**4. Conclusions**

This study was undertaken to identify the potential for edible insects to increase the nutritional and antioxidant properties of shortcake biscuits. The results revealed that the substitution of wheat flour with mealworm flour changed the nutritional value of the products. There was a progressive increase in the protein and ash contents of biscuits as the concentration of mealworm flour increased. In turn, the fat content and energy value did not differ significantly.

Increased levels of mealworm flour in the biscuits led to a darker appearance. Additionally, the biscuit with the greatest amount of mealworm flour was characterized by the highest spread factor. Regarding the antioxidant activity, mealworms were found to have high antioxidant potential, as evident from the higher free radical scavenging activity of biscuits enriched in mealworm flour in comparison to control. Moreover, it is very beneficial that the addition of mealworm flour to biscuits caused an increase in slowly digested starch, with a decrease in rapidly digested starch.

The results showed that edible insects might be a good nutritive and bioactive additive to traditionally eaten food, which was confirmed based on fortification of the shortcake dough. This type of dough can be used as an intermediate product to make various types of food, including not only confectionery products, but also savory products. A further step would be to investigate the effects of the addition of edible insects to other food matrices.

**Author Contributions:** Conceptualization, E.Z. and U.P.; methodology, E.Z. and U.P.; software, E.Z.; validation, E.Z.; formal analysis, E.Z.; investigation, E.Z.; resources, E.Z.; data curation, E.Z.; writing—original draft preparation, E.Z.; writing—review and editing, E.Z. and U.P.; supervision, U.P.; project administration, E.Z.; funding acquisition, E.Z. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

**Funding:** This research was funded by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education in Poland, grant number VKA/MN-3/TZ˙ /20.

**Conflicts of Interest:** The authors declare no conflict of interest. The sponsors had no role in the design, execution, interpretation, or writing of the study.
