Cacao seed coat cookies: Chemical, physical, sensory evaluation and consumer acceptability

This investigation assessed consumer acceptance of cookies formulated with varying proportions of ground cacao seed coat (CSC), emphasizing sensory parameters including appearance, aroma, texture, taste, and overall acceptability. Four distinct formulations were developed, incorporating CSC at concentrations ranging from 100% to 25%. Among these, the formulation designated as Treatment 2, containing 75% CSC, achieved the highest mean scores across all evaluated sensory attributes and was subsequently selected for nutritional profiling. All cookie samples maintained a uniform diameter of 4 cm. Although conventional butter cookies also received favorable evaluations, statistical analysis revealed no significant correlation between their sensory ratings and those of the CSC-based variants, suggesting that consumers perceived them as categorically distinct products. These findings imply that offering cookies with differentiated CSC concentrations may accommodate a broader spectrum of consumer taste preferences as sustainable ingredient for cookies production.