*3.3. Consumer Evaluation*

Regarding the consumer evaluation of cookies, each participant was asked to indicate their preferences on several parameters, namely: color, odor, taste, appearance, texture, and overall acceptance. The data are shown in Figure 3. The color of the cookies made with chia and poppy seed flours was darker than the rest of cookies [24]. As previously reported, consumers prefer golden brown cookies [25], and, consequently, these dark cookies were scored lower by our consumers. On the other hand, the cookies made with flax and sesame flours had positive evaluations, although there were significant differences with the scores obtained by the wheat cookies. Drawing on previous studies, in order to obtain similar values for color in reformulated cookies to those obtained for traditional cookies, traditional flours should only be partially replaced [25]. A significant proportion of consumers are reluctant to try novel foods that differ, in color, for example, to those they usually eat [36].

**Figure 3.** Sensory properties of cookies elaborated with defatted seed flours. Different letters in the same column indicate significant differences (*p* < 0.05).

Regarding odor, again the chia and poppy cookies scored the lowest. In this case, poppy cookies showed values lower than 5, indicating that the odor of these cookies was unpleasant for consumers. Being an odor that consumers are unused to, they consider it a negative attribute. A similar behavior was found when taste was considered, with the poppy cookies scoring lowest, with values below 5. The rest of cookies showed values over 5, indicating that consumers liked them. The sesame cookies showed a median value of 7, the highest of the seed defatted flour cookies, although the highest scores were obtained by the wheat cookies used as the controls. The high values reported for sesame compared with the other seeds could be attributed to the higher fat content. Higher fat content tends to increase consumer preference for various food products, compared with the low-fat versions [37,38].

Regarding texture, cookies made with chia and poppy flours showed a high tendency to crumble, again obtaining a low consumer evaluation. The other three cookies (wheat, flax, and sesame) showed similar crunchy characteristics, leading to higher scores from the consumers, with no significant differences. The global acceptability of sesame cookies showed no significant differences from those of wheat, meaning that consumers could easily change from traditional wheat cookies to 100% defatted flour sesame cookies. Previously, other studies analyzing the overall acceptability of traditional and partially reformulated sesame cookies have reported a similar acceptability in both types [27].

Flax flour cookies also showed positive evaluations in all of the categories tested. On the other hand, the cookies made with chia and poppy defatted flour showed the lowest values regarding sensory evaluation. In this case, other ingredients should be included in the cookie recipe, for example other fat sources [38], to provide better sensory properties that fit consumers' preferences. These flours could also be mixed, in a low percentage, with wheat flour or other flours to improve acceptance [39].
