How are the biscuits formulated?

ANVISA (National Health Security Agency) states that cookies or crackers are products made by mixing flours, starches and/or starches with other ingredients, which are subjected to kneading and baking processes, and may or may not be fermented.

How are cookies classified?

Cookies or crackers can have different topping, shape, filling and texture options, and can be identified as: savory, sweet, stuffed, coated, grissini, waffles and stuffed waffles. They are also classified as cookies, crackers for snacks, snacks or savory snacks. They can be classified according to their modeling/cutting, and can be laminated, rotary or molded, such as stuffed, extruded and cut with wires – such as donuts and cookies – and also deposited (such as wafers).

How are cookies made?

Flour, sugar, fat/oil and a rising agent are generally the basic components that make up a cookie or biscuit.

Their quantities vary, as they give specific characteristics to each product. Depending on the desired final product, they may be accompanied by cereals, starches, emulsifiers, aromas, stabilizers, vitamins and minerals with nutritional and/or technological functions.

Flour

Flour is the ingredient found in the largest quantity in cookies or biscuits. Essential for obtaining a product with a differentiated texture, it has a lower protein content, which directly influences the formation of gluten.

Sugar

There are several sugar options on the market, such as: refined white, demerara, brown, organic, coconut sugar, inverted, honey and glucose. Sugar is responsible for giving more flavor, color, texture, resistance and finishing the product. For less sweet products, sugars with larger granulometry are used, which have a longer and slower dissolution time when compared to sugars with smaller crystals. For products with more sweetness and crunchiness, the ideal is to use sugars with smaller granulometry, which demonstrate less expansion.

Fats and oils

Fats and oils are some of the agents that inhibit the formation and development of gluten – a complex formed by proteins, water and minerals that is not desired in the production of cookies – this happens through the formation of a ‘‘barrier’’ that prevents the proteins from reaching the flours.

Soybean, palm, olive, sesame and corn oils are widely used, as well as vegetable fat.

Raising agents

Raising agents or leavening agents stimulate the growth of the dough, providing pH adjustment and providing better performance of the Maillard reaction – a chemical reaction between an amino acid or protein and a reducing carbohydrate, obtaining products that give flavor, odor and color to food – ensuring incorporation or production of air, growth and texture of the dough.