Valorization and characterization of red banana (Musa acuminata) peel powder for the development of functional cookies

Red banana peel (RBP) is rich in fibre and various bioactive compounds, yet they are wasted. The current study aims to use RBP to formulate healthy cookies to address by-product utilization. This study investigates the RBP powder (RBPP) at varying concentrations (5–20%) in cookies, comparing its impact on product quality and nutritional characteristics with conventional cookies. The study includes the analyses of proximate conformation, functional, physical, and antioxidant properties, phenolic content, and qualitative phytochemical screening. The results are intriguing, with differing concentrations in the overall analyses. Proximate composition revealed that increasing RBPP composition increased the contents of fibre, fat, and ash. The phenolic content rose to 48 mg/g GAE, thus describing the significant variations between those supplied from RBP and conventional cookies. The diameter and color intensity of the cookies increased with the addition of RBPP. Additionally, the cookie hardness improved noticeably (from 3.67 to 5.43 kg), which added to their crisp and firm bite. The overall color attributes were altered significantly. The sensory evaluation, based on a 7-scale Hedonic rating, concluded that the 5% (6.78) and 10% (6.61) RBPP were accepted better than 20% (4.85) RBPP-based cookies among most panelists. Thus, RBPP has the potential for interesting industrial applications in producing crispy, aesthetically pleasing, and nutritionally enhanced cookies.