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.
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!
What the video of how I make my Lactation Cookies!
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
Instructions
- 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.
Notes
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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1,878 Comments on “Lactation Cookies.”
Delicious cookies! I’ve made them several times now and they do seem to increase lactation. We found out our little one has a dairy allergy so for the latest batch I subbed in plant-based butter and don’t notice a difference. I also add a splash of milk to the dough when I make them.Â
Made them for my daughter, used a mix of semisweet and milk chocolate chips
Split the batch in 4 quarters:
1) no coconut
2) with coconut
3) no coconut with pecans
4) my favorite, no coconut with crystalized ginger pieces!!
These are hands down the best oatmeal cookies I’ve ever had, they’re perfect. The only thing I left out was ground flax just because I couldn’t find any. 10/10
problem is i don’t have brewers yeast or ground flaxseed or able to get them atm or soon..would the cookies still help produce more milk?Â
The key for most lactation cookies/ homemade treats is the Brewers yeast. You likely won’t get the same great results without it.
That said, oats are a good support for for milk production, so you might still find some benefit to a hearty oatmeal cookie
Could I substitute coconut flour for the regular flour?
No, if you need a recipe to use coconut flour it is much better to find one formulated with it. You need a much higher egg ratio if you want coconut flour to bind.Â
These are amazing! Thank you so much for the recipe! I’ll share and freeze a few for myself. I’m curious how long these are good for in a sealed container and in the freezer?
I successfully made these vegan with a chia egg, 1 cup and 4 tablespoons of coconut oil and a few splashes of almond milk. They actually turned out even better somehow?! Dairy allergy for my little one so we had to get creative! Used enjoylife chocolate chips and it’s SO good!Â
These sound amazing! Could these be frozen after baking in big batches? Instead of freezng the raw dough?
Made them for a newly postpartum friend and I couldn’t stop eating them myself. I’m 35 weeks pregnant and will definitely be making more for myself soon! SO GOOD.Â
Yummy, Â but I made 42 generous cookies lol
I was very skeptical after mixing these up because they seemed really dry but they baked up super nicely! The cinnamon helps to mask the Brewers Yeast as well… nice touch!
Also, don’t know what size scoop you used but I got way more than 22…..
Make the cookies! Lol
Is that really supposed to say “12 tablespoons of butter” or is that a typo?? That seems a bit much…
Taste absolutely amazing i had to try them before i actually needed them but they’re healthy and a great snack regardless of lactationÂ
Hopefully i can see how well they work in another couple of months when bubs gets here.Â
I made these during my pregnancy and they saved me. I was only producing 2oz of milk and eventually got up to 8oz. However my only concern was how many to eat. You but the store bought ones and they 2 or 3 twice a day. What do you recommend with these
These cookies are delicious.
Do you have nutritional values for these?Â
My daughter-in-law is having her third baby today and she reminded me how much these helped with lactation. Not only does she love these cookies but they do help bring in the milk! I split the sugar and use 3/4 cup organic sugar cane and 3/4 cup organic brown sugar, and I add walnuts. Fantastic!
Made these before having my daughter and they are fabulous. The best cookies! I like to add dried cherries and sliced almonds. So delicious!Â
Just made these last night and they turned out amazing. I did have to modify it slightly due to preference but they came out so soft and fluffy.
Instead of 3 cups of oats, I used two cups
And I used butter and since I didn’t have any coconut oil at the time I used a splash of vegetable oil and they turned out amazing. Husband and I love them! And definitely will use this recipe later on!!
How much is a serving?
Hi, would you be able to tell me if you used the fan mode or normal convection in the oven ? All the cookies I make came out so puffy and bready and I’m confused , Thank’s a lot x
These are delicious! My husband also indulged in them before finding out they were for lactation and said they were the best chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever made! I also do think they affected my milk supply as well, I ate 2-3 cookies two days in a row and that morning used the haakaa and got 4 ounces off the opposite while breastfeeding my baby, I usually only get 1-2 ounces. Thank you for the delicious recipe! I will definitely be making these again and recommending them to all my mama friends!Â
Hi, should I eat these only after delivery? Will it help if I take them before delivery. And how many a day should I be eating this?
Is the quantity of brewers yeast accurate? They were absolutely inedible to me (and I know lactation cookies do taste a bit strange). Is there a brand of brewers yeast you’d recommend so I can compare what I used?Â
LOVE these. Though mine look nothing at all like the ones in your pics, the taste is fantastic though!
The only problem with these cookies is they’re so good I cannot stop eating them. I’ve tried other lactation cookie recipes and this one is the best. You can’t even taste the brewers yeast!
Swapped 1 1/2 cups of cane sugar for 1 cup agave and 1/2 cup brown sugar. Also only used 1 tbps of coconut oil. The batter is a little more wet but they come out AMAZING.Â