Homemade Digestive Biscuits are crispy, crunchy bites of cookie heaven ready to be enjoyed with your tea or as a healthy snack for any time of the day. These cookies/biscuits get their distinctive crunch from  oatmeal and butter used in the dough. The texture and flavor from whole wheat flour and a dash of coconut powder added into the dough make these more healthy and scrumptious. Digestive biscuits are the quintessential British cookie, or “biscuit” as they call it, dating back to the 19th century. It was first created by McVitie’s & Price and got the name “digestive” because of the use of baking soda in it, to aid in food digestion. It was the perfect biscuit to dunk into tea (a vital part of every Britisher’s day). I have used baking powder instead.

I love cookies of all shapes, sizes and flavors! With all of us on the health bandwagon nowadays, anything that I cook or bake automatically gets a healthy twist. My pantry used to be always stocked with all-purpose flour, but now with me using whole wheat instead in all my baking or cooking, even one packet seems to last forever. As usual, while browsing the virtual cooking world for healthy bakes, I came across various versions of digestive biscuits. This was one cookie which piqued my interest because:

No refined flour in it. Only whole wheat flour. Maybe oats or sometimes spelt flour additionally. No eggs; my bakes are mostly egg free.

I had a bag of oats waiting to be used up. So in some went into the dough. Digestive biscuits do not normally have coconut in them. A packet of dried coconut powder was beckoning to be used. I decided to use up a bit in the dough to give it a tropical twist. Just about half a cup of butter was left in my refrigerator and I had to finish it soon along with some brown sugar (very little as I detest anything too sweet). With all these simple ingredients already at home, my baker’s hat was on and I could not wait to make these biscuits. You do not even need a beater! Just mix the dry ingredients, add bits of cold butter (not room temperature) and work with your fingers to make a crumbly mixture. If you have a food processor, yayyy! It becomes much easier and less messy. Add milk a teaspoon at a time, kneading to form dough that comes together. That is it! Place in cling wrap and refrigerate (optional) for about 15 minutes to allow the butter to solidify in the dough. Once ready to bake, roll, cut into desired shapes, and bake until golden brown. Whole wheat and oats digestive cookies are ready to be enjoyed.

It tastes amazing plain but being a chocoholic, had to up the game a bit! The chocolate freak in me wanted feel the chocolatey decadence in this one too! I melted some dark chocolate (I have that too in my pantry all the time) and gently spread it over some of the cookies (health matters too, so I left some cookies to enjoy guilt free without the chocolate!). I made some designs on them to make them look pretty using a toothpick. Just run the toothpick in a zig zag way on chocolate coated biscuits before they set.

Set aside for chocolate to harden and enjoy! Well, weren’t these easy to make? What are you waiting for? Rush to your kitchen and start making these healthy digestive biscuits with whole wheat and oats. Your kids and whole family will love them and you will be happy that you are indulging their need to eat cookies but in a healthy way. For more similar healthy cookies, try:

Chocolate Almond Crunch Khara Biscuits Candied Fruit Cookies etc.

(STEP WISE RECIPE CAN BE FOUND BELOW THE RECIPE CARD) Here we go with the PRINTABLE/TO SAVE recipe inspired from here and here:

How to make The Best Homemade Digestive Biscuit:

Crush the oatmeal in a food processor until they form finer bits.

Cook Time: 20 minutes

1 cup whole wheat flour ½ cup oatmeal 1/3 cup brown sugar ¼ cup dried coconut powder 1 teaspoon baking powder ½ cup cold butter Pinch of salt 3 to 4 teaspoons milk ½ cup chocolate chips or chopped dark chocolate

Instructions Notes I have used very little sugar in it as I love my cookies less sweet. Feel free to add a bit more. Instead of dark chocolate, you can use milk chocolate or even white chocolate.

Add whole wheat flour, sugar, coconut powder and salt and process until the mixture is well blended.

Cut up cold butter into small pieces and add to this mixture. Pulse the food processor until it forms a coarse crumbly mixture. Add milk a teaspoon at a time until the mixture starts to come together to form a loose dough.

Remove from the processor and knead the dough, adding more milk if needed to form a dough that holds its shape. If you do not have a food processor, you can do this in a bowl too. Just mix the dry ingredients. Add bits of cold butter and gently mix with your fingers to incorporate the butter well until it form a crumbly mixture. Then add milk a teaspoon at time, kneading to form a dough. Place in cling wrap and refrigerate for about 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 200 degrees Centigrade or 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly grease a baking pan and keep aside. Remove dough from the fridge and roll out to about 3 mm thickness. Cut into desired shapes (I have used a round cutter). Prick with a fork to prevent the cookies from puffing up in the oven.

Place in the prepared pan and bake for about 15 minutes until light golden brown.

Remove and place them on cooling racks to cool completely.

At this stage, you can eat them as such for a healthy crunchy treat. For a more decadent experience, you can coat some of them with melted chocolate. Melt the chocolate in a microwave or double boiler until fully melted.

Spoon a little melted chocolate over the cookie. Spread thinly (working from the center to the edges) and using a toothpick or skewer, draw a line vertically and then horizontally to form a pattern on the chocolate.

Place on wire racks to allow the chocolate to set. Enjoy these healthy, crunchy, whole meal digestive biscuits or cookies, with or without chocolate, with your evening tea or coffee. They are great pick-me-ups to enjoy any time or even as edible gifts.

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