A substantial reduction in the fat content (10.6% fat) resulted in biscuits that were considerably harder and drier and had less flavour than the control ones (18% fat). A less drastic fat reduction (15.6% fat) made it possible to prepare biscuits which retained similar sensory properties to those of the controls. The biscuits prepared with either olive oil or sunflower oil and xanthan gum differed the most from the biscuits made with shortenings. The biscuits formulated with either olive oil or sunflower oil and HPMC had the closest sensory properties to the shortening biscuits. The sunflower oil/HPMC systems seemed to be the most suitable system for obtaining biscuits with a healthier fatty acid profile.