Lactation Cookies.
No, never did I ever think I would be typing “lactation” and “cookies” in the same sentence and especially not on my blog.
But these
are
GOOD.
MY OTHER RECIPES
Here is my take on lactation cookies: I don’t know if the COOKIES really work, but I do believe that the key ingredients (oats, brewers yeast, coconut oil, flax) work. I sort of think that the cookies are an excuse to… eat cookies? But in a good way! Also, this is why I think they are so great – in those first few weeks, and heck, even now, I was so freaking hungry, like had never been so hungry in my life. Having something quick to grab, like something even quicker than a banana and almond butter, was imperative while in survival mode. Especially in the middle of the night.
Even since having Max, I’ve developed this hangry hunger every morning, to a point where if I don’t eat something very soon after waking, I feel physically sick. Most likely because he is taking calories from me at night? I’ve never dealt with that before. So having one of these as a snack in the middle of the night or even right when I wake up is a complete LIFESAVER.
Now, these are cookies. Like actual taste-good cookies. I tried a few recipes in the last couple weeks that tasted like cardboard and were drier than dirt. I wanted to make actual enjoyable cookies, ones I wanted to eat, ones I’d be happy to grab twice a day, maybe three times.
The texture: These are thick cookies, not cakey at all, slightly crunchy, but not in a bad or stale way – they are crunchy from the crazy amount of rolled oats inside. I wrote the recipe exactly as I’ve been making them – meaning mostly organic ingredients. Feel free to use non-organic ingredients and what you have on hand.
I know you’ll probably have questions on what you can substitute, what you can leave out or add, what you can change and so on, so I’ve added some notes below the recipe. These will taste best written EXACTLY as is. But I know that sometimes you gotta make some changes! I really, really suggest leaving the amount of fat/butter in the cookies – it adds to the calorie value and new moms need those calories! It will also help the cookie to be a more filling “snack.”
If you want to gift these to a new mom, I would make a batch and bake them, then make a batch and freeze them. Or bake half a batch and freeze the other half. Deliver both. Making a freshly baked double batch isn’t great because the cookies aren’t super soft and moist and that number of cookies will dry out before eaten. Unless of course their family will eat them too. If you’re a mom-to-be, you can totally make these ahead of time – scoop the dough into rounds, flash freeze it then place them in a ziplock bag. My friend Julie has a great tutorial on freezing cookie dough!
Do you have an awesome lactation cookie recipe? If so, share below!
Lactation Cookies
Ingredients:
3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 1/2 cups unbleached organic all-purpose flour
5 tablespoons brewers yeast
3 tablespoons ground flaxseed
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons organic unsalted butter
4 tablespoons unrefined organic virgin coconut oil
1 1/2 cups organic cane sugar
1 large egg + 1 large egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups dark chocolate chips/chunks (I like ghirardelli)
feel free to add: unsweetened flaked coconut, chopped almonds, 1 to 2 tablespoons of almond butter
Directions:
Preheat the oven the 350 degrees F.
In a large bowl, whisk together the oats, flour, yeast, flaxseed, baking powder, soda, cinnamon and salt.
In the bowl of your electric mixer, beat the butter and coconut oil on medium speed until creamy. Add in the sugar and beat on medium to high speed until fluffy, about 4 to 5 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl if needed. Add in the egg and egg yolk, beating until combined, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add in the vanilla extract and beat until combined again. Gradually add in the dry ingredients, beating on low speed until just combined and mixed. Stir in the chocolate chips with a spatula until they are evenly dispersed.
Scoop the dough into 1-inch rounds (I use an ice cream scoop so they are fairly uniform in size) and place on a baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake for 10 to 14 minutes, or until the bottoms are just golden. Let cool completely before storing in a sealed container.
1. You can easily freeze this dough – scoop the rounds on a baking sheet, place the sheet in the freezer for 2 hours, then place the dough rounds in a ziplock bag and store in the freezer. Bake at the same temp – they may or may not need an extra minute or 2 – your preference!
2. You can use all butter if you don’t have/can’t find coconut oil. If you swap any butter amount for more coconut oil, the cookies will spread a bit more. If you decrease the fat (butter/oil) amount in total, these cookies will be drier. It’s up to you!
3. You can use 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour with similar results – any more and the cookies with be drier and grittier.
4. You can probably decrease the sugar by 1/4 cup without issue.
5. I do not have experience in making these vegan, so I can’t say what it would be like without the eggs or with vegan butter. I also am not sure how the consistency would be with gluten free flour.
6. I personally think you can increase the brewers yeast amount by 1 to 2 tablespoons.
Did you make this recipe?
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I appreciate you so much!
I’m making these again! I can’t seem to keep my hand out of the cookie jar. I had to grind oats for flour and will use dates to sweeten this time. I will say that mini m&ms are my favorite add in!
I am making these again and saw your comment. The m&ms add in are genius !! I will definitely try this and I can’t wait to taste it. I am very excited about this, a bit too much :)
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I used this recipe with my first daughter…they tasted good and were easy to make. I’m making some in preparation for my 2nd to freeze. I made chocolate chip the normal recipe. I decided to also make oatmeal raisins cookies I substituted chocolate chips for raisins and I added 3 tablespoons of water. Omg!! Way way better lol. Next time I make the chocolate chip cookies I will be adding 3 tablespoons of water as well…they were soft and moist like normal cookies. The original version the cookies taste good but are hard as a rock!
How long can these be in the freezer?
These are so good!! Thanks for the recipe!
I added peanut butter to my second batch, they turned out yummy too
Love these cookies! They are not only tasty, but helped bump my milk supply back where it needed to be. I made a full batch and they lasted me a good week! I also subbed regular flour for Trader Joe’s all purpose gluten free flour, and they still turned out amazing. Thanks for a great recipe! I’m off to make another batch now. 😉
This is a fabulous recipe…you can change anything and they still come out great. I used all coconut oil and quick cooking oats . I used reg self-rising flour, 2 whole eggs, brown sugar mixed 3T water with the flaxseed. Dough was very stiff so I added 3 more T of water. Baked 10 mins and walla…perfect! Next time I will make the original recipe with the proper flour and sugar. Did not want to make a run to the supermarket this time….love them!!!
awesome post
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I’m going to try these. Our son was born early and he lost more than 10% of his weight while at the hospital. He then caught an infection (from the hospital) and has been on antibiotics. He has only gained 3 oz in 3 weeks. The lactation nurse feels he is too small to nurse for very long. Pumping is slow for me bc of it. Hopefully the cookies will increase my milk supply and he can drink breast milk from a bottle.
From one NICU mom to another, just do what you can. Both of my babies were born early and it makes the breastfeeding journey (I feel) so much more difficult. Neither ended up latching and i pumped exclusively for as long as I physically (and mentally!) could. Remember a fed baby is best but a happy momma is essential. Good luck and I hope you little one gets better soon with the antibiotics. ♡
Does anyone know if you can freeze these once they are made? A good family friend made me lots but I’m scared they will go yuk before I get a chance to eat them all. Can they be frozen once already baked?
Also being a new 1st time Mum, what’s the best way to store them?
Thank you
I freeze mine! They are still great! I store them in the freezer and pull out what I want to eat as I go!
Can you sub nutritional yeast for brewers yeast?!
Not really, the brewers yeast helps with milk production. Nutritional yeast does not, plus I’m not sure how well nutritional yeast would taste in here since it’s not as fine as brewers yeast.
Amazing recipe! Hoping it will increase milk supply.
Taste great and easy to make. Will update about my supply in a few days!
I’ve made these a few times for new mom friends and while they always taste good, they were dry and crumbly. This time I added a whole very ripe banana, an extra tablespoon of vanilla and a whole egg instead of just the yoke and they were much better! Storing in a container with a piece of bread also makes them chewier longer.
I also always add about 3/4 a cup toasted coconut and 3/4 a cup nuts (walnuts, pecans, whatever) and extra cinnamon. Adding all the extra ingredients gives me about 12 more cookies too for a total of 36, which is fine by me : )
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Do you know how many we can consume per day, so as not to overdo the supply (i’m a normal supply mom)? I omit brewers yeast. So it should be safe to eat alot in a day? These are amazing, I keep munching on them!