Most cookies are formulated to have a uniform stack height and some, but not excessive, spread. However, some ingredients such as certain flours and sweeteners, shredded coconut and coarse oats or oatmeal without fines, and soft to liquid shortenings increase spread, as does the high moisture content of soft cookies, and the increase can be detrimental to product quality. For example, cookies formulated with desirable polyunsaturated fat, which lowers plasma cholesterol (Surgeon General's Report on Nutrition and Health, Prima Pub. Co., 1988, page 98), yield soft doughs that spread excessively when baked. Cookies formulated with certain sugar substitutes and bulking agents, such as polydextrose, also spread excessively. Cookies that spread too much cannot be filled into standard packages.
Polyunsaturated fats can be hardened by hydrogenation to form a product having more solids that spreads less, but the process yields fats bearing significant amounts of trans-unsaturated fatty acid residues. These have been recently shown to raise low density lipoprotein serum cholesterol levels and to lower high density lipoprotein serum cholesterol levels in adults fed fats having these acids (Mensink, R. P., and Katan, M. B., New Eng. Jour. Med., 323: 439-445 (1990)).
Corn, sorghum, and millet flours have been reported to decrease cookie spread, but the cookies are generally tough, hard and gritty with a mealy texture and taste (U.S. Pat. No. 4,122,206 to Hoseney). The patent suggests that if the flours are hydrated, partially dehydrated and mixed with lecithin, superior results are achieved. The process involves controlled conditions, several steps and considerable time, however. Hydration requires at least 30 minutes, preferably 3 to 15 hours, and afterwards care must be taken during dehydration, which is preferably accomplished by passing dry room temperature or heated air over the grain, so that the grain starch is not gelatinized.
The geometry of reduced-shortening, preferably protein-supplemented, baked products is preserved in U.S. Pat. No. 3,919,434 to Tsen and Hoover, which incorporates from 0.1 to 3% by weight either sodium or calcium salts of acyl lactylates of C.sub.14 to C.sub.22 fatty acids (preferably sodium stearoyl-2-lactylate) in the batter or dough. The compositions require at least one lactylate additive, and, because of its preparative procedure, it can contain, as contaminants, unreacted lactic acid, fatty acids, and other lactylates including polylactylates, and their salts.
Another additive is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,873,098 to Banks, et al., which describes a method for controlling oven spread by including in the cookie dough, in an amount of from about 2 to 20% by weight based upon the weight of the flour, a cold water swelling granular starch material having a cold water solubility of at least 50%, preferably at least 70%. The cold water soluble granular starch material must have specified properties to function properly, and the amount used, which depends upon the amount and type of flour, the amount of moisture, and the amount and type of humectant in the dough, is significant, ranging from about 5 to about 10 parts by weight of the flour in the examples. This adds to preparation costs.
The size and texture of baked cookies have been controlled by adding the required amount and types of sugar in varying portions at different points in the sequence of ingredient addition during dough mixing (U.S. Pat. No. 4,668,522 to Cappel and Cronemiller). One portion of sugar is added with the liquid ingredients, a second portion is added after preparation of a slurry containing shortening and liquid ingredients, and a third portion is added as a final step after all the other liquid and dry ingredients have been combined. The process is quite complicated, and applicable only to baked cookies made from doughs having two types of sugars.
A multi-component leavening system and an edible alkaline agent are used to provide a pleasing open-celled texture and appearance in cookies containing polydextrose, an emulsifier, and a cellulosic bulking agent in a reduced flour, sugar and shortening recipe (U.S. Pat. No. 4,668,519 to Dartey and Biggs). The leavening system comprises specified levels of an edible bicarbonate and/or carbonate salt and a delayed-action acidifier that releases about 50% of the leavening gas during baking. Like the Cappel and Cronemiller disclosure, the Dartey and Biggs formulation and procedure for making the cookies are complicated.
It would be desirable to control cookie geometry when ingredients that can contribute to excessive spread are included in the cookie recipes. It would also be desirable to have methods of modulating cookie geometry without the use of additives or special processing equipment and techniques.