Production and Quality Evaluation of Cookies from Blends of Millet-Pigeon Pea Composite Flour and Cassava Cortex

Millet Flour (MF) and Pigeon Pea Flour (PPF) were produced and blended in the ratio of 65:35 to obtain Millet-Pigeon Pea Flour blend (MPF). Wheat Flour (WF) and MPF were used in ratios of 100:0, 90:10, 80:20, 70:30 and 60:40 to produce cookies which were subjected to sensory evaluation, to isolate the best ratio (80:20). Following this preliminary study, cookies were produced from a combination of Cassava Cortex Flour (CCF), Millet-Pigeon Pea Flour (MPF) and Wheat Flour (WF). CCF was used to substitute different levels of WF in the 80:20 (MF: MPF) blend, to give ratios of WF: MPF: CCF as 100:0:0, 80:20:0, 75:20:5, 70:20:10, 65:20:15 and 60:20:20. The composites were used with other ingredients to produce cookies that were subjected to proximate, energy, antinutrient, microbial and sensory analyses. Their moisture contents ranged from 7.00-8.40, ash 1.05-1.75%, crude fibre 1.25-1.70%, protein 6.25-7.44%, fat 16.40-17.20% and digestible carbohydrate 64.70-66.86%. The ranges of anti-nutrients in the cookies were; 0.09-0.22% tannin, 0.63-1.13% phytate, 0.09-0.15 Hu/mg haemaglutinin and 0.55-1.45% hydrogen cyanide. Sensory evaluation revealed that the cookies had high attributes ratings compared to cookies with 100% wheat flour. The bacteria and mould counts ranged from 0.210-0.810 2 CFU gG 1 .