Textural and functional analysis of sorghum flour cookies as ice cream inclusions

Flour serves as one of the primary ingredients of cookies, which affects dough properties, physical changes during baking, and post-baking cookie properties. Two gluten-free cookie formulations were developed with the goal of use as inclusions in frozen desserts. Blonde and chocolate cookies were made with sorghum flour or all-purpose wheat flour and then evaluated for physical and chemical properties. To determine functionality in a frozen state, texture analysis was conducted on cookies at −30 °C, −17 °C, and 20 °C, replicating various ice cream storage temperatures. To simulate the process effect of incorporating the product into a frozen dessert, cookies were crumbled mechanically, and the crumbles were separated based on size. When evaluating cookies, no significant differences (P < 0.05) were observed in width (W), thickness (T), spread, and W/T ratio for flour source within formula. Blonde cookies had lower moisture contents than chocolate cookies; further, blonde cookies made from sorghum flour had less moisture than those made with wheat flour. As the cookie temperature decreased from 20 °C to −17 °C, cookie hardness increased, with flour type having no effect. Within formula, cookies had similar instrumental color parameters. However, blonde cookies made from sorghum flour produced more smaller-sized pieces than those made from wheat flour. The results of this study demonstrate that sorghum flour cookies have desirable properties for use as inclusions in ice cream and other frozen desserts.