Formulation Optimization of No Added Sugar Cookies Supplemented with Rice Bran Powder and Elderberry Powder

Driven by the growing demand for nutritious no added sugar bakery products, this study developed no added sugar cookies supplemented with rice bran powder, elderberry powder, and natural sweeteners. Single-factor experiments and response surface methodology (Box-Behnken design) were used to optimize the formulation. The established quadratic model was highly significant (p < 0.0001, R² = 0.9870). Rice bran powder exhibited the dominant influence on sensory quality, followed by mogrosides, elderberry powder, and butter. The optimal practical formulation was determined to be 8 g rice bran powder, 3 g elderberry powder, 91 g butter, 0.3 g mogrosides, together with 92 g low-gluten flour, 2 g fructooligosaccharides (FOS), 0.02 g steviol glycosides, 30 g beaten egg and 20 g milk. The optimized cookies possessed a uniform pale-pink color, a crisp texture, and a balanced aroma combining rice bran and elderberry characteristics. Compared with commercial products, the optimized cookies contained higher contents of protein and total dietary fiber, lower levels of carbohydrates and sodium, as well as abundant bioactive components, including total polyphenols (132.8 ± 0.85 mg/100 g), flavonoids (62.77 ± 0.87 mg/100 g), and anthocyanins (23.03 ± 0.99 mg/100 g). These results provide a scientific basis and technical guidance for the formulation and industrial application of no added sugar functional cookies and further expand the application potential of rice bran as a value-added by-product of rice processing.