Multi-color biscuit and methods of manufacturing therefor

Abstract

Disclosed herein are multi-color or marbled biscuits and methods of manufacturing the same. A method may include placing a first dough and a second dough in a dough hopper, the first dough having a first color and the second dough having a second color different than the first color; conveying the first dough and the second dough to a kibbler and kibbling the first dough and the second dough at the same time with the kibbler to provide a mixture of kibbled pieces of the first dough and the second dough; rotary molding the mixture of kibbled pieces to provide a biscuit precursor; and baking the biscuit precursor to provide a biscuit with a multi-color or marbled appearance having first segments of the first color and second segments of the second color.

Description

MULTI-COLOR BISCUIT AND METHODS OF MANUFACTURING THEREFORTECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] This disclosure relates generally to biscuit products, and particularly to multi¬ colored or marbled biscuits and methods of manufacturing multi-colored or marbled biscuits.BACKGROUND

[0002] The visual appearance of biscuits can significantly influence consumer preference and enjoyment Multi-color biscuits, which include at least two different colors in a single biscuit, can have an eye-catching appearance that enhances their marketability For instance, multi-color biscuits can be produced with custom colors to correspond to a holiday, a celebration, an event, a character, a place, or other entities or trends. In different approaches, multi-color biscuits may be made by combining different colored doughs, by having different colored layers (e.g., in a sandwich cookie), by mixing different colored inclusions into a different colored dough, by decorating or printing an edible image on a surface of a biscuit, or other techniques

[0003] Advancements in food processing technology have led to various automated methods for dough handling and biscuit manufacturing on a commercial scale However, existing automated systems and processes have not been shown to be effective or efficient in producing a biscuit with a marbled appearance using two different colored doughs. Such systems are not configured to adequately control the marbling effect, resulting in either insufficient marbling or complete blending of the dough colors, thereby losing the desired visual effect. Moreover, such systems may lack a continuous, coupled process for high throughput production of marbled biscuits, limiting the ability to meet large-scale commercial demand.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0004] FIG. 1 illustrates a simplified schematic diagram of a system for making a multi¬ color biscuit according to various embodiments.

[0005] FIG 2A illustrates an exemplary’ simplified diagram of a dough hopper with a dough stack therein used in the system of FIG. 1.Docket No. 9610-162436-WO

[0006] FIG. 2B illustrates an exemplary simplified diagram of an exemplary kibbler cutter configuration used in the system of FIG. 1.

[0007] FIG. 3 is a flow chart of an exemplary method of making a multi-color biscuit according to various embodiments.

[0008] FIG. 4 is a flow chart of an exemplary method of making a multi-color biscuit according to various embodiments.

[0009] FIG. 5 is a flow chart of an exemplary method of making a multi-color biscuit according to various embodiments,

[0010] FIG. 6A illustrates a photograph of a multi-color biscuit according to various embodiments[00111 FIG, 6B illustrates a photograph of a multi-color biscuit according to various embodiments[00121 FIG, 6C illustrates a photograph of a multi-color biscuit according to various embodiments[00131 FIG. 7 A illustrates a photograph of pre-baked multi-color biscuit precursors according to various embodiments.

[0014] FIG. 7B illustrates a photograph of multi-color biscuits after baking according to various embodiments.

[0015] FIG. 8A illustrates a photograph of exemplary multi-color biscuits produced from pink and blue doughs being fed to the kibbler at a ratio of 50:50 pink: blue.

[0016] FIG. 8B illustrates a photograph of exemplary multi-color biscuits produced from pink and blue doughs being fed to the kibbler at a ratio of 60:40 pink: blue.

[0017] FIG. 8C illustrates a photograph of exemplary multi-color biscuits produced from pink and blue doughs being fed to the kibbler at a ratio of 70:30 pink: blue.

[0018] FIG. 9 illustrates a photograph of underside or bottom exterior surfaces of multicolor biscuits according to various embodiments.

[0019] FIG. 10 illustrates a simpl ified diagram of a sandwich cookie according to various embodiments.

[0020] FIG. 11 is a block diagram of a computing system in accordance with various embodiments.Docket No. 9610-162436-WODETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0021] As described herein, multi-color or marbled biscuits can be made from at least two different colored doughs and can be produced on a commercial scale via an automated or semi-automated manufacturing process. More specifically, the process advantageously includes kibbling two different colored doughs at the same time via a single kibbler apparatus to ensure that a predetermined ratio of the two different colored doughs is substantially maintained in the kibbled product prior to further processing such as rotary molding and baking. This manufacturing process ensures a sufficient amount or marbling of the different colors in the final biscuits, enhanced visual appeal, and high production efficiency.

[0022] In an exemplary approach, a method for manufacturing multi-color or marbled biscuits includes placing a first dough and a second dough in a dough hopper, the first dough having a first color and the second dough having a second color different than the first color. The method may further include conveying the first dough and the second dough to a kibbler and kibbling the first dough and the second dough at the same time with the kibbler to provide a mixture of kibbled pieces of the first dough and the second dough. The method may further include rotary molding the mixture of kibbled pieces to provide a biscuit precursor; and baking the biscuit precursor to provide a biscuit with a multi-color or marbled appearance having first segments of the first color and second segments of the second color.

[0023] In another exemplary approach, a method for manufacturing biscuits with a multicolor or marbled appearance includes preparing a first dough and a second dough, the first dough having a first color and the second dough having a second color different than the first color and placing the first dough and the second dough in a dough hopper. In some approaches, the second dough may be stacked on top of the first dough to define a dough stack. The method may further include conveying the dough stack to a kibbler and kibbling the first dough and the second dough in the dough stack at the same time to provide a mixture of kibbled pieces of the first dough and the second dough. In subsequent steps, the mixture of kibbled pieces may be shaped and cut (e.g., rotary' molded) to provide a biscuit precursor and baked to provide a biscuit with a multi-color marbled appearance having discrete segments of the first color and the second color.Docket No. 9610-162436-WO

[0024] In yet a further exemplary approach, a method for manufacturing multi-color or marbled biscuits includes placing a first dough and a second dough in a dough hopper, the first dough having a first color and the second dough having a second color different than the first color and conveying the first dough and the second dough to a kibbler. In some approaches, the kibbler includes a plurality of blades or cutters such that at least one blade of the plurality of blades is pos iti oned to engage the first dough and at least another blade of the plurality of blades is positioned to engage the second dough. The method may further include, via the kibbler, kibbling the first dough and the second dough at the same time to provide a mixture of kibbled pieces of the first dough and the second dough containing discrete portions of each of the first color and the second color. Further steps may include rotary molding the mixture of kibbled pieces to provide a biscuit precursor and baking the biscuit precursor to provide a biscuit having discrete segments of the first color and the second color,

[0025] In another exemplary approach, a method for manufacturing multi-color or marbled biscuits includes placing a first dough and a second dough in a dough hopper, the first dough having a first color and the second dough having a second color different than the first color. In some approaches, the first dough and the second dough are present in a first ratio with respect to each other. The method may further include conveying the first dough and the second dough together to a kibbler, and, via the kibbler, kibbling the first dough and the second dough at the same time to provide a mixture of kibbled pieces of the first dough and the second dough such that a second ratio of the first color to the second color in the mixture of kibbled pieces is about the same as the first ratio. Subsequent steps may include shaping / cutting (e.g., rotary molding) the mixture of kibbled pieces to provide a biscuit precursor and baking the biscuit precursor to provide a biscuit having first segments of the first color and second segments of the second color.[00261 In some approaches, any of the above methods may be continuous or semi- continuous, automated or semi-automated manufacturing processes. In some approaches, any of the above methods may include further steps to form a sandwich cookie or sandwich biscuit, such as by layering a filling between two biscuits made from the above methods.

[0027] Multi-color or marbled biscuits, such as those made by the methods described herein, are also provided In an exemplary embodiment, a biscuit or cookie is made fromDocket No. 9610-162436-WOany of the above methods and has a multi-color or marbled appearance having one or more discrete segments of the first color and one or more discrete segments of the second color. In some approaches, a sandwich cookie provided herein comprises two biscuits made from any of the above methods, the two biscuits having a multi-color or marbled appearance with one or more discrete segments of the first color and one or more discrete segments of the second color, and a filling layer between the two biscuits. In some approaches, at least 10% of an exterior surface of the biscuit or biscuits comprises the one or more discrete segments of the first color and at least 10% of the exterior surface of the biscuit or biscuits comprises the one or more discrete segments of the second color.

[0028] The present disclosure is not limited to the specific values and percentages enumerated herein. For instance, where specific minimum or maximum amounts for a dimension or an amount (e.g., of color, ingredient) are enumerated, it is to be understood that the disclosure also contemplates ranges that encompass any combination of the disclosed minimums and maximums, as well as values therebetween,

[0029] As used herein, the term “about” indicates that the specified quantity, dimension, or range should not be construed as a strict limit to the exact value specified. Instead, “about” is intended to encompass a permissible degree of variability that is typically understood by those skilled in the art to be functionally equivalent to the specified value. For purposes herein, unless otherwise specified, “about” encompasses a range of 5% of the value it precedes. For instance, “about 10%” encompasses 9.5% to 10.5%.

[0030] As described herein, the biscuits are multi-color or marbled and / or have a multicolor or marbled appearance. As used herein, multi-color or marbled biscuits are biscuits having a visual appearance of at least two different distinct colors. Generally, the colors are different or contrasting enough so that the biscuits visually appear to be multi-colored to the average consumer (e.g., light pink and darker pink may provide a multi-color appearance, while two slightly different shades of light pink may not be sufficiently different to provide a multi-color appearance) In illustrative approaches, the at least two distinct colors are provided by at least two d ifferent colored doughs used to form the biscuits.

[0031] As used herein, biscuits that are “marbled” are typically streaked or swirled with the at least two different colors, creating a heterogeneous appearance of the two differentDocket No. 9610-162436-WOcolors in different areas, portions, segments, or zones of the biscuit. The streaking or swirling may be non-uniform in shape, amount, and extent with a random or semi-random appearance created by the dough processing techniques described herein. In addition,, the edges of the color segments may be indistinct and blend together, sometimes forming additional blended shades where the two colors touch Marbling does not include pre¬ designed or pre-d etermined repeating uniform patterns or uniform stripes, lines, shapes, etc. Since the marbling described herein is created by combining two different colored doughs to form the biscuit, the marbling may be present throughout the entire biscuit (e.g, on exterior surfaces thereof and in the interior of the biscuit).

[0032] In some approaches, the multi-color or marbled biscuits herein include segments of the first color, for example on an exterior or an exterior surface of the biscuit, in an amount of at least about 10% and at most about 90% of the area of the exterior or exterior surface and segments of the second color in an amount of at least about 10% and at most about 90% of the area of the exterior or exterior surface. In illustrative embodiments, appearance of the first color and / or the second color on the exterior surfaces of the biscuit may be in an amount of at least about 15%, at least about 20%, at least about 25%, at least about 30%, or at least about 40%. In some embodiments, the multi-color or marbled biscuits described herein are formed so that the discrete color segments are present on the exterior surfaces of the biscuit in a specific ratio with respect to one another. For instance, a ratio of the first color to the second color on the exterior surfaces of the biscuit may be from about 1:9 to about 9:1, from about 2:9 to about 9:2, from about 1:3 to about 3:1, from about 3:7 to about 7:3, from about 1:2 to about 2:1, from about 2:3 to about 3:2, or from about 4:5 to about 5:4. In some embodiments, any remaining colored portions of the exterior surfaces of the multi-colored or marbled biscuits apart from the first color and the second color segments may constitute additional blended shades of the first color and the second color.

[0033] With reference to FIG. 1, an exemplary apparatus or system 100 for manufacturing multi-color or marbled biscuits is shown The system 100 may include at least a first mixer 102 for mixing dough ingredients (e.g., flour, water, sugar, oil, salt, emulsifier, colorants, flavors, etc.) to form at least a first dough 115. In the illustrated embodiment, the system 100 also includes a second mixer 103 for mixing dough ingredients to form a second dough 116. In exemplary approaches, the two mixers 102, 103 are used to form two differentDocket No. 9610-162436-WOcolored doughs. In some embodiments, the two different mixers are used to form the two different colored doughs at about the same time or simultaneously. This technique may be advantageous so that the doughs can be subjected to the same holding time or resting time before further processing to achieve consistency between the doughs. In approaches that employ more than two different colored doughs to provide a multi-colored or marbled biscuit with more than two colors (e.g., three colors, four colors, etc.), there may be additional mixers to form the additional different colored doughs. In other approaches, a single mixer may be used that forms two or more different colored doughs consecutively

[0034] As used herein, “dough” refers to a mixture of flour, starch, and / or other bulking ingredients, and water, the mixture being firm enough to knead or roll. In addition, it also refers to the cohesive product that results from such a mixture. Typical additional ingredients of a dough, including the doughs disclosed herein, may include f'ats, salt, yeast or chemical leavening agents, fibers, egg proteins, milk proteins, and / or sweeteners. In embodiments, the doughs may be continuously produced and machined, for example kibbled, molded, extruded, or coextruded, and cut, on a mass production basis. In some approaches, the doughs herein have suitable rheological properties to undergo rotary molding, being “rotary molded doughs”. Rotary molded dough is designed to possess a distinctively pliable and cohesive texture that allows it to be pressed into detailed molds. This dough must be firm enough to maintain its shape when removed from molds, yet flexible and soft enough to capture the fine details of the mold's design. Thus, rotary molded dough has a balanced consistency, akin to a soft, malleable clay, enabling it to be easily manipulated without cracking or tearing. The doughs also are sufficiently dry to ensure that excessive sticking doesn’t occur to processing equipment.

[0035] More generally, the doughs may be a mixture of a solid phase and a liquid phase or alternatively, a dense / viscous suspension, exhibiting properties that lie somewhere between a liquid substance and solid substance. In illustrative approaches, the doughs may be similar to solids in that they generally retain their shapes against gravity.

[0036] In exemplary approaches, the doughs herein are doughs for producing a biscuit, a generally small, baked product formed from dough. Biscuits may vary widely in composition, texture, and flavor, and include, for example, cookies, crackers, wafers, and the like. The biscuits herein may have varying flavor profiles such as sweet or savory, andDocket No. 9610-162436-WOmay have different levels of softness, chewmess, crispmess, hardness, moisture content, etc. depending on the desired type of product

[0037] In illustrative embodiments, the doughs are cookie doughs, having a sweet flavor profile. In some approaches, the at least two different colored doughs used to form a multi¬ color or marbled biscuit as described herein also have other different attributes besides color, such as a different flavor or texture. For instance, in one non-limiting approach a multi-color or marbled biscuit may be formed from a chocolate-flavored, brown dough and a vanilla-flavored white / light dough.

[0038] In some approaches, the first and second mixers 102, 103 are used to form the first and second different colored doughs 115, 116, However, the first and second mixers 102, 103 are optional, and, in some embodiments, the system 100 does not include mixers because the doughs 115, 116 are pre-made independently of the system 100, In exemplary embodiments, the mixers 102, 103 are upright mixers that disperse the ingredient particles uniformly therein and results in an improved homogeneity of the dough In some embodiments, the mixers 102, 103 are jacket (also known as a jacketed) mixers, which include one or more water jackets that are able to heat the ingredients being mixed. In some embodiments, the mixers 102, 103 are continuous mixers It will be appreciated that, in the embodiments where the system 100 includes the mixers 102, 103, any other suitable mixer or an equivalent dough making device may be used to prepare the dough that will be processed by the system 100.

[0039] In some approaches, after the dough ingredients are mixed in the mixers 102, 103 to form the first and second doughs 115, 116, the doughs 115, 116 may have a lay or holding period. This time period may be sufficient to achieve the right dough texture that’s needed for forming in the rotary molder, as the dough will dry over the lay time as the starches and gluten are absorbing. For instance, the lay or holding period may be about 30 to about 120 minutes or about 75 to 100 minutes. In some approaches, the lay or holding period is at least about 60 minutes, at least about 75 minutes, or at least about 90 minutes. In some approaches, the lay or holding period is at most about 150 minutes, at most about 120 minutes, or at most about 100 minutes. The doughs may be left in the mixers 102, 103 and / or left on a surface of a conveyor or a dough dump station for the holding period. In some approaches, after the doughs exit the mixers each dough is deposited in a troughDocket No. 9610-162436-WOfor the holding time. In some approaches, the trough imparts a shape to the dough (i.e., the dough takes on the shape of the trough), which may be rectangular with rounded corners. This shape is maintained (with some settling) when the doughs are subsequently deposited in the dough hopper 104, described below In some approaches, the doughs may be directly deposited from the mixers to the dough hopper 104 associated with the kibbler 105. In this case, the shape of the dough would take on the shape of the dough hopper 104 (e.g., rectangular, generally half cylindrical, etc.).

[0040] Generally, the slabs of the first and second doughs 115, 116 are formed to be a specific size and / or shape. When the dough takes the shape of a trough, an inner cavity of the trough may generally be sized to result in the desired dough dimensions. Further, when two different dough slabs 115, 116 are to be processed via a kibbler (described below) at a ratio that is not 50 / 50, the dough slabs 115, 116 may be formed to reflect this ratio. For instance, in one approach, two different troughs that are the same size are used to form two different doughs slabs having the same length and width, however, the doughs are added into the two troughs at different heights depending on the desired ratio. When the two dough slabs are subsequently stacked to create the dough stack, the two slabs are present in a specific ratio of height, volume, and / or weight between the two slabs, though generally matching in the width and length. When a 50 / 50 ratio of the dough slabs is desirable, the doughs may be formed to he the same shape and size, having the same width, length, and height.

[0041] In various non-limiting approaches, when two slabs 115, 116 are vertically stacked together, as described further below, the stack may have a weight between about 500 1,000 pounds to about 3,000 pounds or between about 1,400 pounds to about 2,000 pounds. In some embodiments, the clough stack may generally have a length, a width, and a height. In some approaches, each dimension may be between about 24 inches to about 70 inches. A minimum dimension of the stack, for example a height, may, in some embodiments, be about 24 inches, about 30 inches, or about 32 inches. A maximum dimension of the stack, for example a length, may, in some embod iments, be about 70 inches, about 60 inches, or about 55 inches. In some approaches, a length of a stack may be longer than a hei ght of the slab. As explained further below, a trough of the kibbler may have an operational heightDocket No. 9610-162436-WO Pas e 9 of32and an operational width that is only slightly larger than a height and width of the dough stack.

[0042] The doughs 115, 116 may have a temperature ranging from about 75°F to about 90°F at the end of the mixing for the subsequent holding and processing steps,

[0043] The system 100 further includes a kibbler 105 or other similar dough divider, a dough hopper 104 or trough, and a conveyor 107 for conveying the dough slabs 115, 116 from the dough hopper 104 to the kibbler 105. Kibblers are known in the art and function to break up the dough slabs or lumps into smaller kibbled pieces or chunks for feeding downstream processes (e.g., rotary molding), as described further below. While dough kibblers are often used to make doughs easier to handle and process and ensure more uniform consistency, it is not known to use a kibbler in the manner described herein to achieve a multi-color or marbled biscuit.

[0044] In some approaches, die dough hopper 104 and the kibbler 105 are integrated into a single, continuous piece of equipment, with the dough hopper 104 upstream from the kibbler 105, Shaffer® dough kibblers (e.g., Models HS6, HS8, HS10, HS 13, etc ) and APV dough kibblers, for instance, are non-limiting types of kibbler that may be employed in the systems and processes described herein. These kibblers include a dough hopper 104 upstream from the kibbler 105 and a conveyer on a floor of the dough hopper 104 and kibbler 105 that conveys the dough in the dough hopper 104 towards the kibbler blades. The dough hopper 104 and kibbler 105 may be positioned and configured to accept dough directly from the mixers 102, 103, or from a conveyer, a dough dump station, and / or other dough hopper or dough trough.

[0045] The kibbler 105 includes rotating blades, cutters, or paddles that turn at a controlled speed. As dough is fed into the kibbler 105, slowly conveyed on the conveyer 107 from the dough hopper 104, the rotating blades break, cut, tear, or crush the dough into smaller dough pieces or chunks. The design, number, and spacing of the blades determine in part the size of the pieces The speed of rotation, as well as the conveyer belt speed may also be adjusted to control the size of the kibbled dough pieces. For instance, in one exemplary approach, a kibbler grind speed is about 50 Hz to about 100 Hz. The conveyer belt speed may, in some embodiments, be about 20 Hz to about 40 Hz, Once the dough has been broken down into the desired size, a kibbled dough mixture 118 is discharged from theDocket No. 9610-162436-WO Page 10 of 32kibbler 105, typically onto a conveyer 107 or other feeder that transports it to the next stage of production.

[0046] Advantageously, the dough hopper 104 and the kibbler 105 may be configured so that the two d ifferent colored doughs 115, 116 are kibbled at the same time. Kibbling the two different colored doughs 115,, 116 at the same time provides a controlled way to ensure that the resulting kibbled dough reflects a desired color ratio in the kibbled mixture 118 to provide the multi-color or marbled effect in the final biscuit

[0047] For instance, with reference to FIGS. 2A and 2B, in one embodiment, the two different colored dough slabs 115, 116 are sized to be stacked in the dough hopper 104 and the kibbler 105. The first colored dough slab 115 may first be added to the dough hopper 104 with the second colored dough slab 116 placed on top of it to define a dough stack 117 The dough stack 117 may have a stack height hi and the dough hopper 104 may have a container height In greater than or about equal to the stack height hi to fully contain the dough stack 117, In some approaches, the stack height hi is about 1 to 4 feet and the container height I12 is a similar height or greater. The dough stack 117 may also have a dough stack width wi that is only slightly smaller than a dough hopper width wc so that the dough hopper 104 supports the shape of the dough slabs.

[0048] The first colored dough slab 115 and the second colored dough slab 116 may be present in the stack 117 at a specific, predetermined weight or volume ratio, and / or a specific, predetermined size and shape. For instance, in one approach, the first colored dough slab 115 and the second colored dough slab 116 are present hi the dough stack 117 in a 50:50 ratio by weight and / or volume, having about the same weight and / or volume. In this embodiment, both dough slabs 115, 116 may be formed to have a similar shape and dimensions, having about the same height, width, and length. In this approach, kibbling the dough stack 117 will result in about a 50:50 ratio of the first color to the second color in the kibbled dough mixture 118. In other approaches, the weight, volume, and / or height ratio of the dough slabs 11, 116 may be varied with respect one another to result i n a different ratio of the first color to the second color in the kibbled dough mixture 118 For instance, in one example the first dough slab 115 and the second dough slab 116 may be present in the dough stack 117 in a 30:70 height ratio. In this example, the volume ratio and / or weight ratio may also be 30:70. In this example, kibbling the dough stack 117 willDocket No. 9610-162436-WO Page 11 of 32result in about a 30:70 ratio of the first color to the second color in the kibbled dough mixture 118. In other examples, the height, volume, and / or weight ratios may be 70:30, 60:40, 40:60, 55:45, 45:55, etc., depending on the desired marbling effect In various approaches, the height, volume, and / or weight ratios of the two dough slabs 115, 116 may range from 10:90 to 90:10, from 15:85 to 85: 15, from 20:80 to 80:20, from 25:75 to 75:25, from 30:70 to 70:30, from 35:65 to 65:35, from 40:60 to 60:40, or from 45:55 to 55:45.

[0049] In some approaches a total weight of the two dough slabs 115, 116 comb ined may be between about 1,000 to about 2,000 pounds.

[0050] In some embodiments, an even 50:50 proportion of the dough slabs 115, 116 may achieve a relatively even marbling of the two colors in the final product. However, in some cases certain combinations of colors may have a more desirable marbling appearance in the final product when the dough slabs 115, 116 are initially unevenly proportioned. For instance, when a first color dough is darker or more vibrant than the second color dough, or when marbling of the two colors creates a third color that is visually more similar to die first color, using proportionally less of the first color may result in a more balanced or harmonious visual appearance of the final product. FIGS. 8A, 8B, and 8C illustrate this technique. For instance, FIG. 8A illustrates biscuit precursors (prior to baking) resulting from pink and blue dough slabs 115, 116 being stacked and kibbled a 50:50 ratio. The resulting biscuit precursors were round to appear more heavily blue than pink, possible due to the blended areas of pink and blue defining a purple color that is more visually similar to blue. FIG. 8B illustrates biscuit precursors resulting from the pink and blue dough slabs being stacked and kibbled at a 60:40 pink: blue ratio. A final baked biscuit resulting from the 60:40 pink: blue ratio is also shown in FIG. 6A. With additional pink, it was unexpectedly found that the resulting marbling had a more balanced appearance. FIG. 8C illustrates biscuit precursors resulting from the pink and blue dough slabs being stacked and kibbled at a 70:30 pink: blue ratio. These biscuit precursors appear to have significantly more pink than blue, as expected When other colors are used such as yellow / red or red / black, different ratios may achieve a more balanced appearance. For instance, for red / black marbling, it was unexpectedly found that a 70:30 red: black ratio achieved the most balanced appearance of the colors, as shown in FIG. 6B. For yellow / red marbling, it wras also unexpectedly found that a 70:30 yellow: red ratio achieved the most balancedDocket No. 9610-162436-WO Page 12 of 32appearance of the colors, as shown in FIG. 6C. In these embodiments, using proportionally less of the darker color resulted in the more harmonious appearance of the colors [00511 In some approaches, three or more colored dough slabs are stacked in the dough stack 117 to result in a kibbled dough mixture and final biscuit having three or more colors. Similar to with tw'O doughs, the height, weight, and / or volume ratios of the three or more dough slabs may be varied to achieve the desired amount of colors and / or marbling effect in the final product (e.g., an even proportion or various uneven proportions)

[0052] In exemplary embodiments, the above-described height, weight and / or volume ratios of the dough slabs in the dough stack 117 generally determines the ratio of the two colored doughs in the kibbled dough mixture 118 because the cutters or blades of the kibbler 105 are positioned to simultaneously kibble the entire leading edge or leading face of the dough stack 117, effectively resulting in the two doughs 115, 116 being kibbled in die predetermined ratio. This technique generally preserves the predetermined ratio of the two different colored dough slabs in the kibbled dough mixture 118. Thus, for instance, if die two different colored dough slabs 115, 116 are present m the dough stack 117 in a 50:50 height, volume, and weight ratio, the dough slabs 115, 116 are subjected to the kibbler blades in about the same ratio, resulting in about a 50:50 ratio of the different colored doughs in the kibbled dough mixture 118. Due to the nature of the equipment and processing, the ratio of the colors m the kibbled dough mixture 118 may not be exactly the same as in the dough stack 117 but rather within a margin of 5%. Thus, the kibbled dough mixture having a ratio of the colored doughs that is ‘'‘about” the same as the ratio of the doughs in the dough stack 117 is considered to include variations within 5% of the dough stack ratio.[00531 With reference to FIGS. 2A and 2B, in some embodiments, the kibbler 105 includes one or more row's 112, 113, 114 of rotating cutters or blades. The rows 112, 113, 114 of rotating cutters or blades may be mounted on parade! rotating shafts at different heights of the kibbler 105. In some approaches, the number and positioning of the blades may be adjusted to set a desired size for the kibbled dough. The shafts are driven by a motor, and their speed can be regulated to control both the intensity and size of the kibbling action. To kibble the dough, the dough stack 117 is conveyed from the dough hopper 104 to the rows of rotating cutters 112, 113, 11, which act on the leading face ofDocket No. 9610-162436-WO Page 13 of 32the dough stack 117 to kibble the dough stack into kibbled dough pieces. The kibbled dough pieces are output directly from the kibbler 105 as a kibbled mixture 118, as noted above, and conveyed to the rotary molder.

[0054] Since it is desirable that the entire height of the dough stack 117 is kibbled by the rotating cutters 112, 113, 114 at the same time to maintain the predetermined color ratio in the kibbled mixture 118, a kibbler operational height In (e.g,, a total height of the rotating cutters) may be the same or about the same as the dough stack height hi.

[0055] In the illustrated approach, for example, there are three parallel rows 112, 113, 114 of rotating cutters at different vertical heights of the kibbler 105, The first row 112 includes a first rotating shaft 112a with a plurality of first cutters 112b extending radially from and along the first rotating shaft 112a, The second row 113, directly below the first row 112, includes a second rotating shaft 113a with a plurality of second cutters 113b positioned about and along the second rotating shaft 113a The third row 114, directly below the second row 113, includes a third rotating shaft 114a with a plurality of third cutters 114b positioned about and along the third rotating shaft 114a. In some approaches groupings of cutters are spaced along the respective shafts, each grouping including two or more cutters radially extending from the rotating shaft m different directions from a common region along the length of the shaft.[00561 The total kibbler operational height hi from a distal tip of a topmost cutter 112b to a distal tip of a bottommost cutter 114b may be about the same as the dough stack height hi. In some approaches, a total kibbler operational width W3 (e.g., about a width of the rotating shafts and / or a width from a first blade along the shaft to a last blade on the shaft) is about the same as the dough stack width wt and may also be about the same as the dough hopper container width w?„ The kibbler operational height lu and width W3 being about the same as the dough stack height hi and width ws ensures that the entire leading face of the dough stack 117 is kibbled at once, effectively resulting in the two doughs 115, 116 being kibbled in the predetermined ratio and thus the predetermined ratio of the two different colored dough slabs being maintained in the kibbled dough mixture 118.

[0057] The illustrated kibbler configuration is non-limiting. Any kibbler cutter configurations known in the art may be used to the extent such kibbler cutters are able toDocket No. 9610-162436-WO Pace 14 of 32kibble both doughs at about the same time and achieve the desired kibble size to produce the multi-color or marbling effect in the final product. For instance, in one non-limiting approach, the cutters include a stem extending radially from the shaft and a blade (e.g., a square blade) at a di stal end of the stem. In some embodiments, the cutters may include straight or curved blades. Other kibbler configurations may include rotary blades, guillotine blades, wire cutters, roller cuters, grater blades, and / or hammer blades. The blades, in various approaches, may be straight or curved, and may be serrated and / or perforated,

[0058] In addition, the amount and spacing of the shafts or rows of cutters, the number, spacing, and positioning of the cutters on the shafts, and / or the dimensions (e g., length), shape, and type of the cutters or blades may be adjusted depending on the size and dimensions of the dough stack 117, the desired size of the kibbled dough pieces, and / or die desired marbling effect in die final product For instance, in various embodiments there may be 2, 4, 5, or more rows of rotating cutters. In various embodiments, each row may have 2 to 30, 3 to 20, or 4 to 15 cutters or blades.[00591 In some embodiments, for instance, there are two rows of rotating cuters. For instance, m one approach, there may be two row's with each row having 7 to 12 arms, and each arm having a single blade or one or more blades. For example, each row may have 9 arms in one non-limiting example. In one embodiment, the arms may be arranged along the length and circumference of the rotating shaft in a cascade, undulating, or helical pattern. For instance, the positioning of the arms may gradually diagonally decrease and / or increase in height from the outermost arms towards the centennost arm when viewing the length of the rotating shaft. The arms may also be positioned at different circumferential positions of the rotating shaft along its length. In addition, when there are multiple ro ws, one of the row's may be sei back with respect to the other row's so that the dough stack contacts one of the rows before the other.

[0060] In some embodiments, a length of the arms carrying the blades may be about 3 to about 7 inches, such as about 5 inches.

[0061] As noted above, in operation, the dough stack 117 is conveyed to the cutters of the kibbler 105 which engage the leading face of the dough stack 117 and cut or tear the dough stack 117 into smaller kibbled pieces. Since the kibblers herein kibble the entire leadingDocket No. 9610-162436-WO Pace 15 of 32face of the dough stack 117, the color ratio is maintained in the kibbled mixture 118. Additionally, because the doughs are stacked, when the cutters simultaneously kibble the stacked doughs, the dough pieces fall vertically into the same output area, leading to an intermingling of the differently colored dough fragments as the kibbling proceeds. Thus, the vertical stacking of the different colored dough slabs 115, 116 leads to a kibbler output that is a mixture of pieces of the different colored doughs 115, 116.

[0062] In some embodiments, instead of being stacked, the two different dough slabs 115, 116 may instead be sized so that they can be placed side-by-side in the dough hopper 104 and conveyed to the kibbler blades side-by-side to be simultaneously kibbled Tn this approach, the different colored kibbled dough is output side-by-side, so further mixing of the pieces would be required prior to rotary molding

[0063] The kibbled pieces may vary' to some degree in size and shape. Generally, in some approaches the kibbled pieces may be chunks or strips Tn some embodiments, the size of the kibbled pieces may depend in part on the size of the final biscuit product and the desired appearance of the marbling. For instance, a smaller biscuit product may require proportionally smaller kibbled pieces to ensure that there is sufficient marbling and both colors end up in each of the biscuits. If the kibbled pieces are too large relative to the final products, for example, there is an increased risk that some of the final biscuits could end up being formed from just a few kibbled pieces that are almost ah one color, resulting in insufficient marbling. In some approaches, the biscuits may be about 0.5 inches to about 3 inches in diameter (or length / width) and about 0.05 inches to about 0.5 inches in height.[00641 In some approaches, the resulting kibbled pieces have a largest dimension ranging from about 0.5 inches to about 7 inches. For instance, m one embodiment, a thm strip may have a length of about 4.5 inches to about 7 inches and a width of about I inches to about 3 inches. In another embodiment, a th strip may have a length of about 1.5 inches to about 4.5 inches and a width about 1 inches to about 2.5 inches, or a length of about 2 inches to about 4 inches and a width of about 1.5 inches to about 2 inches In some approaches, the kibbled pieces may be even smaller, having a maximum dimension between about 005 inches to about 05 inches. The kibbler may be configured so that a narrow or wide range of sizes of the kibbled pieces are output from the kibbler.Docket No. 9610-162436-WO

[0065] In some approaches, the kibbled mixture 118 includes pieces that are entirely a first color (i.e., kibbled from the first dough slab 115) and pieces that are entirely a second color (i.e., kibbled from the second dough slab 116). This is because at least some of the cutters of the kibbler 105 are vertically positioned to engage only the first dough slab 115 and at least some of the cutters of the kibbler 105 are vertically positioned to engage only the second dough slab 116. In some approaches, the kibbled mixture 118 also includes pieces that are both colors. This occurs when some of the kibbler cutters are vertically positioned to engage both the first dough slab 115 and the second dough slab 116. For instance, in a kibbler cutter confi uration in which there are three rows of cutters 112, 113, 114 as shown in FIG 2B, and the dough stack 117 has a 50' 50 ratio of the dough slabs 115, 116 as shown in FIG 2A, the first row of cutters 112 may engage only the second dough slab 116, the third row of cutters 114 may engage only the first dough slab 115, and the second row of cutters 113 may engage both the first dough slab 115 and the second dough slab 116,

[0066] After kibbling, the kibbled dough mixture 118 may be transported for further processing, such as a molding or another fonning / cutting operation. As illustrated, the kibbled dough mixture 118 may be discharged from the kibbler 105 to a belt conveyer 107, which may convey the kibbled dough mixture 118 to a rotary hopper 108. In some approaches, the conveyer 107 is a flighted conveyer, having partitions or carriers (‘'‘flights”) at regular intervals that help to control the position and movement of different portions of the kibbled dough mixture 118 as it is transported. Portions of the kibbled dough mixture 118 from each partition may be sequentially discharged into the rotary hopper 108.[00671 From the rotary hopper 108, kibbled dough mixture 118 may be fed into a rotary molder 109 or die roll. The kibbled dough mixture 118 is not sheeted prior to rotary molding or elsewhere in the process. Commercially available rotary molders or die roils may be used in the molding operation. As is generally known, the die roil operates via a large roller engraved with a plurality shaped cavities (a “die” or mold) pressing against a belt carrying the dough m ixture. In this case, the kibbled dough mixture 118 is forced into the engraved cavities of the die, taking on the desi red shapes and impri nts (including any desired embossing). The shaped dough is then extracted from the dies to form a plurality of multi-colored or marbled individual bi scuit precursors 119, such as those shown in FIG.7 A. In embodiments, the extraction may occur by a knife or wire scraping the formedDocket No. 9610-162436-WO Page 17 of 32biscuit precursors 119 off the roller and onto a moving conveyer belt 123. The biscuit precursors 119 may then be transported to a baking oven 111 or other baking or cooking device to produce the final biscuit products 121, such as those shown in FIG. 7B.

[0068] The biscuit precursors 119 and final biscuits 121 products may have exterior surfaces with varied ratios of the first color to the second color. That is, the predetermined ratio of the colors in the dough stack 117 and in the kibbled dough mixture 118 may not be perfectly maintained in the biscuit precursors 119 and final biscuits 1 1. Th is is because as the kibbled dough mixture 118 is introduced into the individual rotary molder molds, the varied distribution of the differently colored dough pieces in the mixture can lead to certain molds having more or Jess of a certain color. Thus, the ratio of the colors in die final biscuit products may vary from one biscuit to another, despite the controlled ratio of the colored dough pieces in the kibbled dough mixture 118, This variability introduced during the molding process is a key characteristic of the process, resulting m the distinctive marbling that makes each biscuit visually appealing and unique.

[0069] Despite the variation in color ratio from one biscuit to another, the overall batch would generally maintain a certain average ratio of colors consistent with the color ratio in the kibbled dough mixture 118 and the dough stack 117. In addition, when dough stack ratios such as between 70:30 and 30:70 are used, the biscuit precursors and / or final biscuits may generally have at least a certain minimum amount of visual heterogeneous appearance of each of the two colors to achieve a multi-color or marbling effect. For instance, as discussed above, the biscuits herein include segments (e.g., streaks, zones, portions) of the first color, for example on an exterior or an exterior surface of the biscuit, in an amount of at least about 10% and at most about 90% of the area of the exterior or exterior surface and segments of the second color m an amount of at least about 10% and at most about 90% of the area of the exterior or exterior surface. In some embodiments, appearance of the first color and / or the second color on the exterior surfaces of the biscuit may be in an amount of at least about 15%, at least about 20%, at least about 25%, at least about 30%, or at least about 40%. In some embodiments, the biscuits have discrete color segments present on the exterior surfaces of the biscuit in a specific ratio with respect to one another. For instance, a ratio of the first color to the second color on the exterior surfaces of the biscuit may be from about 1:9 to about 9:1, from about 2:9 to about 9:2, from about 1:3 to about 3:1, fromDocket No. 9610-162436-WO Page 18 of 32about 3:7 to about 7:3, from about 1:2 to about 2:1, from about 2:3 to about 3:2, or from about 4:5 to about 5:4. In some embodiments, any remaining colored portions of the exterior surfaces of the multi-colored or marbled biscuits apart from the first color and the second color segments may constitute additional colors resulting from blending of the first color and the second color

[0070] The multi-color or marbling effect may be present on all exterior surfaces of the biscuit, including, for instance, both a top or first surface (shown in FIGS. 6A-6C) and a bottom or second surface (shown in FIG. 9), The multi-color or marbling effect may also be present throughout the interior of the biscuit.[00711 With reference to FIGS 3, 4, and 5, exemplary methods 300, 400, 500 of manufacturing a multi-colored or marbled biscuit are provided that may employ the system 100 described herein Many of the processes involved in these methods ha ve already been described above with respect to the system 100 and thus the above descriptions are incorporated by reference in the descriptions of the methods 300, 400, 500 to avoid redundancy.

[0072] The method 300 may include a step 310 of preparing a first dough and a second dough, the first dough having a first color and die second dough having a second color different than the first color. The dough preparation step 310 may include combining the dough ingredients for each dough in a mixer, as described above Further, as noted above, in some approaches, the first and second doughs may be prepared at about the same time using different mixers. The doughs may undergo a resting period and may be formed into lumps or slabs of dough having similar shapes. In some approaches, three or more different doughs having different colors may be provided and used in the remaining steps to provide a multi-colored or marbled biscuit having three or more distinct colors.

[0073] The method 300 may further include a step 320 of placing the first dough and the second dough in a dough hopper with the second dough stacked on top of the first dough to define a dough stack and a step 330 of conveying the dough stack to a kibbler, such as any of the kibblers described above. In some approaches, the kibbler includes a plurality of rows of blades at different heights so that the first dough and the second dough in the dough stack are kibbled at the same time. In some approaches, a first height of the dough hopper is sized to contain a second height of the dough stack, and a third operational heightDocket No. 9610-162436-WOof the kibbler is sized to operate on the entire second height of the dough stack. In some embodiments, a ratio of the first dough to the second dough in the dough stack is between about 30:70 to about 70:30.

[0074] At step 340, the method 300 includes kibbling the first dough and the second dough in the dough stack at the same time to provide a mixture of kibbled pieces of the first dough and the second dough. The mixture of kibbled pieces of the first dough and the second dough includes discrete portions of each of the first color and the second color. In some approaches, the mixture of kibbled pieces comprises a first plurality of pieces that are entirely the first color, a second plurality of pieces that are entirely the second color, and a third plurality of pieces that are both the first color and the second color. Tn some embodiments, a ratio of the first dough to the second dough in the dough hopper is about the same as a ratio of the discrete portions of the first color to the second color in the mixture of kibbled pieces, as explained above

[0075] At step 350, the method 300 includes shaping and cutting the mixture of kibbled pieces to provide individual biscuit precursors, such as by the rotary molding process described above. The method 300 further includes baking 360 or otherwise cooking the biscuit precursor to provide a biscuit with a multi-color or marbled appearance having discrete segments of the first color and the second color. The baking step 360 can including baking the dough at a temperature of about 250°F, 300°F, 325°F, 350°F, 400° F, 425°F, 450, 55O°F, or 600°F (or in a range between any of the foregoing temperatures ) for about for about 2, 4, 5, 8, 10, 12, 15, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26, 28, or 30 minutes (or in a range between any of the foregoing times). In some embodiments, the baking step 360 occurs in a continuous oven which may optionally have multiple temperature zones. After baking, the final baked biscuit products may be cooled and then subjected to a packaging step.

[0076] In some embodiments, the baking step 360 is effective to achieve a specific final moisture content of the final biscuit product. For instance, in some approaches, baking is conducted to obtain a final biscuit product having a moisture content of no more than 5 wt.% or, in some approaches, no more than 4 wt.%

[0077] The method 400 includes a step 420 of placing a first dough and a second dough in a dough hopper, the first dough having a first color and the second dough having a second color different than the first color. In some approaches, the first dough and the secondDocket No. 9610-162436-WO Page 20 of 32dough may be stacked to define a dough stack. In a further step 430, the first dough and the second dough are conveyed to a kibbler having a plurality of blades such that at least one blade of the plurality of blades is positioned to engage the first dough and at least another blade of the plurality of blades is positioned to engage the second dough, as described above. At step 440, the kibbler kibbles the first dough and the second dough at the same time to provide a mixture of kibbled pieces of the first dough and the second dough containing discrete portions of each of the first color and the second color. In some approaches, the mixture of kibbled pieces comprises a first plurality of pieces that are entirely the first color, a second plurality of pieces that are entirely the second color, and a third plurality of pieces that are both the first color and the second color. In some embodiments, a ratio of the first dough to the second dough in die dough hopper is about the same as a ratio of the discrete portions of the first color to the second color in the mixture of kibbled pieces, as explained above

[0078] At step 450, the mixture of kibbled pieces may be subjected to a rotary molding operation to provide individual, formed, multi-colored or marbled biscuit precursors. At step 450, the method 400 includes baking the biscuit precursors to provide multi-color or marbled biscuits having discrete segments of the first color and die second color.

[0079] The method 500 includes a step 520 of placing a first dough and a second dough in a dough hopper, the first dough having a first color and the second dough having a second color different than the first color, the first dough and the second dough being present in a first ratio with respect to each other. At step 530, the first dough and the second dough are conveyed together to a kibbler. At step 540, the first dough and the second dough are kibbled at the same time to provide a mixture of kibbled pieces of the first dough and the second dough such that a second ratio of the first color to the second color in the mixture of kibbled pieces is about the same as the first ratio. Like with methods 300 and 400, method 500 also may include a step 550 of rotary molding the mixture of kibbled pieces to provide a biscuit precursor and a step 560 of baking the biscuit precursor to provide a biscuit having segments of the first color and the second color.

[0080] Any of methods 300, 400, or 500 may further include forming a multi-colored or marbled sandwich cookie from the final biscuits, such as that illustrated in FIG. 10. For instance, a first multi-colored biscuit 621a and a second multi-colored biscuit 621b may beDocket No. 9610-162436-WOlayered with a filling layer 622 (e.g., a creme, chocolate, jelly, or other common confectionery fillings known in the art) therebetween. The filling layer 622 may or may not have a multi-color or marbled appearance.

[0081] In some approaches, the biscuits of the sandwich cookie or of a single biscuit cookie may include one or more cut-outs to enhance the design and appearance of the cookie. The cut-outs may have various shapes, such as circle, oval, square, star, heart, and other symbols. In some approaches, the cut-outs cooperate with other embossing of the exterior surfaces of the biscuits to enhance a design. When the cookie is a sandwich cookie, one or both of the two biscuits may include a cut-out so that the filling layer is visible therethrough.

[0082] The system 100 and methods 300, 400, 500 described herein, in some embodiments, may be executed in a continuous process or a batch process. In addition, the processing components of the system may be fully coupled, continuous, and automated so that biscuit manufacturing can proceed in a timed, controlled manner without manual input, as is known in the art.[00831 The doughs used to make die biscuits described herein may have varied composition depending on desired characteristics of the final product. However, in illustrative embodiments the doughs are cookie doughs. A non- limiting dough formulation according to some embodiments is provided below.[00841 Table 1 -- Exemplary Dough FormulationDough Ingredient Percentage by weight of doughFlour 25–75Granulated Sugar 10–30High fructose corn syrup 0–5Vanilla flavoring 0–5Salt 0–5Vanillin 0–5Emulsifier 0–5Sodium Bicarbonate 0–10Water 2–20Docket No. 9610-162436-WOOil 5-20Cocoa or chocolate 0-20Colorant 0-5

[0085] The term “moisture content” means the total amount of water present in the material being discussed. With respect to doughs, “moisture” includes the water inherently present in the dough ingredients as well as any added water. In various approaches, the moisture content of exemplary doughs for use in the systems and methods described herein may be about 7% to about 50%, about 8% to about 40%, about 9% to about 30%, or about 10% to about 25% by weight of the dough.

[0086] In some approaches, the moisture content of the final baked biscuit is about 0.2% to about 5%, In exemplary embodiments, the moisture content may be about 0.3% to about 4%, about 0.4% to about 3.5%, or about 2% to about 4%

[0087] The doughs disclosed herein may include various flours, starches or other bulking ingredients, water, one or more colorants, and one or more additional ingredients. For instance, the doughs may further include oils / fats, emulsifying agents, leavening agents, thickeners / viscosifying agents (including, for example, additional starches such as native or modified starches), preservatives, sweeteners such as sugar, salt, and other flavorants.

[0088] The total flour content of the dough may include finely milled, ground, pulverized or granulated grains such as conventional flours or powders, and may, in certain embodiments, include flakes or granules formed from grains. As used herein, “flour” does not refer to a separated or extracted starch ingredient (e.g., an added starch ingredient). In embodiments, the flours may be whole grain flours and / or refined flours In various approaches, the flours may have undergone certain physical and / or chemical processing known in the art to achieve desired characteristics for the flours. Flours such as wheat flour, potato flour, corn flour, rice flour, buckwheat flour, oat flour, teff flour, sorghum flour, bean flour, barley flour, tapioca flour, and other suitable flours known in the art may be used, which may be, for example, whole grain, refined, enriched, or present in other known forms. In some embodiments, the doughs and biscuits described herein, such as those containing no wheat flour, may be gluten-free, defined as having no more than the maximum amount of gluten permissible under one or more definitions of gluten-freeDocket No. 9610-162436-WOaccording to applicable standards or regulations. For instance, in the United States 20 ppm gluten or less is considered “gluten-free” per FDA regulations. In some embodiments, the dough may have a total flour content of about 25 wt.% to about 75 wt.% or about 35 wt.% to about 65 wt.% by weight of the dough.

[0089] In some embodiments, the dough includes about 5 wt.% to about 20 wt.% of a lipid ingredient such as an oil or fat. In exemplary embodiments, the lipid is an oil. Any fats or oils known in the art for use in biscuits may be used. For instance, one or more oils may be selected from canola, coconut, corn, cottonseed, flaxseed, grapeseed, palm, palm kernel, peanut, rapeseed, rice bran, safflower, sesame, soybean, sunflower, vegetable, and / or avocado oil. Fats such as butter, lard, margarine, shortening, or cocoa butter may also be used

[0090] Emulsifiers may also be included in the dough in certain embodiments. Exemplary emulsifiers may include, for instance, polyoxyethylene sorbitan fatty acid esters, soy lecithin, stearoyl lactylates, DATEM, and mixtures thereof. The emulsifiers may be included in an amount of 0 to about 5 wt.% or 0.5 wt.% to about 5 wt.% by weight of the dough. In some approaches, one or more thickeners such as hydrocolloids or starches may be included in the dough.[00911 Sweeteners may be included in an amount effective to impart a desired level of sweetness to the dough or final biscuit, such as in an amount of about 5 wt.% to about 35 wt.%. Examples of s weeteners include any one or more of natural or artificial sweeteners, such as glucose, fructose, sucrose, lactose, mannose, maltose, fruit sugar, brown sugar, agave nectar, honey, corn syrup, high-fructose corn syrup, or other syrups such as maltose syrup or glycose syrup, or molasses. Sugar alcohols may be included such as sorbitol, xylitol, mannitol, maltitol, lactitol, or erythritol. Low or zero calorie sweeteners such as aspartame. Acesulfame potassium, Neotame, Stevia leaf extract, monk fruit extract, st eviol glycosides, mogrosides, Saccharin, and / or Sucralose may also be included. The sweeteners may, for instance, be granulated, powdered, laminated, and / or inverted sugar syrup

[0092] To color each of the doughs, one or more colorants may be present in an amount of up to 5 wt.%. In some approaches, colorants are included m an amount of about 0.3 wt.% to about 5 wt.%. Natural colorants, artificial colorants, water soluble colorants, and / or oil soluble colorants may be employed.Docket No. 9610-162436-WO

[0093] Salt may be included in an amount effective to impart a desired level of saltiness to the dough or final biscuit. In embodiments, the salt may be present in the dough in an amount of 0 to about 5 wt.% or about 0.1 wt.% to about 5 wt.% by weight of the dough. Other flavoring ingredients may also be included in the dough such as seasonings, spices, herbs, flakes, inclusions, or other flavorants. Artificial or nature flavoring ingredients may be added, in some approaches, as liquids, powders, or in their natural form as inclusions. Exemplary, non-limiting flavoring ingredients include chocolate, cocoa powder, vanilla extract, almond extract, lemon zest or extract, orange zest or extract, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice, brown butter, toasted nuts, nut butters, nut flavoring (e.g, almond, pecan, walnut, hazelnut), coconut flakes, dried fruit, fruit puree, peanut butter, coffee or espresso powder, honey, maple syrup, caramel sauce, pumpkin puree, jam or fruit preserves, molasses, mint extract, anise extract, cardamom, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, toffee bits, etc. In some approaches, cocoa and / or chocolate liquor is included in an amount up to 20 wt.% by weigh t of the biscuit,

[0094] In embodiments, the dough may include one or more leavening agents and / or leavening acids in an amount of 0 to 10 wt.% or in an amount of from 0.1 wt.% to about 1.5 wt.% by weight of the dough, such as ammonium bicarbonate, sodium bicarbonate, monocalcium phosphate (or dicalcium orthophosphate), sodium acid pyrophosphate, sodium stearoyl lactylate, diammonium phosphate, tartaric acid, and mixtures thereof In an illustrative embodiment, baking soda and / or calcium phosphate are employed. Yeast may be used alone or in combination with chemical leavening agents. The dough can also be an unleavened dough in some embodiments.

[0095] FIG. 11 illustrates an exemplary computing system 900 that may be coupled to the system 100 and used to automate and control operation, movement, timing, and other parameters of the various food processing equipment, processes, and methods herein to create a continuous, automated manufacturing process. Such systems are known in the art. The computing system 900 may be operably coupled with one or more controllers or actuators (e.g, electric, mechanical) of the processing equipment to control operation of the equipment. It will be appreciated that computing system 900 is one example of a suitable computing system for implementing the systems and methods herein and the components may be distributed over one or more computing devices.Docket No. 9610-162436-WO

[0096] As shown, the computing system 900 can include a control circuit and / or one or more processors 932 operably coupled to the food processing equipment (as is known in the art) as well as one or more memoiy components 931. The one or more processors 932 can include any suitable processing device, such as a microprocessor,, microcontroller, integrated circuit, logic device, or other suitable processing device. The one or more memory components 931 can include one or more computer-readable media, including, but not limited to, non-transitory computer-readable media, RAM, ROM. hard drives, flash drives, or other memory devices The one or more memory components 931 can include remote storage or internet storage, such as cloud storage. The one or more memory components 931 can store information accessible by the one or more processors 932, including computer-readable instructions 937a that can be executed by the one or more processors 932. The computer- readable instructions 937a can be any set of instructions that when executed by die one or more processors 932, cause the one or more processors 932 to perform operations. The computer-readable instructions 937a can be software written in any suitable programming language or program code or can be implemented in hardware. In some embodiments, the computer-readable instructions can be executed by the one or more processors 932 to cause the one or more processors 932 to perform operations, such as the operations for activating / deactivating and / or controlling the systems and methods described herein, and / or any other operations or functions associated with manufacturing the biscuits described herein.

[0097] The memory components 931 can further store data 937b that can be accessed by the processors 932. For example, the data can include manufacturing data such as location data, timing data, sensor data, image data, defect data, equipment health data, test data, etc. The data can include one or more tables, functions, algorithms, 2D and 3D images, equations, etc.

[0098] The computing system 900 also includes a communication interface 938 used to communicate, for example, among different devices or components of the computing system 900 and / or the manufacturing system 100. The communication interface 938 can include any suitable components for interfacing with one or more networks, including for example, transceivers 935, transmitters, receivers, controllers, antennas, or other suitable components, allowing the system 900 to communicate over a communication bus, a distributed computerDocket No. 9610-162436-WOand / or communication networks (e.g., a local area network (LAN), the Internet, wide area network (WAN), etc.),, communication link, other networks or communication channels with other devices and / or other such communications or combination of two or more of such communication methods. Further the transceiver 935 can be configured for wired, wireless, optical, fiber optical cable, satellite, or other such communication configurations or combinations of two or more of such communications. Some embodiments include one or more input / output (I / O) ports 939 that allow one or more devices to couple with the system 100, The I / O ports can be substantially any relevant port or combinations of ports, such as but not limited to USB, Ethernet, or other such ports. The I / O interface can be configured to allow wired and / or wireless communication coupling to external components. For example, the I / O interface can provide wired communication and / or wireless communication (e.g, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, cellular, RF, and / or other such wireless communication), and in some instances may include any known wired and / or wireless interfacing device, circuit and / or connecting device, such as but not limited to one or more transmitters, receivers, transceivers, or combination of two or more of such devices[00991 The computing system 900 also includes one or more user interfaces 933 that can allow a user to interact with the system 900, input or change parameters of the system 100, and receive information. In some instances, the user interface 933 includes a display 936a and / or one or more user inputs 936b, such as buttons, touch screen, track ball, keyboard, mouse, etc., which can be part of or wired or wirelessly coupled with the system 900.

[0100] The mater set forth in the foregoing description and accompanying drawings is offered by way of example and illustration only and not as a limitation. While certain embodiments have been shown and described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that additions, changes, and modifications may be made without departing from die broader aspects of the technological contribution. The actual scope of the protection sought is intended to be defined in the following claims.Docket No. 9610-162436-WO

Claims

ClaimsWhat is claimed is:

1. A method for manufacturing a biscuit with a marbled appearance., the method comprising' preparing a first dough and a second dough, the first dough having a first color and die second dough having a second color different than die first color;placing the first dough and the second dough in a dough hopper with die second dough stacked on top of the first dough to define a dough stack;conveying the dough stack to a kibbler;kibbling the first dough and the second dough in the dough stack at the same time to provide a mixture of kibbled pieces of die first dough and the second dough;rotary molding the mixture of kibbled pieces to provide a biscuit precursor, baking the biscuit precursor to provide a biscuit with a marbled appearance having discrete segments of the first color and the second color.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the kibbler includes a plurality of rows of blades at different heights so that the first dough and the second dough in the dough stack are kibbled at the same time.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein a first height of the dough hopper is sized to contain a second height of the dough stack, and a third operational height of the kibbler is sized to operate on the entire second height of the dough stack.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the method does not include a dough sheeting step.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein a ratio of the first dough to the second dough in the dough stack is between about 30:70 to about 70:30.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the mixture of kibbled pieces of the first dough and the second dough includes discrete portions of each of the first color and the second colorDocket No. 9610-162436-WO Page 28 of 327. The method of claim 1, wherein the mixture of kibbled pieces comprises a first plurality of pieces that are entirely the first color, a second plurality of pieces that are entirely the second color, and a third plurality of pieces that are both the first color and the second color.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the first dough and the second dough are cookie doughs.9 A biscuit made from the method of claim 1, wherein the biscuit has a marbled appearance having one or more discrete segments of the first color and one or more discrete segments of the second color10 The biscuit of claim 9, wherein a ratio of the first color to the second color in the biscuit is from about 10:90 to about 90: 10.

11. A cookie comprising two biscuits made from the method of claim I, the two biscuits having a marbled appearance with discrete segments of the first color and the second color, and a filling layer between the two biscuits.

12. A method for manufacturing a multi-color biscuit, the method comprising.placing a first dough and a second dough in a dough hopper, the first dough having a first color and the second dough having a second color different than the first color; conveying the first dough and the second dough to a kibbler having a plurality of blades such that at least one blade of the plurality of blades is positioned to engage the first dough and at least another blade of the plurality of blades is positioned to engage the second dough;via the kibbler, kibbling the first dough and the second dough at the same time to provide a mixture of kibbled pieces of the first dough and the second dough containing discrete portions of each of the first color and the second color;rotary' mold ing the mixture of kibbled pieces to provide a biscuit precursor; baking the biscuit precursor to provide a biscuit having discrete segments of the first color and the second color.Docket No. 9610-162436-WO13. The method of claim 12, wherein the mixture of kibbled pieces comprises a first plurality' of pieces that are entirely' the first color, a second plurality of pieces that are entirely the second color, and a third plurality of pieces that are both the first color and the second color.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein a rati o of the first dough to the second dough in the dough hopper is about the same as a ratio of the discrete portions of the first color to the second color in the mixture of kibbled pieces15 A sandwich cookie comprising two biscuits made from the method of claim 12, each of the two biscuits having one or more discrete segments of the first color and one or more discrete segments of the second color, and a filling layer between the two biscuits16 The sandwich cookie of claim 15, wherein at least 10% of an exterior surface of each of the two biscuits comprises the one or more discrete segments of the first color and at least 10% of die exterior surface of each of the two biscuits comprises the one or more discrete segments of the second color.

17. A method for manufacturing a multi-color biscuit, the method comprising.placing a first dough and a second dough in a dough hopper, the first dough having a first color and the second dough having a second color different than the first color, the first dough and the second dough being present in a first ratio with respect to each other:conveying the first dough and the second dough together to a kibbler; via the kibbler, kibbling the first dough and the second dough at the same time to provide a mixture of kibbled pieces of the first dough and the second dough such that a second ratio of the first color to the second color in the mixture of kibbled pieces is about the same as the first ratio;rotary molding the mixture of kibbled pi eces to provide a biscuit precursor; baking the biscuit precursor to provide a biscuit having first segments of the first color and second segments of the second colorDocket No. 9610-162436-WO18. The method of claim 17, wherein the first dough and the second dough are stacked to define a dough stack during the kibbling step19. The method of claim 18, wherein an operational height of the kibbler is sized to operate on an entire height of the dough stack.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein a ratio of the first dough to the second dough in the dough stack is between about 30:70 to about 70:30,Docket No. 9610-162436-WO

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