Flour substitution and nutrient fortification of butter cookies with underutilized agricultural products

A fortified cookie from dehydrated swamp taro (Cyrtosperma merkusii) combined with allpurpose enriched wheat flour was developed. The study was performed in a Randomized Complete Block Design with three treatments: unfortified swamp taro (ST) cookie, ST cookie with dehydrated moringa (Moringa oleifera) leaves, ST cookie with dehydrated moringa leaves and squash (Cucurbita moschata). The response variables included nutritional profiling of the finished products of the three treatments through proximate analysis of total crude protein, total crude lipid, total crude fiber, total moisture, mineral, water activity, and vitamin A content. The sensory characterization of the fortified cookies was performed in a Complete Randomized Design, and the response variables were the quality attribute descriptions and acceptability of the products. The moisture, protein, crude fiber, and soluble carbohydrate contents of the cookies with fortifications did not significantly differ from the unfortified cookies (p > 0.05), but the fat, total mineral content and the vitamin A content of the fortified cookies were significantly higher than the unfortified cookies (p < 0.05). The cookies developed using dehydrated swamp taro with moringa and squash can be described as nutritious in terms of protein content (11%) with high calorie value from crude fat (16.5–18%) and high soluble carbohydrate (61.5–63.2%). Based on the proximate composition of the cookies, 15 cookies at 13.3 g/cookie could provide about 22 g protein equivalent to one third of the recommended dietary allowance (RDA) for protein, 34–36 g fat and 122-126 g carbohydrate equivalent to one half of the RDA for fat and carbohydrate and >100% of the vitamin A daily requirement in accordance with the estimated 2000-calorie RDA of a 50-kg normal adult. After sensory evaluation using the 9-point hedonic scale, panellists described the fortified cookies to be highly acceptable in terms of appearance and moderately acceptable in terms of texture and flavour.