Abstract:Millet and chickpeas are rich in unsaturated fatty acids and dietary fiber. Replacing a certain proportion of wheat flour with millet and chickpea flour in a specific ratio to make shortbread can enhance the product’s nutritional value and enrich its flavor and taste. This study explores the effects of different substitution ratios and amounts of millet-chickpea mixed flour, shortening, composite low sugar, and addition amount of water on the sensory score, crispness, hardness, and extension factor of the shortbread. An orthogonal experiment was performed to optimize the preparation process of sugarfree millet-chickpea shortbread, and an accelerated oxidation test was employed to predict its shelf life. The results showed that when the substitution ratio of millet to chickpea flour was 2:1, the substitution amount was 35%, the shortening addition was 35%, the composite low sugar addition was 30%, and the water addition was 15%, with the baking temperature set at 190 ℃ (top heat) and 140 ℃ (bottom heat) for 17 minutes, the shortbread had a golden color, crispy texture, sweet taste, and a balanced flavor of millet and chickpeas. The crispness was 124, hardness was 522, extension factor was 4.39, and sensory score reached 89 points. Based on the accelerated oxidation test at 35 ℃ and 45 ℃, the predicted shelf life of the shortbread at 25 ℃ was 67 days. This study provides a fundamental method for improving the quality characteristics of shortbread cookies and predicting their shelf life.