Delicious and nutritious: Resistant starch may boost fiber content & taste of cookies

Replacing wheat flour with resistant starches may improve the nutritional profile of cookies that are also tastier than ‘conventional’ cookies, says new research.

“The results show good potential of resistant starch as a functional ingredient in terms of its application in the production of cookies and related products rich in dietary fiber,” report Serbian researchers in the Journal of Texture Studies.

Starches can be divided into three groups: rapidly digestible starch (RDS, digested within 20 minutes), slowly digestible starch (SDS, digested between 20 and 120 minutes), and resistant starch (RS). The latter is not digested but is fermented in the large intestine and has 'prebiotic' properties.

Resistant starch can be found naturally in cold cooked potatoes, pasta and rice as well as baked beans and lentils. The new study employed two types of resistant starch – type 3 (ActiStar C 11700) and 4 (ActiStar RT 75330) both from Cargill, Inc.

The use of resistant starch in the confectionery/ snack industry is just beginning, said the researchers, and there are few studies published that explore its effects in short dough cookies and similar products.

Study details

The Serbian scientists tested the effects of resistant starches type 3 and 4 as flour replacers at levels of 0, 5, 10, and 15%.

Resistant starch doughs were more elastic because the ingredient has a good ability to bind water, they said.

“Resistant starch has better taste, color and aroma than ‘conventional’ fibers,” wrote the researchers.

“The application of resistant starch in cookie formulations can improve nutritional quality of cookies by increasing the fiber content and reducing the energy value.

“The present results demonstrated that both RS ingredients have good potential for developing fiber-rich cookies and similar products.”

Source: Journal of Texture Studies

Published online ahead of print, doi: 10.1111/jtxs.12003

“Rheological and Textural Properties of Short (Cookie) Dough Made with Two Types of Resistant Starch”

Authors: M. Milasinovic Seremesic, L. Dokic, I. Nikolic, M. Radosavljevic, D. Soronja Simovic