Whole Grain Biscuits With Barley, Pistachio: Eggless Healthy Cookie Recipe

pistachio barley cookies

Looking for a whole grain biscuits recipe? Well, you already know that cookies make my favorite tea time accompaniment.

To me biscuits are another form of healthy snacks. I am sure you, too, love healthy cookies. Whole grain biscuits baked at home do not have a match, do they?

How many of you have tried to bake multigrain cookies at home? I started out two years back, and the journey has been very pleasant- of course, I have had my share of failures too. But that have not prevented me from experimenting with different whole grain biscuits recipes.

I combine healthiest of ingredients to bake cookies at home, unlike the market or packet cookies that use maida or refined flour or all-purpose flour for baking.

Maida is unwelcome at my place. Check all-purpose flour disadvantages here.

all purpose flour disadvantages

So you will always get cookies baked with healthiest of cereals and grains, of which oats hold a major share.

homemade whole grain biscuits

If you are looking for healthy cookie options, you will find numerous cookie recipes here that use oatmeal, whole wheat flour, chickpea flour, barley, among other cereal grains.
This time I have come with barley pistachio cookies. This batch is special since I baked these for my family in Patiala.

For more detailed Pistachio benefits, click here.

Pistachio Benefits

With a low calorie content of 160 per ounce, pistachios are a blend of vitamins, minerals, proteins, dietary fiber, and healthy fats. The pista tree takes 10-12 years to bear fruit. Some of the pistachio benefits include a healthy heart and cardiovascular system, diabetes management, weight management, protection from hypertension, and digestion aid.

Packed with dense nutrients, pistachio is a health-boosting aid from nature’s pharmacy. 

heart healthy nuts

There are multiple pistachio benefits to make these power-packed nuts a part of your regular diet. According to a study published in the Journal of Nutrition, pistachios have a higher amount of beta-carotene, lutein, and gamma-tocopherol compared to other nuts, which are rich in vitamin A, vitamin E, and boost health.

The research study reveals that a heart-healthy diet, comprising pistachios, helps reduce serum oxidized-LDL or bad cholesterol levels due to the presence of antioxidants in pistachios.

Moderate use of pistachios can

• ·         improve the level of antioxidants in your body
• ·         lower lipids and lipoproteins
• ·         promote heart-healthy lipid profile
• ·         reduce systolic blood pressure"

Now you must be wondering why I have chosen barely flour for cookies? Well, there are plenty of advantages of using healthy grains for cookies.

pistachio barley  cookies

Barley Benefits
Packed with important vitamins and minerals, barley is one of the healthiest cereal grains produced. But this healthy grain has not earned the same reputation and popularity as oatmeal and whole wheat flour. Nevertheless if you learn the benefits of barley for health, you would certainly make it a part of your regular diet.

The wonderfully versatile cereal grain is loaded with dietary fiber, magnesium, B vitamins, copper, niacin, chromium, and phosphorus, among others. With a nut-like flavor, barley does make a great grain for healthy cookie recipes.

1. Healthy Intestine: Give your intestinal health a boost with barley, which is rich in dietary fiber and provides fuel to the friendly bacteria in the intestine, helping maintain a healthy colon and providing comfortable bowel movement. Healthy bacteria also inhibit the growth of pathogenic or unfriendly bacteria in the gut, thus helping keep it clear from toxins.
2. Healthy Heart: While workout is important for cardiovascular health, it is even more crucial to keep an eye on your dietary intake. Including barley in your diet may help lower cholesterol.When barley is broken down in the body, it produced two fatty acids -propionic and acetic acid. Studies reveal that the former lowers the activity of an enzyme, which is responsible for the production of cholesterol. Additionally, its fiber is rich in beta glucan that binds cholesterol to bile juice and helps eliminate them in the form of feces. Bile acids are compounds that help in the digestion of fat produced by the liver from cholesterol. Excretion of bile acids along with dietary fiber from grains, such as barley, triggers production of more bile juice by the liver. In the process, the liver uses up more cholesterol, which lowers the amount of cholesterol in the body. Soluble fiber may also help in lowering the amount of cholesterol produced by the liver. 
3. Safe sugar levels: The fiber in barley can help keep blood sugar levels under control in diabetics. Barley and other whole grains are loaded with magnesium that helps boost secretion of over 300 enzymes in the body. This also includes those enzymes that are used in the secretion of glucose and insulin.In fact, one study claims that a barley breakfast can help reduce blood sugar levels in diabetic patients with an improvement in the body's insulin response. 
4. Postmenopausal symptoms: Increasing the serving of whole grains, such as barley, in your diet can help keep cholesterol, blood pressure under control for postmenopausal women. It also helps in managing symptoms of cardiovascular disease in such women.

Other barley benefits include:

• Helps prevent gallstones
• Reduces risk of breast cancer in postmenopausal
• Acts as a barrier against childhood asthma (whole grains help wheezing symptoms in kids)
• Boosts optimal health
• Repairs tissue

Wondering how to include barley in your regular diet? 

Barley is available in the market in the form of:

• Barley flakes
• Pearl barley
• Hulled barley
• Scotch/pot barley
• Barley grits

Barley is categorized as gluten grain and should be avoided by gluten insensitive people. Others can benefit from barley recipes:

• Mix barley with other whole grains, such as wheat flour, to bake healthy cookies, cakes, and muffins. Barley does make a flavorful addition to healthy whole grain biscuits recipes.
• Use cooked barley flakes as a tasty salad.
• How about trying a hot nutty barley soup or hot cereal meal?
• Why not add barley flakes to nuts and make healthy snacks?

healthy cookies whole grain

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                                                                Barley Flour Cookie Recipe Ingredients

1 cup- barley/jau (you may use whole wheat flour)
1/2 cup- milk powder
1/2 cup- pista powder
1/2 cup- powdered oats
1/4 cup- cold ghee (refrigerate ghee for a few hours until it gets solidified
2 tbsp- cold milk (may need 1 or 2 tbsp more if the dough feels dry)
4 tbsp- sugar (I like it less sweet...you may add more, depending on your taste buds)
1/2 tsp- Baking soda

Barley Biscuit Recipe Procedure

eggless  cookies whole grains

1. Mix all dry ingredients.
2. Grind pistachios to powder.
3. Mix with dry ingredients.
4. Add solidified ghee. You may grate the solid ghee or cut it into small pieces or use it just like that.
5. Rub the ghee into the dry mixture until it resembles bread crumbs.
6. Add cold milk. Do not knead. We will just collect the ingredients into soft mass. Make sure it is not too soft, nor too hard.
7. Make into logs and cover in a parchment paper or aluminium foil.
8. Refrigerate for 1 hour or longer.
9. Preheat the oven at 180 degrees for 10 mts.
10. Take out the dough and roll into a thick chapati.
11. Cut into desired shapes. I used a small bottle lid to shape the cookies round.
12. Bake at 170 degrees for 15-18 minutes or until golden crisp.
13. Take out on a cooling rack and enjoy with a hot cup of tea.
14. I have tried another delectable set of whole grain biscuits. Check the recipe here.
15. Another popular healthy cookie recipe with pistachio is here.
16. Next time, I may give barley flake cookies a try!

PS: When I tried this recipe, I added baking powder as well, but it's been 2 years since I baked these. My baking experience tells me that we do not need both b. powder and soda for this recipe. Even b.soda alone should work here. So I have removed 1/2 tsp of b.powder previously mentioned in the recipe. Happy baking friends.