2.4. Sand and fat mixtures
Chocolate chips were baked in cups filled with mixtures of fat and
washed sea sand to mimic the effect of fat in cookie dough on chocolate
chips in the absence of other ingredients. The sand and fat were
thoroughly mixed at room temperature in a stand mixer (KitchenAid,
Custom 350 W, 5 qt.), similar to creaming sugar and fat in cookie
dough preparation. Palm oil shortening was used in amounts ranging
from 0% to 14%. Mixtures were scooped into cupcake holders and
chocolate chips were pushed into the surface of the mixtures. As before,
the chocolate chips were positioned upside down so that the
flat side of the chip was even with the surface of the sand. The samples
were baked, stored and analyzed using the method described
above for the cookies. A minimum of one chip per cup was selected
for analysis based on how well it remained embedded in the sand
during and after baking. Three separate cups were prepared per
batch of sand–fat mixture, and five batches of sand–fat mixtures
were prepared for every level of fat tested, resulting in a minimum
of 15 samples per fat level.