Quality Assessment of Cookies Produced from Blends of Wheat, Soybean and Peanut Peel Flours

The objective of this study was to assess the quality of flour and cookies produced from wheat, soybean, and peanut peel flours. The composite flours of wheat, soybean and peanut peel flours were mixed at different proportions- 100: 0: 0 (Sample A), 90: 5:5 (sample B), 80: 15: 5 (sample C), 70: 20: 10 (sample D) and 60: 30: 10 (sample E) respectively. Functional and physicochemical properties analysis were carried out on control (sample A) and the other flour blends. The water absorption capacity did not show significant difference (p<0.05) and recorded 2.00 g/g for all samples. The oil absorption capacity of the flour increased with inclusion of soybean and peanut peel flours, and ranged from 1.95-2.40 g/g, while the bulk density reduced, and ranged from 0.52-0.65 g/ml. The solubility and swelling power ranged from 7.91-14.70 and 4.07-4.74% respectively. The physicochemical properties of the flour samples ranged from 5.89-6.39 for pH, 2.00-2.40 ºBrix for TSS, while the TTA value ranged 0.05-0.10% Lactic acid. Proximate, energy value, antioxidant properties, physical properties and sensory evaluation of cookies produced from the flour were evaluated. The moisture content ranged from 6.04-3.55%, ash content ranged from 1.12-1.75%, fat content ranged from 8.20-12.39%, crude protein ranged from 10.69-16.28%, crude fibre ranged from 1.84-5.19%, while carbohydrate content and energy value ranged from 61.83-71.29% and 404.42-427.49 kcal/100g respectively. The antioxidant properties ranged from 88.35-16.75mg/kg, 4.21-9.46 mg/100g and 13.79-19.59% for tannin, total phenol and flavonoid respectively. The physical properties of the cookies ranged from 2.80-3.04 cm for diameter, 0.45-0.65 cm for height, while the weight and spread ratio ranged from 3.46-3.95 g and 4.31-6.68 respectively. Sensory evaluation results ranged from 6.70-8.75 for taste, 6.95-8.45 for colour, 7.35-7.75 for flavour, 7.10-8.35 for crunchiness, while the aftertaste and overall acceptability ranged from 6.50-8.60 and 6.97-8.36 respectively. There was no significant difference between the control (sample A) and sample B in all sensory properties evaluated. The use of peanut peel, a food waste to produce cookies have shown to be possible. The incorporation with soybean flour helped improve the crude protein content, as well as the ash, crude fibre, and fat content of the samples.