Dough rheological, Mixolab mixing, and nutritional characteristics of almond cookies with and without xylanase

The effects of California almond skin flour (CASF) and xylanase on empirical dough rheology of the flour and texture of cookies as well as sensory evaluation were evaluated. Mixolab and Rapid Viscosity Analyzer studies showed that CASF addition resulted in higher water absorption (MWA), a longer development time (MDT) and a lower peak viscosity (RPV). Xylanase incorporation into the dough caused a higher MWA and RPV, and a lower MDT. The CASF made the dough less sticky, but xylanase played the reverse role. The 20% addition of CASF produced cookies with greater spread ratio and lower breaking force. Xylanase allowed the amount of CASF to be increased from 20% to 23%, which improved protein and dietary fiber (DF) contents, particularly water-soluble DF, while the spread ratio and breaking force remained unaffected. Sensory evaluation results showed good overall acceptability scores for the CASF cookies with and without xylanase.