Supermarket Perimeter - May 2019 - 103

SPOTLIGHT

TRENDWORTHY COOKIES
Foods that are designed to become a trend online are now
recognized in the food industry. Think the cronut or the rainbow bagel. Help retailers gain online traction with fun and
unique cookies. Below are some tips from Parker Products,
Fort Worth, Texas. Ideally, trendworthy cookies should:
Be colorful
Have an element of surprise
Appeal to emotion
Have a cool factor
Be sweet and gluttonous
Be photogenic
Be relatable or appeal to shared experiences

ingredients that includes inclusions, coatings, icings, toppings
and ﬁllings.
Inclusions can also present
challenges during production.
Consumers tend to prefer large
chocolate chunks, caramel
pieces, nuts or dried fruits in their
cookies. When producing these
types of cookies on a large scale,
bakers have to keep them intact
while portioning so that consumers can see the inclusions in, and
on the surface of, the cookie.

Scaling production
With clean label ingredients and
baked goods with an artisan
touch grabbing consumers'
interest, the need for premium
cookies is rising. But keeping up
with demand can be a challenge.
Jim Fontain, bakery specialist for Reiser, a Canton,
Massachusetts-based supplier
of processing and packaging
solutions, says these challenges
can oftentimes lead to bakeries
turning down business or questioning whether they can scale
up formulas without sacriﬁcing
premium ingredients.
The company says working
with key suppliers and tapping
into automated solutions can

help bakers expand production
and retain product integrity.
"Using a higher percentage of
quality ingredients is what makes
a gourmet cookie stand out,"
Fontain says. Flour will impact
the mouthfeel and tenderness of
the cookie more than any other
ingredient. When scaling up
ingredients, bakers should make
sure they are using the same type
of ﬂour they did when producing
smaller batches.
And while bakers can utilize
a number of fats when working
with cookies, butter is typically
the way to go if a premium product is desired.
Butter leads to a tender texture
and rich taste, Fontain says.
When using a large amount of
butter, bakers must be hyper-aware of the temperature.
And when it comes to taste,
sweeteners and inclusions pack
the most punch.
"One of the highest percentage
ingredients in the formula, sugar
can be used in many forms, such
as granulated cane, light or dark
brown, powdered and more,"
Fontain says. "All will impact
the sweetness level along with
tenderness and spread of your
cookie."

Uniﬁller, headquartered in
Delta, British Columbia, speciﬁcally targets cookie production
with its Uni-Dopositor.
The Uni-Dopositor is a cookie
dough depositor and extruder
that the company says provides
a greater production yield, accurate weight control, and a higher
standard of safety.
The machine is able to handle
a wide range of products, from
gourpmet cookies, cookie pucks
and sugar cookies, as well as
brownies, pie dough and energy
bars. It can also cut through large
inclusions without crushing or
melting them.
The Uni-Dopositor comes in
16 and 24-inch models, both of
which feature high traction roller
design and weight control across
die ports. They include an integrated conveyor and built-in pan
senor, as well as PLC controls that
can store up to 100 recipes.
Manufacturers have the option
between choosing a knife blade
or a wire cut-off and quickchange inserts are included for
easy adjustment. The depositor
boasts speeds up to 120 cuts per
minute and offers an open design
for full washdown.
Reiser offers its Vemag cookie
dough depositor, which can help
with everything from tubs of bulk
dough to individual, pre-formed
cookie dough portions.
The Vemag features a
powerful, positive displacement double-screw pump that
provides high levels of portioning
accuracty, according to the company. The double-screw transports product gently and without
crushing or smearing.
The Vemag is available in
various models and hopper
capacities to meet any
production requirement. A
Reiser-engineered Waterwheel
ﬂow diviider can be added for
multiple-lane production.

www.supermarketperimeter.com

MAKING
COOKIES
SHINE
BAKED TOPPINGS Top
with pieces of brownie,
biscotti or pie crust for
a unique texture and
exciting ﬂavor.
INCLUSIONS Try
pre-bake and post-bake
applications. Bake-in
ingredients can maintain
piece identity and help
with texture and color.
COATINGS Add visual
appeal to cookies and
more with coatings from
chocolate and caramel to
yogurt and fruit ﬂavors.
ICINGS Consumers enjoy the pleasing crunch
and additional ﬂavor and
color of icings.
TOPPINGS Flavored
sprinkles, pralined nuts,
granola and more can
add a splash of color.
FILLINGS Turn cookies
into sandwiches with
your desired ﬁlling.

MAY 2019 - 103

http://www.supermarketperimeter.com

Supermarket Perimeter - May 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Supermarket Perimeter - May 2019