Anne C. Sahé¹, Jacob K. Agbenorhevi^1,, Faustina D. Wireko-Manu¹

Cookie, a popular baked product, could be prepared from non-wheat flour because of its negligible gluten requirement. Developing nutritious cookies from indigenous crops can create an avenue for adding value to neglected protein-rich food sources such as ackee fruit arils and groundnut while enhancing cassava flour utilization by gluten intolerants or celiac disease patients. The objective of this study was to develop cassava-ackee-groundnut composite cookies and evaluate their nutritional and sensory properties. Seven composite flours (F1-F7) were used for the cookies along with 100% cassava flour as control. Proximate composition and mineral contents (Ca, P, Na and Mg) were determined by standard methods. Eighty consumers evaluated the acceptability levels of the cookies on a 9-point hedonic scale; 1 (dislike extremely), 5 (neither like nor dislike) and 9 (like extremely). The most preferred cookies, F1 and F7, with more than 52% cassava flour substitution, ratios of (48.33: 38.33: 13.33) and (45: 35: 20) for cassava flour, aril meal and groundnut meal, respectively, were quantitatively described by thirteen trained panellists. The composite cookies had high mean ranges of 35.5-39.9%; 1.9-3.1%; 6.7-8.3%; 509.1-579.7 Kcal/100g, 0.07-0.11% and 0.26-0.35% for fat, fibre, protein, calculated energy, phosphorus and sodium, respectively. All the samples were acceptable (mean scores above 5). F1 and F7 were more intense in colour (brownish), less crisp and less hard with a well perceived groundnut aroma and taste than wheat and cassava cookies. The developed cookies could therefore constitute a first step in the development of an improved snack to meet the population needs and generate business opportunities.

cassava, ackee arils, groundnut, cookies, nutrients, sensory properties