make up to nine dozen cookies — that’s 108 total. You can adjust the mixer’s speed across 10 levels, and the tilt-head design gives you lots of room to add ingredients. The mixer comes with three attachments: a coated flat beater (which you’ll use to cream butter and sugar together for cookies), a wire whip (perfect for homemade frosting to decorate cookies) and a dough hook. You also get a pouring shield to prevent messes while adding ingredients when the mixer is on.I use this spatula to scrape the sides of my bowl while making cookies. It’s 11 inches long, giving me plenty of room on the handle to maintain a sturdy grip, and it has a flexible head that bends around curves and gets into corners. The silicone tool is heat-resistant up to 425 degrees Fahrenheit, so I can dip it into hot melted chocolate and butter, and it’s dishwasher safe.Mixing bowlsMixing bowls are available in materials like glass, ceramic and metal, but it ultimately doesn’t matter when it comes to making cookies, says Elizabeth Barbone, a recipe developer and cookbook author who runs the sites Cook Fast, Eat Well and Gluten-Free Baking. What does matter is the mixing bowl’s size. Ingredients spill out of bowls that are too small while you’re stirring, and while there’s no such thing as a bowl that’s too big while you’re hand-mixing, there is if you’re using a stand mixer. Mixing bowls that are too big may prevent the mixer’s paddle from reaching its sides, smearing ingredients into a paste along the bottom of the bowl instead of whipping it until fluffy, says Barbone.I like having mixing bowls in multiple sizes available to me so I can pick the right one for how much cookie dough I’m making. I gravitate toward metal ones since they’re the most durable. This Cuisinart set checks all my boxes. It comes with 1.5-, 3- and 5-quart mixing bowls, each of which are made from stainless steel and come with matching lids — that means I can make cookie dough, put a lid on the bowl and put it in the refrigerator to chill. The bowls nest into each other for compact storage.Step 2: Shape the cookiesEach type of cookie has a signature shape (learn more about here), which you achieve using specific tools. Below, I listed what you need to form a few popular ones.Cookie scoopCookie scoops help you create balls of dough for drop cookies that are the exact same size, ensuring that the batch bakes evenly, says Barbone. She prefers cookie scoops with trigger handles since they quickly release balls of dough, which makes shaping drop cookies fast and efficient. Cookie scoops come in a variety of sizes, which you’ll see listed as a number that corresponds to the number of scoops per quart of dough. For example, a #40 scoop gives you about 40 scoops per quart and a #10 scoop gives you about 10 scoops per quart — this means the #10 scoop is larger than the #40 scoop. There’s no standard scoop size you should look for, but #40 is common for cookies, says Barbone. If you make cookies often, consider buying a large, medium and small scoop so all your bases are covered.This dishwasher-safe #40 cookie scoop is as basic as they come. It picks up about 2 tablespoons of dough to make cookies that are about 3 inches wide. The scoop has a trigger handle, as Barbone recommends, that’s covered in soft rubber to keep your hand comfortable while gripping it. If you want a scoop to make smaller or bigger cookies, Gorilla Grip makes options that pick up 2 teaspoons, 1 tablespoon and 3 tablespoons of dough, too.Rolling pinYou don’t technically need to buy a rolling pin since you can use household objects as alternatives, like wine bottles and canned foods. But a rolling pin gives you more even results while making cutout cookies, so if you plan on baking often, it’s nice to have.Osborne prefers using a French tapered rolling pin, like this one, which is shaped like a baton — it’s wider in the middle and narrower at the ends. She says it’s easy to maneuver and gives you lots of surface area to place your hands while going over the dough. J.K. Adams’ lightweight rolling pin is made from warp-resistant hardwood and it has a textured surface that successfully holds onto flour, so you only need a light dusting to prevent dough from sticking. It’s 20.5 inches long and comes in 1.5-inch and 1.75-inch thicknesses. The brand recommends hand-washing it. Cookie cuttersCookie cutters come in hundreds of shapes: circles, hearts, squares, gingerbread men, menorahs, animals, numbers, letters, symbols… you name it, there’s a cookie cutter for it. Some companies even let you create custom cookie cutters, which is a great option for themed events. There’s options made from plastic and metal, either of which will do, but each material has strengths and weaknesses.Metal cookie cutters give cookies clean, crisp edges and they’re easy to clean since you can put them in the dishwasher, says Barbone. But they’re sharper compared to plastic cutters, so they’re not kid-friendly. Metal cookie cutters are also quite durable, says Stankiewicz. If you care for them properly, they can last for decades. In fact, Stankiewicz says her family’s copper cookie cutters have been passed down for generations.Plastic cookie cutters are duller compared to metal options. This makes them suitable for kids, but they can give cookies messy, smushed edges, says Barbone. Even if the plastic cookie cutters you buy say they’re dishwasher safe, it’s best to hand-wash them, says Stankiewicz — heat from the dishwasher can cause them to melt or become misshapen.Ann Clark makes cookie cutters for almost every occasion, and you can buy many of them individually as well as in sets like this Christmas-themed one. It comes with 11 cookie cutters in shapes like a snowflake, gingerbread man, mitter, candy cane and angel. The cutters are made from steel, which quickly cuts through dough and leaves behind sharp edges. The upper edge is rolled to protect your hand while gripping them, and the brand recommends hand-washing them.Cookie pressA cookie press, which you use to make spritz cookies, is a cylindrical tool with a plunger on one end and interchangeable discs on the other. Each disc has cutouts on it, creating different shapes. You load dough into the body of the press and use the plunger to push it through the disc’s holes, resulting in perfectly shaped cookies. You move the press’ head along the sheet pan and push out one cookie at a time.Barbone recommends buying a cookie press that comes with metal discs, which cleanly release dough so each cookie’s shape is clearly defined. Avoid plastic cookie presses: They’re more prone to getting clogged and breaking, she says.I’ve tested a few cookie presses, and overall, I find OXO’s the easiest to fill, use, swap discs and clean. It comes apart, letting you add dough to the barrel and put one of the 12 included stainless steel discs on the end. Then, you screw everything back together, stand the press up on a sheet pan and press down on the lever. A neatly shaped cookie comes out, and you repeat the process until your dough is gone. Since the barrel is clear, you can see exactly how much dough you have left, and the 12 discs come in a storage case to prevent you from losing any. The barrel, bottom ring and discs are dishwasher-safe, but the top and plunger are hand-wash only. Plastic cling wrap (or a reusable alternative)After rolling dough into logs while making slice-and-bake cookies, you wrap each one in plastic cling wrap and put them in the refrigerator for a few hours or overnight. The plastic wrap keeps the dough fresh while it’s chilling and keeps odors and moisture out. If you’re looking for a plastic wrap alternative, reusable beeswax wrap is a great option, and some brands make silicone tools to help you size, shape and store slice-and-bake dough.Slice-and-bake cookies are one of my go-to bakes, so it’s no wonder why OXO’s dishwasher-safe Good Grips Slice & Bake Cookie Helper is one of my favorite reusable tools. It comes with two flexible silicone mats, which you use to roll dough into a log like you would with plastic wrap, and there’s a clasp that keeps it together. The mat also has built-in measurement guides on it, which get imprinted on the log and give you marks to follow while slicing. You cover each open end of the log with the included caps before putting it in the refrigerator or freezer to cool. After a few hours or so, you unroll the silicone mats, put the logs on a cutting board and use the measurement guides to cut 1.5-inch, 1.75-inch or 2-inch slices.Step 3: Bake the cookiesPutting cookies in the oven is often the most nerve-wracking step for home bakers — no one wants to put effort into perfecting dough and end up with a burnt final product. To ensure cookies come out golden brown and ready to sink your teeth into, use the below expert-recommended tools.Oven thermometerEven when you set your oven to a specific temperature, it probably doesn’t warm up to exactly where you want it, unless it was recently calibrated, says Stankiewicz. This means your baked goods are likely cooking at a slightly lower or higher temperature than you’re anticipating, which impacts cooking time. To confirm that your oven reaches the right temperature before adding your cookies, Stankiewicz recommends buying an oven thermometer. It hooks onto the oven’s racks and reads its internal temperature, which you can monitor while your oven is preheating to adjust its settings accordingly.Find out how warm your oven actually is before putting cookies inside using Rubbermaid’s battery-free thermometer — it helps you monitor the temperature throughout the baking process, too. It hooks onto the rack in your oven and reads temperatures between 60 and 580 degrees Fahrenheit.Sheet pansExperts recommend keeping a few half-sheet pans in your kitchen at all times because they’re so versatile. You can use them to bake and cook sweet and savory foods, plus they last for years if cared for properly.For cookies specifically, it’s best to use rimmed sheet pans. “I never use a sheet pan without a rim because there’s always a chance something could slide off the edge,” says Barbone. This is especially the case with cookies. Recipes often tell you to rotate the sheet pan halfway through to ensure all of the cookies bake evenly, and if your sheet pan doesn’t have a rim, the cookies may slide off during this process.Additionally, pay attention to the color of your sheet pan. Darker sheet pans tend to conduct more heat, which means the bottoms of your cookies will bake faster than the tops, says Stankiewicz. This is often why people end up with cookies that are burnt on the bottom but still raw on top. Use a lighter colored sheet pan to avoid this issue, says Stankiewicz.I was originally drawn to Great Jones’ Holy Sheet Pan because it’s so good looking, and I’m happy to report that it works just as well. The half-sheet pan has a rim around its perimeter, preventing my cookies from sliding off, and it comes in a handful of colors, which aren’t super dark to encourage even browning. The pan is made from aluminized steel with a nonstick coating, and while it’s dishwasher-friendly, the brand recommends hand-washing it. You can put it in ovens up to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. In addition to baking cookies on this sheet pan, I decorate, serve and display them on it.Parchment paperParchment paper and silicone baking mats serve the same purpose and are essentially interchangeable when it comes to baking cookies. They line your sheet pan, provide a nonstick surface to bake on and make cleanup a breeze. You can also line your pan with tin foil, but since the material conducts heat, it tends to make the bottoms of your cookies darker and speed up baking time — try to avoid it if you can, says Sarah House, the food innovation chef and recipe and development lead at Bob’s Red Mill.Beyond one being disposable and the other being reusable, the main difference between parchment paper and silicone baking mats is how much cookies grip onto them. Silicone baking mats are so nonstick that cookies don’t have much to grasp onto, which might cause them to spread too much while baking, says Barbone. Parchment paper is still nonstick, but cookies can grip to it more, reducing spread. Barbone opts for parchment paper instead of silicone baking mats for cookies, but it’s ultimately a personal preference.Stankiewicz recommends buying parchment paper in sheets rather than rolls. Rolled parchment paper tends to curl in on itself, making it challenging to cut to your desired size. Sheets of flat parchment paper, on the other hand, and won’t curl, so cutting it is easy, although doing so may not be necessary if you buy sheets that are the same size as your sheet pans.Baker’s Signature’s Parchment Paper Sheets come in various sizes and shapes to match different types of pans. They’re made from natural wood pulp with a nonstick coating, are oven-safe up to 425 degrees Fahrenheit and won’t curl, stick or burn, according to the brand.TimerAlways keep track of how long cookies have been in the oven relative to the estimated bake time detailed by your recipe. You can use a mechanical or digital timer, or devices like your phone or watch. Remember that a recipe’s estimated bake time is just a guideline, says Stankiewicz. Factors like the type of oven you’re using, whether you preheated it and how many trays of cookies are baking at once can impact baking time. Because of this, one of the best ways to determine cookie doneness is by using your nose. “Once you start smelling the cookies, start checking on them,” says Stankiewicz. From there, pay attention to the cookies’ color and texture. Fully baked cookies are usually golden brown and have a matte rather than glossy appearance, so once you see those signs and smell them, pull them out of the oven.You can set a timer on your phone, tablet, smartwatch or smart home devices to monitor cookie baking, but there’s something about using a standard kitchen timer that I like better — perhaps I just find it more reliable since it has one job. TempPro’s timer lets you count up or down, and when time runs out, an alarm sounds. The screen is backlit so you can see it if you’re in a darker kitchen, and you can prop the timer up on a flat surface using the built-in stand or, because it has a magnetic back, stick it on a refrigerator or microwave. Step 4: Let the cookies coolWhen you take your cookies out of the oven, let them cool on the sheet pan for five to 10 minutes before gently moving them to a cooling rack with a spatula, says House. If you leave cookies on a hot pan, they’ll continue baking and can become overdone. But placing cookies on a cooling rack allows air to circulate around them, cooling them quickly and preventing extra baking.I always end up making more cookies than I plan on, so one cooling rack doesn’t cut it — this pack of two makes sure I always have a backup. The dishwasher-safe racks are around the same size as half-sheet pans, made from stainless steel and oven-safe up to 575 degrees Fahrenheit.Transfer cookies from the hot pan, to the cooling rack and to a plate or serving dish with this spatula. Its stainless steel head has a beveled edge, so it easily slides under cookies, and its wood handle helps you keep a steady grip while moving your baked goods.Step 5: Decorate the cookiesOnce the cookies are cool, decorate them however you’d like, although it’s not a required step — they’re delicious straight out of the oven. A few ideas: you can dust your cookies with powdered sugar, make a glaze or frosting or top them with sprinkles.An offset spatula like this one is helpful while spreading glaze and frosting over cookies. I keep a bunch of them in my kitchen so I don’t have to constantly clean one if I’m using frostings and glazes in different colors or flavors. A 4.5-inch spatula is the ideal size for cookies, in my experience — anything bigger overpowers the cookie and doesn’t give you enough control. This one has a tapered stainless steel blade and a wood handle, and the brand recommends hand-washing it.If you want to get fancy, a set of piping tips and bags can help you create detailed designs on your cookies, says House. This set comes with 10 stainless steel decorating tips, including round, star, petal and leaf options, and 10 frosting bags. The tips are technically top-rack dishwasher-safe, but the brand recommends hand-washing them. If you’re new to piping designs, I highly recommend watching YouTube tutorials or those on social media — that’s how I learned the basics, and I still use them now when I want to learn something new.Step 6: Store the cookiesAs long as you bake cookies all the way through, the experts I talked to say most batches have a week-long shelf life. Store them in a container with a tightly sealed lid to keep air, odors and moisture out, and stack them with parchment paper between each layer so they don’t stick together. If you need to store fully baked cookies beyond a week, Barbone recommends freezing them. The best way to do so is by laying the cookies out on a sheet pan or plate and putting them in the freezer. Once they’re frozen, transfer them to an airtight container or a tightly sealed bag. Frozen cookies keep well for at least three to five months, says Osborne.In my experience, Pyrex’s 11-cup glass container is the ideal shape, depth and size for storing a dozen or so cookies in two or three layers, separated by parchment paper. The lid creates a tight seal around the opening, keeping air, moisture and odors out so your cookies stay fresh. The container is freezer-safe if you want to keep frozen cookies inside it, and it’s dishwasher-safe.I don’t have room in my freezer for a large container like Pyrex’s, so I store frozen cookies (and cookie dough balls) in Stasher’s freezer-safe reusable silicone bags. I particularly like the Stand-Up Mega because it has a flat base — as its name implies, it stands up by itself, making filling it easy. You pinch the bag’s seal closed to keep air, moisture and odors out, and you can write on it in dry-erase marker to label what type of cookies are inside, as well as when you froze them. Stasher bags are dishwasher safe.What are the most popular types of cookies?Drop cookies: As the name implies, you make drop cookies by dropping balls of dough onto a sheet pan. The dough spreads in the oven, giving the cookies a round shape once baked — think typical chocolate chip cookies, for example. Drop cookies are the easiest cookies to make.Cut out cookies: The star of any holiday cookie box, cut out cookies are made by rolling out dough and using cookie cutters to create shapes. They’re also a great option for beginner bakers. People traditionally make cut out cookies from sugar or gingerbread cookie dough, but the flavor possibilities are endless. Slice-and-bake cookies: To make slice-and-bake cookies, you roll dough into logs and refrigerate them. Once the dough is chilled, you slice the logs into rounds and bake them on a cookie sheet. Slice-and-bake cookies are shortbread cookies, meaning they’re buttery and have a crumbly texture. They’re pretty straightforward to make.Spritz cookies: You make spritz cookies with a cookie press, a tool that pushes dough through a patterned disc. The dough is very soft, which makes it easy to force through the press. Once they bake, spritz cookies have a lighter texture compared to cut out cookies, says Barbone. Using a cookie press can be tricky, so experts recommend mastering more beginner-friendly bakes first, like drop, cut out and slice-and-bake cookies.Experts’ top cookie baking tipsThroughout their years of baking cookies, the experts I talked to have seen and experienced their fair share of mistakes. Below are their tips for avoiding common issues.Cookie dough easily sticks to your rolling pin and countertop. To prevent this, people often sprinkle flour on the dough and surface its resting on, but doing so adds flour to the dough and too much can dry it out. Instead, Stankiewicz recommends rolling out the dough between two pieces of parchment paper to prevent sticking.If you’re measuring dry ingredients by volume, spoon them into measuring cups until they dome over the top. Then scrape a knife along the top of the measuring cups to level them off, says Osborne. This helps you avoid adding excess ingredients to your dough.The bottoms of cookies can burn for a number of reasons, but if you notice it happening every time you use a specific sheet pan, odds are the pan is too thin. Thin sheet pans transfer too much heat to cookies’ bases, causing them to bake faster than the rest of the treat and get darker at the bottom. Instead of buying a new set of pans, consider stacking two on top of each other, says Osborne. Doing so adds an extra layer of protection for the cookies’ bases since the two pans absorb double the amount of heat.To keep cookies soft, add a piece of white bread to the container you’re storing them in. The bread releases moisture inside the container, which the cookies slowly absorb so they don’t dry out. Replace the piece of bread every two days.If drop cookies lose their round shape in the oven, it’s fixable. Cookies are soft and moldable when they’re hot, so you can adjust them slightly, turning them back into a perfect circle. Take a circular cookie cutter or cup that fits over your cookies and gently swirl it around each one immediately after removing the pan from the oven, says Stankiewicz.Frequently asked questionsDo you have to chill cookie dough before baking it?
Most cookie dough benefits from chilling in the refrigerator before you bake it, says Stankiewicz. Cold dough keeps its shape better and spreads less in the oven compared to warm or room temperature dough. But any cookie that you prefer to be thin and crispy can do without chilling time, says House.To chill dough, place it in the refrigerator for at least an hour or up to 24 hours prior to baking. Make sure you cover it in plastic wrap so it doesn’t take on other flavors or fall victim to spills, says House.Can you freeze cookie dough?
Yes, you can freeze most types of cookie dough. In fact, experts recommend doing so. “The freezer is your friend,” says Stankiewicz.To freeze cookie dough, make a batch of it, shape it, place it on a sheet pan and pop it in the freezer. Once fully frozen, transfer the dough to an air-tight container or bag and leave it in the freezer. Stankiewicz recommends putting a piece of plastic cling wrap underneath your container’s lid to keep air out.When you’re ready to make a few cookies, place the frozen dough on a lined sheet pan and place it in a preheated oven. You don’t need to defrost the dough before baking it, but be aware that the cookies may take an additional minute or two to cook through, so adjust your baking time, says Stankiewicz.What rack should you bake cookies on?
Oven placement matters while baking cookies, says Stankiewicz. It’s usually best to place the pan on the middle rack in your oven, which is considered the sweet spot. The middle rack circulates air around the entire pan, evenly baking the cookies. Your recipe will also likely tell you to rotate the pan halfway through baking, which helps the cookies bake evenly, says Stankiewicz.Additionally, Osborne doesn’t recommend baking two trays of cookies at a time. Odds are, both trays won’t be able to fit on the middle rack, subjecting one to less than optimal oven conditions. If you absolutely have to bake two trays of cookies at once, Osborne recommends putting one pan on the oven’s center rack and one of the oven’s topmost rack. Swap and rotate them halfway through baking.Is it better to bake cookies with melted or softened butter?
Unless your recipe specifically calls for melted butter, softened room temperature is best for baking cookies. “The temperature of the fat, which is usually butter, is key to a low-stress cookie dough making experience,” says House. “Too soft will make a loose batter that spreads, too cold will just be messy and frustrating. Use butter that you can make an indentation in with just the slightest bit of pressure.”Meet our baking expertsAt Jattvibe Selected, we work with experts who have specialized knowledge and authority based on relevant training and/or experience. We also ensure that all expert advice and recommendations are made independently and with no undisclosed financial conflicts of interest.Elizabeth Barbone is a recipe developer and cookbook author who runs the sites Cook Fast, Eat Well and Gluten-Free Baking.Penny Stankiewicz, a chef-instructor of pastry and baking arts at the Institute of Culinary Education.Sarah House is the food innovation chef and recipe and development lead at Bob’s Red Mill. Arlyn Osborne is a recipe developer, food writer and the author of “Sugarcane.”Why trust Jattvibe Selected?I’m a reporter at Jattvibe Selected who’s written about kitchen tools for over six years, including articles about pie baking tools, Dutch ovens, nonstick cookware and plastic-free cutting boards. I’ve also been an avid baker for over a decade. To write this article, I interviewed four professional bakers about their favorite cookie baking tools and tips. I curated a list of their recommendations, and I also added products that I swear by after testing them.Catch up on Jattvibe Selected’s in-depth coverage of tech and tools, wellness and more, and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, X and TikTok to stay up to date.