Developing gluten free and nutrient rich cookies from cassava-millet blended flour

Abstract

There is increasing demand of gluten free products as well as high fiber snacks on the market since most snacks are majorly made from wheat, which are low in fibers, high in carbohydrates and gluten protein which are not suitable for weight management, management of diabetes mellitus, cholesterol levels in blood as well as management of celiac disease which need total avoidance of wheat products. This studies addresses formulation of gluten free and fiber rich cookies with lower calorie content. Cassava-millet blended flours were used to develop cookies with varying quantity of the flour quantity. The cookies contained wheat, millet and cassava flour in ratios of; 0:40:60, 0:30:70, 0:35:65, 100:0:0 respectively. Samples made from 100% wheat served as control. The nutritional content, and consumer’s acceptability of the cookies were evaluated using standard methods. The moisture content, protein, fat, fiber, ash, and carbohydrates content ranged from 3.58% to 5.78%, 4.5% to 10.5%, 25.5% to 26.1, 4.0 to 6.9%, 1.43 % to 2.03%, and 56.1 % to 69.4% respectively. All the samples had at least 50% scores of acceptability hence the illustrating the validity of producing nutrient riches gluten free cookies in response to growing demand in the market for healthier snacks hence cassava-millet blended flour use in baking can be adopted by the confectionery industry for use in producing more nutritious and high fiber snacks