Fond Qualilyand PreferenceVol. 9, No. l/2, pp.
13-20, 1998
ELSEVIER PII: 50950-3293(97)00017-7
REPIACINGSUGARAND FATINCOOKIES:lMPACTON
PRODUCTQUALITYANDPREFERENCE
Adam Drewnowski,a* Kristina
“Human Nutrition
Program, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, USA
bBeth Israel Hospital, Boston, USA
Tufts University Schools of Medicine and Nutrition, Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts
University, Frances Stern Nutrition Center, New England Medical Center Hospital, 750 Washington St, Boston, MA, USA
(Accepted
ABSTRACT
Sugar and fat are two key ingredients of cookies and other
baked desserts. Food writers frequently advise reducing the
amount of sugar in cookie recipes as a method for arriving at
a lower-calorie product. An alternative strategy, reducing the
fat content of cookies, may reduce calories even further, while
maintaining high overall product acceptability levels. This
study showed that sweetness was the key sensory attribute that
determined preferences for cookies. Acceptability ratings for
cookies dropped sharpb following a 25% reduction in recipe
sugar levels, but were relatively una$ctedfollowing a 25%
reduction in recipe fat content. 0 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd.
All rights reserved.
Keywords: Sugar; fat; cookie recipes; product acceptability;
sensory attributes; texture; jlavor; sweetness.
INTRODUCTION
Many cookies and other sweet baked goods contain large
amounts of sugar and fat (Pennington, 1994). According
to the USDA Food Guide Pyramid (United States
Department of Agriculture & United States Department
of Health and Human Services, 1992) and the more
recent Dietary Guidelines for Americans (USDA and
DHHS, 1995), dietary sugars and fats should be con-
sumed only in moderation. In translating dietary guide-
lines into food recipes for the general public, the overall
emphasis has been on reducing the fat content of foods.
However, when it comes to cookies, food writers suggest
that decreasing the amount of added sugar in cookie
recipes is the best way of obtaining a healthier and lower-
calorie product. A better alternative, for both theoretical
and practical reasons, may be to decrease the fat content
*To whom correspondence should be addressed.
0 1998 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd
All rights reserved. Printed in Great Britain
0950-3293/98 $19.00+ .oo
Nordenstenb & Johanna DwyerC
16 April 1997)
of cookies. Reducing fat content of sweet baked goods
would reduce calories even further, while preserving the
sensory quality and the acceptability of the product.
This study was designed to test the hypothesis that
reducing fat content of cookies would have less impact on
product quality than reducing their sugar content. A sub-
sidiary hypothesis was that the sensory panel would
immediately perceive a reduction in the sweetness of
cookies, but would be less sensitive to corresponding
manipulations of Fat content. These two hypotheses were
directly suggested by past studies on sensory aspects of
sugar/fat mixtures (Drewnowski, 1987a; Drewnowski and
Schwartz, 1990). However, those early studies had an
important limitation, since they had been conducted only
with dairy fats and had been restricted to liquid and semi-
solid foods. More recent studies conducted by other inves-
tigators continued to use dairy fats as the stimuli of choice
(Mela, 1988; Warwick and Schiffman, 1990; Monneuse et
al., 1991; Bacon et al., 1994; Crystal et al., 1995). One aim
of the present study was to examine whether hedonic
responses profiles that had been obtained with a range of
sweet milkshakes, cake frostings, and ice cream would also
hold for a selection of baked cookies. Only a few studies
had compared consumer responses to sugar and fat con-
tent in liquid and in solid foods (Drewnowski et al., 1989).
It is well known that consumers are highly sensitive to
even small variations in sweetness, particularly in water
solutions (Moskowitz et al., 1974; Drewnowski, 19876).
Though individual sweetness preferences may vary,
group hedonic responses for sugar solutions and sweet-
ened beverages typically show a sharply defined opti-
mum point or breakpoint at approximately 10% sucrose
wt/vol (Moskowitz et al., 1974). Sensory evaluations of
sweet milkshakes, sweetened cream cheese, cake frostings
or ice cream also showed a well-defined breakpoint for
sweetness (Drewnowski and Greenwood, 1983; Drew-
nowski et al., 1987u,b, 1989; Drewnowski and Schwartz,
1990). Similar results were obtained in studies using
sweetened fromage blanc, a creamy dessert type white
cheese (Martin et al., 1989; Monneuse et al., 1991; Simon
et al., 1993). In all cases, preferences declined sharply for
those products that were judged as being too sweet. The
13
14 A. Drewnowski et al.
sugar content of the best-liked product varied depending
on the model food system employed, and was generally
higher for solid as opposed to liquid foods (Moskowitz et
al., 1974; Drewnowski and Schwartz, 1990).
In contrast, consumers were far less sensitive to the
oral sensation of fat in foods (Drewnowski, 1987;
Drewnowski et al., 1989; Warwick and Schiffman, 1990;
Mela and Sacchetti, 1991). One problem with sensory
evaluation of fat content is that the presence of fat in
foods is associated with a wide range of textural charac-
teristics, from smooth and creamy, to chewy, crunchy
and brittle. Fats provide texture and bulk to foods, hold
water, provide a mechanism for heat transfer at high
temperatures, and act as a carrier for fat-soluble flavor
molecules. As a result, no single textural attribute can be
unambiguously associated with the fat content of foods
(Drewnowski, 1987a). In liquid dairy products, where fat
is present in the form of microglobules, smoothness,
creaminess and viscosity generally serve as the principal
sensory cues for fat content as well as a measure of prod-
uct quality (Cooper, 1987). In solid foods, fats have been
associated with the tenderness and juiciness of meat,
crispness of potato chips, and with the melting quality of
chocolate. However, it is unclear what sensory charac-
teristics are associated with the fat content of solid cook-
ies and whether these qualities are common or differ
between one cookie recipe and another. Another ques-
tion is how the perceived fat content of cookies is related
to product quality and to overall food acceptance.
Oral perception of fat in solid foods tends to be
unreliable, and subjects are sometimes unable to distin-
guish between high- and low-fat versions of the same
food (Warwick and Schiffman, 1990). In one study,
(Drewnowski et al., 1989), subjects rated low-fat and
high-fat versions of sweetened cream cheese mixtures as
approximately the same. In other studies, conducted
with mixtures of milk, cream and sugar, hedonic response
profiles ascended only gradually with increasing fat con-
tent or remained flat (Drewnowski and Greenwood, 1983;
Drewnowski et al., 1989). Warwick and Schiffman (1990)
observed that the elderly, in particular, were relatively
insensitive to the fat content of foods, suggesting that
they might find reduced-fat foods entirely acceptable.
These findings suggested to us that reducing the amount
of fat in foods might have less of an impact on overall
hedonic ratings than reducing sugar content. However,
with some exceptions (Mela and Sacchetti, 1991) most
previous studies on preferences for sugar/fat mixtures
have been carried out with liquid or semi-liquid products,
such as milkshakes, cake frostings, ice cream, or sweetened
mixtures of dessert-type soft cheese (fromage blanc)
(Drewnowski et al., 1987a,b; Mela, 1988; Drewnowski and
Holden-Wiltse, 1992). Fewer studies attempted to manip-
ulate the sugar or fat content of solid foods (Moskowitz et
al., 1974; Mela and Sacchetti, 1991). We therefore
examined the impact of reducing sugar, fat, or both on
sensory profiles and preference ratings for a number of
popular cookies, as judged by two taste panels.
Reducing fat in foods has become a public health issue.
Among health goals listed in the Healthy People 2000
Report (US DHHS 1991) was the creation of some 5000
brand name products that are reduced in fat and satu-
rated fat. The food industry has risen to the challenge in
developing a number of low-fat or fat-free cookies. For
the most part, the oral sensation of fat in such products
was supplied by a variety of other ingredients, notably
modified starches and gels, fibers and gums, maltodex-
trim, and of course simple sugar. In some cases, replacing
fat with starch has led to the creation of a fat-free cookie
that was higher in calories than the original recipe.
In designing stimuli for the present study, we decided
against the use of fat substitutes. The use of modified star-
ches and gels is outside the scope of a typical home kitchen.
Furthermore, most recipes for reduced calorie cookies
call for reducing the amount of sugar and fat, with the
major emphasis on reducing sugar content. Yet from the
standpoint of cookie recipes, reducing fat content might
have less effect on taste, texture, appearance and overall
acceptability than could be achieved by a comparable
reduction in sugar. From the nutritional standpoint,
lower-fat cookies would also be lower in saturated fat and
cholesterol, and proportionately higher in carbohydrate.
Appetite for fats is a characteristic feature of human
obesity. Children’s preferences for fat in foods are influ-
enced, moreover by parents’ fatness indices (Fischer and
Birch, 1995). One concern regarding the use of low-fat or
low-sugar foods been that a caloric deficit at one meal
would simply be compensated for at the next meal, or
later on during the day. Studies in which subjects con-
sumed either high- or low-fat preloads indeed showed
that active young males compensated for the missing
energy by consuming extra carbohydrates, with a result-
ing shift in the carbohydrate to fat ratio (Rolls and
Hammer, 1995). In contrast, young women presented
with low-sugar breakfasts compensated for only a frac-
tion of the missing calories, while overweight and dieting
women failed to compensate altogether (Drewnowski,
1995). In general, studies on sugar substitutes (aspar-
tame) and on fat replacements (olestra) showed that
there was a net advantage to using lower-energy foods
(Rolls and Hammer, 1995). Since dieters typically avoid
sweet and high fat foods such as cookies, creating accep-
table low-energy recipes would be one step toward
improving the control of body weight, without compro-
mising quality of life.
METHODSAND PROCEDURES
Subjects
Members of the sensory panel were 16 young normal-
weight men and women recruited by advertising on the
Tufts University Health Sciences Campus (eight men
and eight women). Mean age was 32.2 years for men and
 Replacing Sugar and Fat in Cookies 15

28.0 years for women. Body mass indices (BMI = kg/m’) a 25% reduction in added sugarsugar), a 25%
(75%
were 21.2 for men and 23.5 for women. The subjects reduction in added fat (75% reduction in
fat), a 25%
were non-restrained as ascertained by the restraint scale both sugar and fat (75% sugar/fat), and a 50% reduc-
(Herman, 1978), were free of eating disorders as ascer- tion in fat (50% fat). In all cases, reduction in sugar and
tained by the EAT scale (Garner and Garfinkel, 1979), fat content was achieved simply by reducing the amount
and were not following a weight-reducing or a vegetarian of sugar or butter expressed in common household
diet. All subjects were regular consumers of cookies and measures per batch of cookies, as is normally done in
other sweet baked goods. The subjects were divided into food preparation in the home. There was no attempt to
two panels of eight persons each, approximating trained replace the sugar or fat with intense sweeteners, bulking
sensory panels. The study had been approved by the agents, or any of the available fat replacement products.
Tufts-New England Medical Center Human Investiga- Whereas ingredient substitution is the usual case in coo-
tion Review Committee and the subjects signed informed kie preparation in the food industry, it is not in the
consent forms. Subjects received modest monetary com- home. The recipes are summarized in Table 1.
pensation for completing all study protocols. The present study design approximated the full fac-
Subjects were required to come to the laboratory for a torial design of previous studies (Drewnowski et al.,
total of four 1 h visits. Tasting sessions were regularly 1987a,b; Drewnowski and Schwartz, 1990). However, for
held between 11 am and 1 pm. The subjects were asked culinary and baking reasons, some reduced sugar and fat
to eat their usual breakfast on the day of testing and to recipes did not yield an acceptable cookie-like product
avoid consuming any snacks between that meal and the and could not be used. Furthermore, reducing sugar and
tasting session in order to eliminate major variations in fat by 25-50% more closely approximated the suggested
hunger or satiety. culinary practices in the home. Of course, as fat or sugar
were removed and no replacement products were used,
Stimuli the proportions of other ingredients had to increase.
Thus, the proportion of sugar (wt/wt) in toll house
The stimuli were six different types of cookies, including cookies rose from 2 1% in the control recipe to 23% in
biscotti (two types), brownies, oatmeal cookies, peanut the 50% fat reduction recipe.
butter cookies and tollhouse cookies. The recipes for each The cookies were prepared in a test kitchen by two
cookie can be obtained from the second author (K.N.). professional chefs on the day before the testing sessions.
Six different conditions were used for each type of cookie: The recipes and baking techniques had been standardized
two sets of the original recipe (Standard recipe 1 and 2), to minimize differences in quality between successive

TABLE 1. Summary of Cookie Recipes

lllgedimts Tollhouse Peanut butter Oatmeal Brownies Biscotti

cookies cookies cookies land2

g Household g Household g Household g Household g Household

measures measures measures measures measures

Sugar
Control 259 1; c 172 lc 172 lc 400 2c 200 1c
75% sugar 194 1 c 2 tbs. 130 fC 130 iC 300 1; c 150 $C

Butter
Control 227 1c 113 ;C 113 +C 227 1c 170 ?C

75% butter 170 ZC 85 6 tbs. 85 6 tbs. 170 3C 113 fC

50% butter 113 $2 57 4 tbs. 57 4 tbs. 113 fC 85 6 tbs.

Flour 281 2+c 125 lc 125 lc 125 lc 375 3c

Eggs, beaten 88 2 44 1 44 1 176 4 176 4
Baking powder -- 5 1 tsp.
Baking soda 5 1 tsp. 2.5 4 tsp. 5 1 tsp. 14 3 tsp.
Salt 6 1 tsp. 3 f tsp. 6 1 tsp. 1.5 ; tsp. 3 4 tsp.
Vanilla extract 5 1 tsp. 2.5 4 tsp. 5 1 tsp. 5 1 tsp. 7 1; tsp.
Other
Chocolate -- ~ 114 4 0s
Choc. chips 340 2c
Peanut butter -- - 256 lc
Rolled oats 81 IC

Milk -- 15 1 tbs.
Almond extract -- - - 7 1; tsp.
16 A. Drewnowski et al.

batches of the same product. Each batch of cookies was Acceptability

wrapped in plastic and then placed in a sealed plastic
bag labeled with an individual code letter. The cookies 7

were stored overnight in the refrigerator at 4°C and were

brought to room temperature before testing.
1 T T

Since the aim of the study was to compare the reduced

added sugar and fat products with standard recipes, we
employed a repeated measures design, The original
recipes were tested twice for a total of 36 presentations.
The subjects thus participated in four 1 h experimental
sessions, tasting different variations of each cookie per
session. The stimuli were presented in a randomized
order, and the subjects rinsed their mouths with plain
water between tasting successive samples.

Sensory evaluations 100% 75%

Fat
50% 100% 75%
.SlJg;lr
7-5!75%
FNSU~

The subjects were asked to taste each cookie in turn and
rate it along a number of g-point category scales. The
first scale rated overall hedonic preference. It ranged
from “dislike extremely” to “like extremely” with a
neutral point at 5 (“neither like nor dislike”). The sub-
jects then rated their liking for the texture, flavor, and
appearance of each cookie, again using g-point hedonic
preference scales. Ratings of preference were followed by
ratings of taste and texture attributes. The subjects rated
the cookies using g-point unipolar attribute scales,
including sweet, buttery, moist, soft, chewy, and tender,
as well as greasy, crumbly, mealy and dry. The scales
were anchored at each extreme with “not at all
and “extremely _“. Similar procedures had been used
in previous studies (Brandt et al., 1963; Drewnowski, 1987).
Statistical analyses
Hedonic preference and sensory evaluation data were
analyzed using SPSS for Windows (SPSS Inc, Chicago,
IL). Analysis of variance for repeated measures, with
cookie type, and the added sucrose and fat levels as
within-subject variables was based on two levels of added
sucrose (75% and 100%) and two levels of added fat
(75% and 100%). In addition, multiple regression anal-
yses were conducted on the full data set, pooled over the
six cookie types, to determine the contribution of the
liking for texture, flavor, and appearance to the overall
acceptability of the product. Additional multiple regres-
sion analyses examined the contribution of selected taste
and texture attributes, including sweetness, to the overall
ratings of product acceptability.
RESULTS
Preference ratings
Overall acceptability ratings averaged over the six
types of cookies, are presented in Fig. 1, as a function
FIG. 1. Mean overall acceptability ratings (and SEM bars) as a
function of recipe sugar and fat content. The data are averaged
over cookie types.
of stimulus sugar and fat content. The statistical com-
parison was between the higher-rated of the two standard
recipes and the three stimuli with lower sugar and fat
contents. Reducing fat content by 25% had no impact on
overall product acceptability, which declined only when
fat was reduced by 50%. In contrast, reducing sugar
content of the cookies, even by 25%, had an immediate
and adverse impact on overall acceptability ratings.
” Analysis of variance showed a significant main effect of
sugar, F( 1,15) = 10.1; p < 0.01, but no main effect of fat,
F( 1,15) < 1; ns. There was no significant main effect of
cookie type, F(5,75) = 1.40; ns. However, a significant
cookie by sugar interaction, F(5,75) = 2.57; pcO.05,
suggested that the adverse effects of removing sugar from
a recipe might vary from one type of cookie to another.
Multiple regression analyses showed that the overall
acceptability of the cookies was almost entirely predicted
by liking of flavor, then texture, and to a much lesser
extent by liking of appearance. As seen in Table 2, these
three variables accounted for over 80% of the variance in
overall acceptability ratings. Subsequent analyses of
variance addressed the impact of fat and sugar levels on
preference ratings for the texture and flavor of cookies.
Sensory acceptability was sharply reduced by reducing
the sugar content of cookie recipes, but remained unaf-
fected by lowering the recipe fat content. These data,
averaged over the six types of cookies, are shown in Fig. 2,
again as a function of sugar and fat content of the cook-
ies. Reducing fat content by 25% or even 50% had little
impact on the liking for flavor. In contrast, reducing
sugar content by 25% led to a reduction in ratings.
Analysis of variance showed a strong main effect of
sugar, F( 1,15) = 41.3; p < 0.001, but no main effect of
fat, F( 1,15) < 1; ns, nor of cookie type, F(5,75) = 1.40;
ns. However, the presence of interactions, including coo-
kie by sugar, F(5,75) = 2.74; p < 0.05, and cookie by fat,
F(5,75) = 2.58; p < 0.05, again suggested that the effects
 Replacing Sugar and Fat in Cookies 17

TABLE 2. Multiple Regressions of Overall Acceptability on Liking for Product Texture, Flavor and Appearance. Shown are
Standardized Regression Coefficient (beta) and Significance of T-statistic

Standard Standard 100% fat/ 75% fat/ 75% fat/ 50% fat/
recipe 1 recipe 2 75% sugar 100% sugar 75% sugar 100% sugar

beta sig T beta sig T beta sig T beta sig T beta sig T beta sig T
(PC) @<I @<I @<) @<I @<I

Texture 0.24 0.00 0.38 0.00 0.37 0.00 0.32 0.00 0.38 0.00 0.29 0.00
Appearance 0.08 0.11 0.00 0.97 -0.07 0.15 0.00 0.90 0.00 0.89 0.12 0.05
Flavor 0.67 0.00 0.61 0.00 0.66 0.00 0.69 0.00 0.60 0.00 0.59 0.00

Multiple R 0.91 0.92 0.91 0.93 0.92 0.91

1-2 0.83 0.84 0.83 0.86 0.84 0.83

of varying fat and sugar content of cookie recipes did than others. Notably, brownies were perceived as sweeter
vary with the type of cookies. than either biscotti or peanut butter cookies.
The acceptability of cookie texture might be expected In contrast to sweetness ratings, texture-related attri-
to be influenced by both sugar and fat content, since butes showed no systematic effects of reduced butter
both determine the optimal texture of cookies. However, content in cookie recipes. Ratings on the scales of ‘but-
as shown in Fig. 3, liking for texture was not affected by tery’, ‘moist’, and ‘tender’ showed no significant main
reducing either sugar or fat content in this selection of effects of fat content. However, the presence of significant
cookies. There were no main effects of cookie type, or the main effects of cookie type (p < 0.001) suggested that
recipe sugar or fat content. These data suggest that reducing the butter content of cookies may have had
reducing the amount of butter in cookie recipes, at least more adverse effects for some cookies than for others.
within the present limits, had no marked impact on
reported preferences for the texture of cookies. Sweetness and acceptability

Sweetness and texture Regression analyses were conducted to determine the

impact of taste- and texture-related sensory attributes,
Sweetness ratings, averaged over the six types of cookies, including sweetness, on the overall acceptability of the
are shown in Fig. 4. It can be seen that reducing the present selection of cookies. To make the results more
sugar content of cookie recipes led to lower ratings of generalized, the analyses were conducted with the full
sweetness. As expected, the main effect of sugar was data set, pooled over the six cookie types.
highly significant, F( 1,15) = 29.3; p < 0.001. The main The data are summarized in Table 3. ‘Sweetness’ was
effect of cookie type was also significant, F(5,75) = 3.62; the only attribute that was consistently and significantly
p < 0.001, that is, some cookies were perceived as sweeter linked to ‘overall preference’, regardless of cookie recipe.

Liking for flavor Liking for texture

b
> 5

:
P
324
3

100% 100% 75% 75l75%

‘F”, 5g% Sugar FNSUg~

FIG. 2. Mean ratings of preferences for flavor (and SEM bars) FIG. 3. Mean ratings of preferences for texture (and SEM
as a function of recipe sugar and fat content. The data are bars) as a function of recipe sugar and fat content. The data are
averaged over cookie types. averaged over cookie types.
18 A. Drewnowski et al.

The key sensory attribute for this class of food products

was sweetness. Analyses of sensory attribute data showed
7
that ‘overall acceptability’ and ‘liking’ for cookie texture
and flavor all declined with reduced sugar content. In
8
contrast, ‘overall acceptability’ and taste preference rat-
ings remained relatively unaffected following a 25%
reduction in the fat content of cookie recipes. Reducing
fn 5
the sugar content of cookies is likely to have an adverse
impact on acceptance ratings.
fn 4 One explanation may be that consumers are more
sensitive to small variations in sugar content. In contrast,
fat is often difficult to detect in solid foods (Drewnowski,
3
1987; Mela, 1988). No single attribute can be unam-
biguously associated with fat content. The present study
2 employed a range of cookies and a variety of texture
100% 75% 50% 100% 75% 15/75%
attributes, ranging from ‘tender’, ‘chewy’, and ‘soft’ to
Fat sugar F&6UgW
‘greasy’ and ‘moist’, as well as ‘dry’ and ‘mealy’. The
FIG. 4. Mean sweetness intensity ratings (and SEM bars) as a cookies tested included a variety of types, from brownies
function of recipe sugar and fat content. The data are averaged
to biscotti, and the judgment of optimum texture was
over cookie types.
most likely influenced by cookie type. Numerous cookie
by sugar and cookie by fat interactions attest to major
Other desirable attributes that were associated with differences by cookie type. However, sweetness was a
overall liking were ‘buttery’, ‘tender’, and ‘not greasy’, desirable attribute throughout, and sweetness ratings
though the associations were less consistent. It appears were positively linked to overall product acceptability,
that sweetness is the key attribute for this class of food regardless of the type of cookies tested.
products. The data clearly indicate that any variation in These data have some implications for designing
cookie recipes that significantly reduced product sweetness acceptable lower-energy cookies. First, sweetness is the
had a negative impact on overall acceptability ratings. most desirable sensory attribute in this group of food
products. As a result, any manipulations that reduce the
sweetness level of cookies will result in diminished

DISCUSSION acceptance. Reducing the sugar content of cookies tends

The study showed that reducing the fat content of six
popular cookie recipes affected overall product quality
less than did a comparable reduction in sugar content.
At the same time, the decreased butter content of cookie
recipes allowed for equal or greater calories savings than
those achieved with reduced-sugar cookies.
to lower their appeal. Replacing sucrose with less sweet
sugars such as sorbitol or polydextrose is likely to have
the same detrimental effects. On the other hand, redu-
cing the fat content in some cookies will reduce both total
and fat calories, while preserving the sensory appeal of
the final product. The fact that some lower-fat cookies
are slightly higher in their sugar content may in fact add
to their appeal.

TABLE 3. Multiple Regression of Overall Acceptability on Sensory Attributes of Different Cookie Recipes. Shown are Standardized
Regression Coefficient (beta) and the Significance of T-statistic

Standard Standard 100% fat/ 75% fat/ 75% fat/ 50% fat]
recipe 1 recipe 2 75%sugar 100% sugar 75%sugar 100% sugar

beta sig T beta sig T beta sig T beta sig T beta sig T beta sig T
@<) @<) @<I @<) @<I (P<)
Sweet 0.23 0.04 0.43 0.00 0.34 0.00 0.21 0.03 0.50 0.00 0.28 0.02
Buttery 0.34 0.03 0.23 0.05 0.07 0.55 0.07 0.60 0.22 0.05 0.11 0.39
Moist 0.10 0.62 -0.03 0.85 0.27 0.08 0.23 0.18 -0.04 0.75 0.17 0.28
Greasy -0.43 0.00 -0.20 0.08 -0.28 0.02 -0.23 0.07 -0.27 0.00 -0.17 0.13
Soft -0.06 0.68 0.27 0.07 0.18 0.20 0.13 0.30 0.09 0.48 -0.12 0.42
Chewy 0.07 0.54 -0.04 0.63 -0.15 0.20 0.04 0.67 -0.15 0.08 0.13 0.23
Crumbly 0.22 0.10 0.16 0.16 0.21 0.08 0.18 0.10 0.08 0.41 0.09 0.40
Dry 0.13 0.38 -0.08 0.58 -0.12 0.39 -0.08 0.63 -0.17 0.15 -0.16 0.22
Mealy -0.02 0.85 -0.04 0.71 -0.08 0.48 -0.07 0.45 0.07 0.44 0.05 0.59
Tender 0.26 0.04 -0.10 0.50 -0.14 0.28 0.29 0.02 0.08 0.49 0.28 0.03
Multiple R 0.55 0.60 0.56 0.66 0.47 0.62
r2 0.30 0.35 0.32 0.43 0.41 0.39
 Replacing Sugar and Fat in Cookies 19

Indeed, in some industry recipes for fat-free cookies, Drewnowski, A. (19876) Sweetness and obesity. In Sweetness,
fat is sometimes replaced by simple sugars, and the final ed. J. Dobbing. ILSI-Nutrition Foundation Symposium,
product is as sweet or sweeter than the original recipe. Springer-Verlag, Berlin.

The present data provide a theoretical rationale for this Drewnowski, A. (1995) Intense sweeteners and the control of
appetite. Nutrition Reviews 53, l-7.
approach. As long as the sweetness of cookies is main-
Drewnowski, A. and Greenwood, M. R. C. (1983) Cream and
tained, consumers will tolerate some deviations from the
sugar: human preferences for high-fat foods. Physiology and
standard recipe in both texture and flavor.
Behavior 30, 629-633.
Dietary guidelines typically recommend consuming Drewnowski, A. and Holden-Wiltse, J. (1992) Taste responses
only moderate amounts of foods rich in sugars and fat. and food preferences in obese women: effects of weight
Whereas sugar was viewed as the main culprit in the cycling. International Journal of Obesity 16, 6399648.
1970’s, the chief emphasis over the past several years has Drewnowski, A. and Schwartz, M. (1990) Invisible fats: sensory
been on restricting dietary fats. Reducing the consump- assessment of sugar/fat mixtures. Appetite 14, 203-217.
tion of fats and saturated fats were the key recommen- Drewnowski, A., Bellisle, F., Aimez, P. and Remy, B. (1987a)
dations of both the Nutrition and Health (1988) and the Taste and bulimia. Physiology and Behavior 41, 62 l-626.

Diet and Health (1989) reports. However, messages to Drewnowski, A., Halmi, K. A., Pierce, B., Gibbs, J. and Smith,
G. P. (19876) Taste and eating disorders. American Journal of
consumers regarding reduced sugar consumption persist,
Clinical Nutrition 46, 4422450.
and have been included in both the Food Guide Pyramid
Drewnowski, A., Shrager, E. E., Lipsky, C., Stellar, E. and
(1992) and in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans
Greenwood, M. R. C. (1989) Sugar and fat: sensory and
( 1995). Although most sets of dietary guidelines promote hedonic evaluations of liquid and solid foods. PhysioloQ and
dietary variety, consumers concerned with diet and Behavior 45, 1777183.
health tend to eliminate sweet and high fat foods, Fischer, J. 0. and Birch, L. L. (1995) Fat preferences and fat
including cookies, sweets and other desserts from their consumption of 3 to 5 year old children are related to parental
diets. However, eliminating whole categories of foods obesity. Journal of the American Dietetic Association 95, 759-764.
from the habitual diet is neither practical nor particu- Garner, D. M. and Garfinkel, P. E. (1979) The Eating Atti-
larly beneficial. All foods can fit into a healthy diet, pro- tudes Test: an index of the symptoms of anorexia nervosa.
vided they are consumed in moderate amounts and are Psychological Medicine 9, 273-279.
Herman, C. P. (1978) Restrained eating. Psychiatr Clin North Am
part of a varied diet. We conclude that reducing fat as
1, 595-607.
opposed to reducing sugar in cookie recipes is the pre-
Martin, C. and Bellisle, F. (1989) Eating attitudes and taste
ferred method for obtaining a reduced-calorie product.
responses in young ballerinas. Physiology and Behavior 46, 223-
227.
Mela, D. .J. (1988) Sensory assessment of fat content in fluid

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS dairy products. Appetite 10, 37-44.

Mela, D. J. and Sacchetti, D. A. (1991) Sensory preferences for
fats: relationships with diet and body composition. American
Journal of Clinical Nutrition 53, 908-9 15.
Supported by a grant from the Sugar Association to
Monneuse, M. F., Bellisle, F. and Louis-Sylvestre, J. (1991)
Johanna Dwyer. The assistance of Andrea Scarpa Nero,
Impact of sex and age on sensory evaluation of sugar and fat
MS, RD is acknowledged with thanks. Kay Coleman,
in dairy products. Physiology and Behavior 50, 111 l-l 117.
Ph.D., Jean Rainey and Charles Baker, Ph.D. provided Moskowitz, H. R., Kluter, R. A., Westerling, J. and Jacobs,
helpful suggestions in developing this project. H. L. (1974) Sugar sweetness and pleasantness: evidence for
different psychophysical laws. Science 184,583-585.
National Academy of Sciences (1989) Diet and Health. Commit-
tee on Diet and Health, Food and Nutrition Board, National
REFERENCES Academy Press, Washington, DC.
Pennington, J. A. T. (1994) Bowes and Church’s Food Values of
Portions Commonly Used. J. B. Lippincott Company, Philadel-
Bacon, A., Miles, J. S. and Schiffman, S. S. (1994) Effect of phia.
race on perception of fat alone and in combination with Rolls, B. J. and Hammer, V. A. (1995) Fat, carbohydrate, and
sugar. Physiology and Behavior 55, 603-606. the regulation of energy intake. American Journal of Clinical
Brandt, M. S., Skinner, E. Z. and Coleman, J. A. (1963) Nutrition 62(Suppl.), 1086S-95s.
Texture profile method. Journal of Food Science 28, 404-409. Simon, Y., Bellisle, F., Monneuse, M. O., Samuel-Lajeunesse,
Cooper, H. (1987) Texture in dairy products and its sensory B. and Drewnowski, A. (1993) Taste responsiveness in anor-
evaluations. In Food Texture, ed. H. R. Moskowitz, pp. 217- exia nervosa. British Journal of Psychiatry 162, 244246.
250. Marcel Dekker, New York. United States Department of Agriculture (1992) USDA’s
Crystal, S., Frye, C. A. and Kanarek, R. B. (1995) Taste Food Guide Pyramid. Human Nutrition Information Service. Home
preferences and sensory perceptions in female varsity swim- and Garden Bulletin No 249. USDA and USDHHS,
mers. Appetite 24, 25-36. Washington, DC.
Drewnowski, A. (1987a) Fats and food texture: sensory and United States Department of Agriculture (1995) Nutrition &
hedonic evaluations. In Food Texture, ed. H. R. Moskowitz, Your Health: Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Home and Garden
pp. 251-272. Marcel Dekker, New York. Bulletin No 232. USDA and USDHHS, Washington, DC.
20 A. Drewnowski et al.
United States Department of Health and Human Services
(1988) The Surgeon General’s Report on Nutrition and Health.
DHHS (PHS) Publication No. 88-50210. US Government
Printing Office, Washington, DC.
United States Department of Health and Human Services
(1991) Healthy People .?,O#. US Government Printing Office,
Washington, DC.
Warwick, Z. and Schiffman, S. (1990) Sensory evaluations of
fat-sucrose and fat-salt mixtures: relationship to age and
weight status. Physiology and Behavior 48, 633436.
APPENDIX
Cookie recipes
Fat and sugar manipulations in cookie recipes were
combined to produce a total of five formulations. The
formulations were: standard fat/standard sugar; standard
fat/75% sugar; standard sugar/75% fat; standard sugar/
50% fat; and 75% sugar/75% fat.
To prepare tollhouse cookies, peanut butter cookies,
and oatmeal cookies: cream butter and sugar, then add
the egg(s) and other wet ingredients. Mix dry ingredients
and add to the butter/sugar mixture. Blend until smooth.
Drop onto ungreased cookie sheet using a No. 70 scoop
(2x9 tsp.). For peanut butter cookies roll the same
amount into balls and press flat with a fork. Place about
2 inches apart. Bake l&l2 min or until lightly brown in
preheated oven 190°C (375°F). Let cool on sheet pan.
Yields are 30-28-36 cookies respectively.
To prepare biscotti: cream butter, sugar and extracts,
then add the eggs one at a time. Mix dry ingredients
together and add to the butter/sugar mixture. Form
dough into 2 loaves, lf inch wide and the length of the
greased cookie sheet. Bake at 176°C (350°F) for 35-
40 min. Remove from oven and let cool. Slice loaves
diagonally into 9 inch slices. Place cut side down on coo-
kie sheet and return to oven at 190°C (375°F) for 10min
or until toasted and crisp. Yield is 40 slices.
To prepare brownies melt butter and chocolate toge-
ther and let cool. Beat eggs, sugar, salt and vanilla
extract and combine with chocolate/butter mixture. Fold
in the sifted flour. Bake in a greased 9~ 13 inch pan
about 40min. Cut 4x5 squares when cool. Yield is 20
squares.