Physico-chemical properties of low-fat cookies containing wheat and oat bran gels as fat replacers

Wheat and oat bran-based fat replacers in the form of gels were used for partial replacement of fat (30-50%) in a cookie formulation. Dough rheological properties, physical (cookie dimension, weight loss, moisture content and water activity), textural (hardness and fracturability), colour and sensory parameters were evaluated to characterize full-fat and fat-reduced cookies. Based on the obtained results it was concluded that the fat reduction in cookie formulation at the level of 30% maintained sensory properties of the full-fat cookies. Therefore, this level of fat replacement was chosen for further analysis: 30% WBG (wheat bran gel-containing cookies) and 30% OBG (oat bran gel-containing cookies) were examined in terms of nutritional and functional properties. It was revealed that fat replacement using bran gels at the level of 30% resulted in the fat-reduced added-value cookies in terms of dietary fibre, minerals and phenolics. 30% WBG cookies possessed higher dietary fibre, mineral and phenolic content in comparison to 30% OBG and the full-fat cookies.