Effects of Shortening Replacement with Extra Virgin Olive Oil on the Physical–Chemical–Sensory Properties of Italian Cantuccini Biscuits

Olive oil is recognised for its beneficial effects on human health, mainly due to it containing oleic acid (a monounsaturated fatty acid), whereas fats of animal origin or margarine, which are often used in recipes for biscuit production, contain mainly saturated fatty acids. The aim of this study was to evaluate the shelf-life and physicochemical properties of biscuits and of the fats contained in original recipe Italian Cantuccini biscuits (50% cow’s butter and 50% margarine). Additionally, the sensory properties of the biscuits were evaluated, including their colour, appearance, taste, flavour, texture and overall acceptability. At the same time, the fat composition of the original recipe was also modified to contain 30% cow’s butter and 70% extra virgin olive oil, in order to replace an aliquot of the saturated fatty acid content with unsaturated fatty acids, in particular with one monounsaturated fatty acid, oleic acid. Colour (CIELab), water activity, relative humidity, hardness and fracturability analyses were conducted on Cantuccini biscuits. Colour (CIELab), free acidity, spectrophotometric characteristics, DPPH assay and fatty acid methyl ester (FAMEs) analyses were conducted on the fat extracted from Cantuccini biscuits prepared from both the original and modified recipes.