Producing Multi-Textured Cookies Containing Gum

This invention relates to a process and dough composition for producing multi-textured cookies in which the outer layer contains a hydrocolloid gum, which serves to give the outer layer a firm texture.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,444,799 discloses the incorporation of a firm edible gel into a base dough for the preparation of soft edible baked products, especially soft cookies. High fructose corn syrup and sucrose syrup are disclosed as suitable edible viscous liquids for preparing edible firm gels which impart softness to baked products. However, a sucrose-based gel, for example, has a higher viscosity than a sucrose syrup of the same relative proportions of sucrose and water,

Incorporation of such gels into a dough imparts greater viscosity to the resulting dough than would incorporation of the same amounts of sucrose and water as: (1) a sucrose syrup or, (2) separately added sucrose and water. To facilitate dough mixing and to provide the desired consistency to the dough for proper working and shaping, larger quantities of water are added to the dough than would otherwise be needed if the sucrose was not present in a gel. These beneficial effects of water addition upon dough forming and machineability become more significant as greater proportions of sucrose are replaced by a sucrose-based gel.

In the preparation of a multi-textured cookie, retention of the extra water in the baked dough can result in: (1) a water activity which renders the product microbially unstable and/or (2) a loss of firmness in the outer dough due to moisture migration from the inner dough to the outer dough. However, retention of extra water within the filling dough or inner dough is desirable from the standpoint of providing a moist and soft texture.

In addition, as long as the water activity of the baked outer or casing dough is lower than the water activity of the sucrose gel, water will tend to migrate from the gel to the baked outer dough thereby gradually resulting in a loss of dual texture. Depending upon factors such as the final moisture content, the level of sucrose gel used in the filling, the relative amounts or filling and casing dough, and the absorptive properties of the flour, a multi-textured cookie having sucrose in the casing and a sucrose-based gel in the filling may exhibit substantial loss in duality of textures after one to two months even if properly packaged. Similar problems may be encountered in multi-textured cookies which do not contain a humectant gel.

In the present invention, a "firming agent" is included in the outer layer of a multi-textured cookie to aid in retaining a firm texture in the outer layer at high water contents during storage.

This invention provides a process for preparing a multi-textured cookie, in which process flour, a humectant and a fat or shortening are mixed to produce a first cookie dough, flour, a sugar, fat or shortening and a hydrocolloid gum are mixed to produce a second cookie dough, a portion of the first cookie dough is enrobed within a portion of the second cookie dough to produce a composite dough piece, and this composite dough piece is baked to form a multi-textured cookie with a center having a soft and moist texture and a firm outer layer.

This invention also provides a cookie dough composition for producing a multi-textured cookie, this cookie dough composition comprising a center formed of a first cookie dough comprising flour, a humectant and fat or shortening and bakeable to a soft and moist texture, and an outer layer formed of a second cookie dough comprising flour, a sugar, fat or shortening and a hydrocolloid gum, the second cookie dough being bakeable to a firm texture.

In the present invention a hydrocolloid gum is incorporated into the dough used to produce the outer layer of a multi-textured cookie to aid in maintaining a firm texture during storage and to preserve the desired contrast between the soft and moist center and the firm outer layer of the multi-textured cookie.

In order that the outer layer of the multi-textured cookie produced by the process of the present invention may have a sufficiently firm texture to provide the contrast in texture between the outer layer and the soft and moist center, it is preferred that the hydrocolloid gum be present in the outer, or second cookie dough in an amount of from about 0.1 to about 3 percent by weight of the flour in the second cookie dough, and most desirably in an amount of from about 0.3 to about 0.7 percent by weight of the flour in the second cookie dough. In most cases, the optimum amount of hydrocolloid gum for producing a storage-stable firm texture in the outer layer of the multi-textured cookie, without excessive consumption of the hydrocolloid gum, is approximately 0.5 percent by weight of the flour in the second cookie dough.

The hydrocolloid gum used in the process and dough composition of the present invention must of course be edible. The term "edible" as used herein does not necessarily imply a compound which is palatable, or even one which can safely be eaten, in its pure form. Rather, the term is only intended to mean that the compound must be one which is acceptable for use in a food at the concentrations in which it is used in the second cookie dough. As is well known to those skilled in the art, hydrocolloid gums have previously been used in various food products and hence a variety of hydrocolloid gums safe for use in foods are available commercially.

The hydrocolloid gum used in the process and composition of the present invention may be, for example, an alignate gum, a guar gum or a locust bean gum. However, the preferred hydrocolloid gum for use in the process and composition of the invention is xanthan gum. Xanthan gum has a moisture absorbing capacity which is greater than that of other hydrocolloid gums.

Apart from the inclusion of the hydrocolloid gum, the components of the second or casing cookie dough in the process and dough composition of the present invention can be the same as those used in conventional doughs used to produce the outer layers of multitextured cookies. The sugar used in the casing cookie dough may be sucrose or mixtures of sucrose plus other sugars, e.g., 40% to 60% sucrose, 10% to 40% dextrose and 10% to 40% lactose, the weight percentages being based upon the total sugar solids content of the casing dough. The sugar used in the casing cookie dough may if desired incorporate a minor proportion of a humectant sugar such as high fructose corn syrup, molasses, or honey.

The sugar used in the casing cookie dough desirably contains a minor proportion of dextrose, a reducing sugar which promotes browning and hence helps to create the conventional brown color in the baked multi-textured cookie.

The first or filler cookie dough used in the process and dough composition of the present invention may be any of the cookie doughs known to be capable of producing a soft and moist texture in the center of a multi-textured cookie. As is well known to those skilled in the art, a soft and moist texture in the center of a multi-textured cookie can be achieved by including a humectant in the filler cookie dough used to produce this center. When appropriate amounts and types of humectants are added to a cookie dough, the product baked from such a dough will possess a plastic, moist and non-hardening crumb structure, which will be retained during storage in conventional packaging for periods greater than two weeks and up to several months.

A wide variety of food-compatable humectants may be employed for imparting a shelf-stable soft and moist texture to the centers of the multi-textured cookies produced by the process of the present invention. Humectants which can be employed include sugar and/or non-sugar ingredients which bind moisture in a baked dough. If a non-sugar humectant is employed, the filler cookie dough may also need to include a sugar to provide the requisite degree of sweetness to the center of the cookie. The binding should be such that the equilibrium rate of moisture loss from the cookie to the environment due to the presence of the humectant is slowed to such a degree that a multi-textured cookie containing the humectant in its center, and having an initial moisture content of at least about 6 percent, retains in its center a soft and pliable texture for at least about 2 weeks, when the cookie is stored in a closed container.

Edible humectant gels such as a humectant sucrose gel and/or a high fructose corn syrup gel can be used, preferably with other humectants, in the filler cookie dough for achieving a soft and moist texture. The preferred humectant gels are those containing high fructose corn syrup. Preparation of the gels and of doughs containing them for producing soft edible baked products having extended shelf life is taught in U.S. Pat. No. 4,444,799. A humectant sucrose gel can be prepared, for example, from a mixture of sucrose syrup, sodium alignate, and a calcium ion source. The gels may also be prepared as taught in pending U.S. application Ser. No. 712,206 filed Mar. 15, 1985, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,624,856, which is a contination of Ser. No. 580,365, filed Feb. 15, 1984, now abandoned which in turn is a continuation-in-part of the application which issued as U.S. Pat. No. 4,444,799. The aforementioned patent and pending application are both incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

In accordance with the teachings of U.S. application Ser. No. 4,624,856, No. 712,206, a firm gel; capable of being ground is obtained by admixing: (a) from about 0.25 parts by weight to about 4.0 parts by weight, preferably from about 0.5 parts by weight to about 1.5 parts by weight of an edible gum capable of being set by calcium ions, and (b) from about 0.1 parts by weight to about 4 parts by weight, preferably from 0.25 parts by weight to about 1.0 parts by weight of a calcium ion source, said parts being based upon 100 parts by weight of the edible viscous liquid. The ingredients are admixed under high shear mixing conditions which assures an at least substantially lump-free and homogeneous gel.

The edible firm, elastic or rubbery gel is ground into pieces typically at temperatures of from about 65.degree. F. to about 85.degree. F. The ground gel is incorporated into a dough using conventional mixing techniques known in the baking art. The ground gel which is incorporated into the dough is not discernible as pieces in the baked good upon consumption. The amount of water used to produce the gels generally ranges from about 15% by weight to about 35% by weight, based upon the total weight of gel.

A humectant gel for use in the present invention can be prepared by using sucrose syrup and/or high fructose corn syrup as the edible viscous liquid, sodium alginate as the edible gum, and food grade calcium sulfate dihydrate as the calcium ion source. Other gums which may be employed include potassium alginate, ammonium alginate, carrageenan, guar gum, locust bean gum, starch, protein, Xanthan gum, mixtures thereof, and the like. Other calcium ion sources which may be employed include food grade monocalcium phosphate anhydrous, calcium sulfate, calcium carbonate, calcium lactate, calcium monohydrogen phosphate, dicalcium orthophosphate dihydrate, tricalcium phosphate, calcium chloride, mixtures thereof, and the like. Weight ratios of sodium alignate/edible calcium ion source in the range of about 1 to 3 are generally used. Propylene glycol and glycerine may be used as dispersing agents for the calcium source or the sodium alignate.

Humectant sugars may be employed alone or in combination with non-humectant sugars (such as sucrose) in the filler cookie dough to impart a soft and moist texture to the center of the multi-textured cookie. Suitable humectant sugars include fructose, dextrose, corn syrups, invert syrups, high fructose corn syrups, honey, molasses, as well as mixtures of one or more of the foregoing humectants with sucrose. For example, a suitable humectant sugar composition for use in the filler cookie dough may comprise about 0 to 87 percent sucrose, with the balance of the sugar being comprised of fructose and/or dextrose employed in the form of crystallized sugar. Alternatively, the balance of the sugar may be provided by the sugar solids content of a corn syrup, honey or a high fructose corn syrup, or another humectant sugar.

Commercially available high fructose corn syrups are prepared by the enzymatic isomerization of dextrose containing corn syrups, and typically posses a sugar solids component of about 40 percent to about 100 percent by weight fructose, with the balance of the non-fructose sugar solids being primarily dextrose plus minor amounts of other monosaccharides. The sugar solids content of commercially available high fructose corn syrups typically ranges from about 70 percent to about 73 percent, up to about 82 percent by weight. Examples of other humectant sugars include maltose, sorbose, mannose, lactose and galactose.

In addition to the humectant sugars, a wide variety of humectants which are not sugars and which all possess a low degree of sweetness relative to sucrose may also be employed in the filler cookie dough. For example, the use of glycerol, sugar alcohols such as mannitol, maltitol, xylitol and sorbitol, and other polyols, as humectants is well known in the art. Additional examples of humectant polyols (i.e. polyhydric alcohols) include humectant glycols, hydrogenated glucose syrups, sugar esters, dextrins, and other starch hydrolyzation products. However, the humectant sugars are preferred because of their sweetness.

The total sugar solids content of the casing dough bakeable to the firm outer layer of the cookie of the present invention may range from about 25 to about 150 pounds, typically from about 50 to 110 pounds, per 100 pounds of the flour component of the dough, depending upon the degree of sweetness desired in the outer portion of the cookie, and the type of cookie.

In the filler dough bakeable to a soft and moist texture, on the basis of 100 pounds of the flour component of the filler dough, the humectant plus any sucrose or other sweetener employed (e.g., artifical sweetners) in the formulation may be present in amounts ranging from about 25 to about 150 pounds depending on the degree of sweetness and humectant properties desired in the baked product.

The total sugar solids content (exclusive of inclusions) of the filler dough may typically be from about 50 to about 110 pounds of sugar per 100 pounds of the flour component of the filler dough.

The flour and shortening employed in the filler and casing cookie doughs used in the process and dough composition of the present invention are selected from conventional ingredient lines. The flour component may be any comminuted cercral grain or edible seed meal such as wheat flour, corn flour, corn starch, modified starch, rice flour, potato flour, barley flour, or the like. Wheat flour is preferred and may be bleached or unbleached. Bleached flour tends to produce less oven spread during baking. The shortening may be any edible fat or oil or mixtures thereof suitable for baking applications, and may futher include conventional food-grade emulsifiers. The shortening may be present in each dough in amounts ranging from about 20 percent to about 80 percent of the weight of flour in the dough.

Each of the doughs may contain up to about 5 percent by weight of a leavening system, based upon the weight of the flour in each dough. The leavening system employed in each dough may be the same or different.

In addition to the foregoing, the filler and casing cookie doughs used in the process and dough composition of the invention may include other additives conventionally employed in cookies. Such additives may include, for example, milk products or milk by-products, egg or egg by-products, cocoa, vanilla, cereal (oatmeal) as well as inclusions such as nuts, raisins, coconut, flavor chips such as chocolate chips, butterscotch chips and caramel chips, and the like.

The filler and casing cookie doughs can each be prepared in a conventional manner using a creaming stage and a dough forming stage. However, it is not desirable to add the hydrocolloid gum in its pure form directly to the other components of the dough, since this tends to f cause the gum to absorb moisture from the outer components of the dough during the preparation of the dough, whereas, it is preferred that the hydrocolloid gum not absorb moisture during the preparation of the dough in order that the gum may retain its maximum water absorption capacity for absorption of water which migrates from the center to the outer layer in the baked cookie.

To prevent water absorption by the hydrocolloid gum during preparation of the dough, the hydrocolloid gum is desirably enrobed in fat or shortening before being added to the other ingredients of the casing cookie dough. The enrobing of the hydrocolloid gum may be achieved by any of the conventional techniques for enrobing dry pulverulent powders which will be familiar to those skilled in the art. However, since the hydrocolloid gums are easily enrobed in fat or shortening, in the process of the present invention such enrobing is most simply achieved by reserving a portion of the fat or shortening when the ingredients of the casing cookie dough are mixed in the usual creaming and dough-forming stages, mixing the reserved portion of the fat or shortening with the hydrocolloid gum, and then adding the resultant mixture of fat or shortening and hydrocolloid gum to an "intermediate" dough which contains the flour, sugar and remaining fat or shortening. In order to minimize the exposure of the hydrocolloid gum to the unbaked dough, and hence minimize the water absorption by the gum from the unbaked dough, the addition of the mixture of fat or shortening and the gum should be the last step in the preparation of the casing cookie dough, except that if the casing cookie dough is to contain flavor chips, the addition of the mixture of fat or shortening and the gum should precede the addition of the flavor chips.

Only a minor proportion of the fat or shortening need be reserved for mixing with the hydrocolloid gum. For example, we have found that pre-mixing of xanthan gum with about twice its own weight of vegetable shortening sufficiently protects the gum from absorbing water from the unbaked dough. Thus, in a typical dough composition of the present invention in which the casing cookie dough contains (among other ingredients) 100 parts by weight of flour, 50 parts by weight of vegetable shortening and 0.5 parts by weight of xanthan gum, only 2 percent of the total vegetable shortening need be reserved for use in enrobing the xanthan gum. The reservation of this very small proportion of the vegetable of this very small portion of the vegetable shortening for use in enrobing the gum-will not cause any problems during the creaming or dough-forming stages of the preparation of the casing cookie dough.

Xanthan gum has previously been used as a moisture retention agent in cakes and breads. In such use, the xathan gum is used in an unencapsulated form so that it becomes hydrated during baking, thereby retaining moisture in the cakes and breads and producing a soft texture therein. This use of xanthan gum is in contrast to its use in the process and dough composition of the present invention, in which the xanthan gum is used to produce a firm texture in the outer layer.

If flavor chips are to be added to either or both cookie doughs, they are preferably added as the last ingredient to the dough with minimal mixing so as to avoid smearing of the flavor chips into the dough. Before being combined with the casing cookie dough, the filler cookie dough is preferably cooled to about 60.degree. F. to about 65.degree. F. (about 15.6.degree. to about 18.3.degree. C.) using carbon dioxide snow to facilitate its transfer to a coextruder.

The initial moisture content of the casing dough and of the filler dough are each adjusted to provide the desired consistency to the dough to enable proper mixing, working and shaping of each dough and of the coextrudate. The total moisture content of the filler and casing doughs will include any water included as a separately added ingredient, as well as the moisture provided by flour (which usually contains about 12% to 14% by weight moisture), the moisture provided by the optional humectant gel, and the moisture content of other dough additives included in the formulation, such as high fructose corn syrup, invert syrups, or other liquid humectants. Taking into account all sources of moisture in the dough, including separately added water, the total initial moisture content of the casing dough is generally less than about 15% by weight of the dough formulation, exclusive of particulate inclusions such as nuts, raisins, chocolate chips, and the like. At moisture contents about above 15% by weight, the dough compositions may tend to stick excessively to processing equipment such as conveyors, dough cutters, and the like. The initial moisture content of the filler cookie dough is generally at least about 15% by weight more than the initial moisture content of the casing cookie dough.

The two cookie doughs may be combined by coextrusion through concentric dies to obtain a coextrudate rope with the filler, soft cookie dough inside and the casing, firm cookie dough outside. The coextrudate rope is cut into pieces using a reciprocating cutter which severs the rope and stretches the casing, outer dough to close the end portions of the rope so as to obtain a composite dough piece in which a center formed of the filler cookie dough is completely surrounded by an outer layer formed of the casing cookie dough, this composite dough piece thus being bakeable to form a multi-textured cookie.

The composite dough pieces suitably have a weight ratio of the filler dough to the casing dough within the range from about 0.80 to 1.2, approximately equal amounts of each dough being preferred.

The time and temperature of baking are adjusted in accordance with conventional techniques to provide a moisture content in the baked cookie of 6 percent or more. The preferred moisture content ranges from about 7 percent to about 9.5 percent based upon the weight of the baked cookie. The water activity of the baked cookie should be less than about 0.7, preferably less than or equal to about 0.6, to assure microbial shelf stability. While baking time and temperatures will vary for different dough formulations, oven types, etc., in general commercial cookie baking times may range from about 5 minutes to about 15 minutes and baking temperatures for cookies may range from about 250.degree. F. (121.degree. C.) to about 500.degree. F. (260.degree. C.).

The following example is now given, by way of illustration only wherein all parts, ratios and percentages are by weight unless otherwise stated.

A filler cookie dough was formulated from the following ingredients:

The filler cookie dough was prepared using an upright mixer. The sugar, vegetable shortening, modified corn starch, spray-dried whole eggs, salt and vanilla were placed in the mixing bowl and mixed for three minutes. The ammonium bicarbonate was then added dissolved in part of the water, together with the oaramel, the remaining water and the high fructose corn syrup, and the mixing continued for a further two minutes. The sucrose gel was added and, with continued mixing, carbon dioxide snow was introduced into the mixture to cool the mixture to a final temperature of 60.degree.-62.degree. F. (15.6.degree.-16.7.degree. C.). After the mixture had been cooled to this temperature, mixing was continued for a further one minute, the flour, sodium bicarbonate and sodium acid pyrophosphate added and the mixing continued for a further three minutes. Finally, the chocolate drops were added and the mixing continued for a further one minute to produce the finished filler cookie dough.

A casing cookie dough was formulated from the following ingredients:

The casing cookie dough was formulated using the same mixer as in the preparation of the filler cookie dough described above. One part by weight of the vegetable shortening was reserved for use in enrobing the xanthan gum. Half the sucrose, together with the remaining vegetable shortening, dextrose, salt, spray-dried eggs, vanilla and soybean oil were added to the mixer and mixed for three minutes. Next, the molasses, caramel and water were added mixing continued for a further one minute. The flour, sodium bicarbonate and sodium acid pyrophosphate were then added and the mixing continued for a further two minutes. The remaining half of the sucrose was added and the mixing continued for a further two minutes to form an intermediate casing cookie dough.

The xanthan gum was then mixed with the reserved one part by weight vegetable shortening in a blender. The resultant vegetable shortening-enrobed xanthan gum was then added to the intermediate casing cookie dough prepared as described above and the mixing continued for a further one minute. Finally, the chocolate drops were added and the mixing continued for a final one minute to prepare the finished casing cookie dough.

The filler and casing cookie doughs were then combined by coextrusion through a concentric die into a coextrudate rope in which a cylinder of the filler cookie dough was surrounded by the casing cookie dough. This rope was severed with a reciprocating cutter having hemispherically shaped dough forming sections to form composite dough pieces in which a center comprising approximately 6.5 grams of the filler cookie dough was surrounded by an outer layer comprising approximately 6.5 grams of the casing cookie dough. These composite dough pieces were then baked at 350.degree. F. (177.degree. C.) for 7 minutes.