Semi-solid fibre syrup for sugar reduction in cookies

Since sugar reduction is a pillar of the international nutritional guideline, the food industry is constantly looking for new ingredients able to replace sugar technological functionality while satisfying the consumer's request for clean label. Based on corn (Zea mays) dextrin and seed coats of chickpeas (testa of Cicer arietinum seed), a fibre syrup was tested as bulking agent in cookies to reach 30% and 50% sugar reduction. Cookies were characterised for their physicochemical, rheological and sensorial attributes. Fibre syrup addition did neither hinder dough workability nor require changes in cookie production procedure. The use of the fibre syrup permitted to partially preserve the structural strength of cookies and increased their red colour index. Moreover, the fibre syrup use allowed to obtain sugar-reduced cookies qualified for ‘reduced in sugar’ and ‘high in fibre’ nutritional claims.