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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1,879 Comments on “Lactation Cookies.”
Fantastic!!! I halved this recipe and got about 22 cookies out of it. Used what i had on hand (flax and chia seed blend), and did half brown sugar half white and these turned out marvelous! Can’t speak to how they help my milk production just yet because the second batch is still in the oven! But they certainly tase great!
I followed the recipe to a T, these are good however I feel like the taste of the yeast is overpowering – has anyone had this issue?
Thanks!
No, not at all. I couldn’t taste it.
I personally love that taste and find it to be the best “secret” ingredient that makes these cookies taste amazing.
I just made these, and maybe I am sensitive but the yeast flavour is super strong! I’m sure they are helpful, maybe I’ll try them with a cup of tea.
Wow these are good! The only tint I did different (after reading reviews) was cut back sugar to one cup. My kids came home from school (3,5,7) and each had 2 before I could tell them they were healthy haha so I never did! I used mother knows best brewers yeast and could not taste it.
Can I sun butter 1:1 for the coconut oil? I’m mildly allergic to coconut products!
I substituted the coconut oil for greek yogurt and they turned out great and added more protein. :)
No joke. These cookies are the only thing that helped with my milk supply! Delicious and an awesome excuse to eat cookies!
How many do you consume per day? I just made them yesterday but can’t find anything that says how many I need daily.
How long can you store these for?
I made them today and they turned out great. Great texture and taste!
any idea on calories per cookie
When I made them I substituted with red mill gluten free oats. I put the recipe in my fitness pal app for 42 servings and it came out to 133 calories per cookie.
I would love to get the metric weights for the ingredients in this recipe – US measures are so different from our Aussie ones
Also baking from down under and I converted them per ingredient online. The conversion that I have:
270g rolled oats, 200 g (less 2 tbsp) AP flour and 226.8g butter (I use all butter and no coconut oil). I’ll let you convert the sugar because I don’t use 1.5 cup sugar. Cheers
I make these every time a friend has a baby. People LOVE them!! They happen to also be my husband‘s favorite cookie. Ha!! Thanks so much for this recipe!!!
These were delicious! I put 1 extra tablespoon of brewers yeast and I used gluten free oats but still amazing. Entered full recipe into my fitness pal app and found out the cookies are 133 calories each. It made me 42 cookies.
I’ve been looking for the nutrition info. Thanks!
Very tasty! I used 1.25 cups of sugar instead of 1.5 cups (I feel like I could have used 1 cup). I used an extra tbsp of yeast (should have used 2 extra) and I used half the amount of chocolate chips and the cookies are still very sweet. Because of the amount of sugar in this recipe I really don’t think all those chocolate chips are needed unless you like your cookies super super sweet.
For those not keen on as much sugar, I changed it to brown sugar and used half the amount and they taste fine. They didn’t flatten out much so are a bit more like cooked golf balls, but I like the taste plenty. I also used 10 TBS butter instead of 12 largely b/c I was baking in metric and that made the math easier. Makes a big batch, but I would definitely use the recipe again if needed!
Love the texture and how easy these are to make. I found the debittered yeast to be overpowering and too bitter, so next time I’d cut back on that. I also used a 70% dark chocolate chunk which I think may have contributed to the bitterness. I cut back to 1 cup of sugar and I found that to be perfect, although that’s personal preference!
Hi there… These look great, however brewers yeast isn’t readily available where I’m from… Can I leave it out or substitute with flour?
If you are trying to up your milk supply I’d recommend you order the brewers yeast if possible because it’s one of the main ingredients that halp with increasing milk supply
Very tasty and filling. Makes a lot of cookies. Definitely increased milk supply! The batter seemed very crumbly but after being baked and cooked, it was fine. My husband has been eating them and finds they really curb his hunger!!
I made these cookies exactly according to the instructions and made no substitutes or add-ins (some of my ingredients weren’t the organic version though). These cookies tastes really good! The batter is quite crumbly, so I scooped the batter into my hands and shaped it into dome shapes with the warmth of my hands. That worked pretty well, some cracked in the oven. I thought they would be really dry because of how crumbly it was, but it wasn’t!
I can’t speak to the lactation quality as these are for a friend, but I’ll try to remember to report back if they are a success!
How many should I eat and how often to see a difference in lactation?
These cookies are amazing! My hubby loves these so much too that I continuously have to make new badges. Just a question, can I make the dough and put it in the fridge over night then bake the cookies the next day? It’s easier for me with my newborn :)
These are amazing! I may have done something a little off, since mine were more flat than puffy. But they still tasted delicious! Any ideas on how many I should eat a day to up my supply?
Love these cookies! Just had a baby and my mother in law made a total of 5 batches of these and I ate it all. YUM! She used gluten free flour and coconut sugar and it was delicious. I’ll be making these for friends having babies going forward. Perfect gift. Thank you!
Taste great, but I’ve a few comments. I would use less chocolate, about a cup. It was tough to evenly mix the chocolate chips, so the first cookies had the right amount, but the final ones were mostly chips and that made it difficult to stay together, and the cookie “batter” was already very crumbly. Not sure what to do about that. The cookies didn’t spread out, and stayed in the spherical shape. So I flipped them to evenly brown and cook. Don’t know if that was smart. Some cookies began to fall apart. But once they cooled and hardened they stayed together!
BEST lactation cookies ever! I can’t count how many times I’ve made these for myself and other new mamas. Everyone loves them.
I made a couple batches of these pre-delivery and froze them. Just found out my LO has a protein allergy so I’m redoing them with vegan butter. How long do they keep frozen?
Did you cook them before freezing them or you froze the raw dough?
These are so good!!! I did make some substitutions that turned out great!!
Rather than coconut oil (due to allergies) I used Palm Oil
Rather than eggs (allergy) I used 6 TBSP applesauce
I used a size 40 cookie scoop and baked at 350 for 12 minutes. I got 42 cookies out of the batch!!
I used Kate Naturals Premium Brewers Yeast.
These cookies are delicious! I made them for the first time yesterday, although I think I put too much coconut oil as they were super crumbly and mildly difficult to make into balls. The last batch I turned them into granola!
Can’t say they helped with milk production just yet as I only had two.
Thank you for this recipe!
This is the only lactation cookie I’ve tried making so I have nothing to compare it to. But I keep making them because they are so good. They were a little sweet for me, and I wanted a more natural sweetener so second time around I did half sugar/ half dates and I love the way they came out. Just enough sweetness snd a great texture!
Hi Colleen!
Did you use date sugar or actual dried dates? How did you incorporate them?
Thank you so much!
Hands down my favorite cookies! I’m about to have baby number two and am pre making my freezer supply. I swear these were all I ate in those first few weeks after I had my son. I can’t speak to specifically to supply but I didn’t have issues with supply and went on to nurse him to 1yr+. As people have mentioned- the batter is crumbly, I made these in to bars instead of cookies which make it even easier for me. I also swapped the regs flour for oat flour to give it that extra bit of lactation help! I send this recipe to every nursing mom I know! :)
These cookies are amazing, I’ve been eating them for a few months now and I am able to produce enough to keep up supply and freeze quite a bit. I can definitely tell the difference if I don’t have any for a few days. Plus they taste amazing
So I made these and it gave me about 40 cookies actually. I baked half and froze half… And then about 3 weeks later I baked the frozen half as well.. I sent it to 2 different new mums who told me they tasted amazing. I tasted them myself and gave to my family members too who all said it tasted amazing. I’m currently in the process of baking a full batch of these cookies to be sent to my friend who requested for it again cos she loved it so much
Really yummy cookies, I would have given 5 star but after a week of eating these daily I cant say it increased my milk, but they still taste great.
I followed the recipe exactly, except I only put in a cup of sugar as the others recommended.
The cookies rise slightly so dont end up make big ’round balls!! i didnt have an ice cream scoop but this time I will make smaller flatter ones.
So so good! I added 2 TBSP chia seeds and 3 TBSP coconut flakes! Subbed brown sugar, and nutritional yeast (I know brewer’s yeast is a main ingredient, but I didn’t have it on hand. Just ordered and will make another batch soon!) My dough was a bit drier, probably due to all these changes. I will cut back on chocolate chips and sugar next time to see if that helps.
Delicious!! I’ve tried other lactation recipes and these actually taste good! I added white milk and dark chocolate chips.
Oh my GOD! This are the best! I didn’t have butter so I substituted for a cup of vegetable oil and also added some extra brewers yeast,you can’t taste it(I think it depends on the brand you get, I got the one “meant” for lactation) . If you’ve had the store brand you know they have a taste to them that’s weird but these right here taste like cookies should taste. My husband described it to taste like a cookie from Chikfila. For supply increased I can’t say yet since I just made the batch and got 24 cookies out of it.
I love this recipe! I started eating them at 36-weeks with my last baby in 2019 and my milk supply was amazing! .I am due on May 9th with my second child and will make some of these this week. Has anyone used a substitution for flour? I was thinking almond flour but not sure about the consistency. Looking for an alternative to white flour.
Thanks!
I love this recipe as a base! Personally I tasted the brewers yeast & did not love the flavor of it but again the cookie recipe is a solid 10 & I added to it to adjust to my own palette. I added 3T almond butter, about 1/4 c coconut flakes, 1 heaping T of nutella, a few handfuls of slivered almonds & ground about 1/3 of the oats. I also reduced sugar to 1 cup. Seems like a lot extra but i melt the coconut butter w the almond butter & slowly mix in & it works. Again, this is to please my own palette. I think they do 1 million % work & I am not looking out for calories bc I’m truly not eating enough anyway. I would add in dried cherries too if i had some. Thank you for a great recipe to try!!
very dry….. i should have had some liquid.
Absolutely loved these cookies!! Tasted delicious and could hardly tell that they were healthy. I made 54 cookies out of this recipe using the exact same amount of ingredients. I would make again but I don’t really need to now because of how many it made 😅😍🥰
I made these with one cup of coconut sugar and they are wonderful!!
Oh my goodness these cookies are amazing! If they help with my milk production it will be a miracle and I will be making these all the time! My husband loves them too. Thank you for the recipe :-)!
How many cookies should I eat daily to help me effectively help my supply increase?
I was worried that these were going to be a bit dry as mixing everything together took a lot of effort by hand but these are SO GOOD!!! I split the mixture in half and did half dark chocolate chip and half raisin. They really are incredible and this recipe made so many!! I’ve frozen most of the first batch and I’m already thinking of making more to freeze because I am definitely not going to be able to pace myself on these!! Even my husband is finding them hard to resist haha.
These are extremely difficult to keep together before baking but so worth the frustration because holy they are good!!!! Thanks for the recipe. This will be my new choc chip cookie recipe even when I’m no longer Breastfeeding!
Best cookies ever!! Wow 🤩 day one. Hope they work!! Also only used one cup sugar and the whole butter .. AMAZING
Does it have to be organic ingredients?
No
These cookies taste amazing! My only complaint is how crumbly they are. May add some liquid next time to make them stick together a little better.
If you use 2 sticks of butter instead of the 1.5 sticks, the cookies are softer! I also add 1 more tbsp of brewers yeast and cannot tell the difference!
Made them last night! I already got an extra OUNCE coming out. I’m so happy and these taste amazing!!
Can you use steel cut oats instead of rolled oats?
These are amazing! Love them!