Production, Nutritional Evaluation and Acceptability of Cookies Made from a Blend of Wheat, African Walnut, and Carrot Flours

Cookies were developed from composite flour of wheat, African Walnut and Carrot. The wheat flour was substituted at levels of 5%, 10%, 15%, & 20% with African Walnut flour for samples, B, C, D and E, respectively, and with 5% of Carrot flour. The moisture content of the cookies reduced with increase in substitution with walnut flour and carrot flour but there was no significant difference (p>0.05) in the values obtained. The ash content and protein content of the cookies also increased with increased substitution whereas fat content of the substituted cookies samples increased and significantly differed (p˂ 0.05) from the control. The physical attributes are as follows:11.28 g - 13.09 g for Weight, 45.80 mm - 52.68 mm for Diameter, 6.85 mm - 9.45 mm for thickness, and 5.12 - 7.44 for spread ratio. The values of the Minerals obtained are 29.38 mg/100 g – 50.46 mg/100 g, 3.75 mg/100 g – 11.36 mg/100 g, 14.11 mg/100 g – 15.47 mg/100 g and 49.20 mg/100 g – 58.90 mg/100 g for Calcium, iron, Sodium, and Potassium, respectively. The Bioavailability was highest in sodium(57.07%-84.86%), and potassium(69.55% - 72.31%).The highest values for Vitamin C (13.85 mg/100 g), Vitamin E (0.90), and Invitro protein digestibility (59.64%) were recorded in sample E while the highest Carotenoids (257.40 mg/100 g) was observed in sample C. Sensory evaluation confirmed that there was no significant difference (p˃0.05) between Samples A (control sample) and the substituted samples in terms of appearance, taste and aroma, and although sample A had highest overall general acceptability value, the samples produced compared favorably with the control.