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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I appreciate you so much!
1,879 Comments on “Lactation Cookies.”
These are the best cookies. And they help w lactation. Win win. The whole family loves them.
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Hey so I made these today! I had to make a few changes due to not having or being able to find two ingredients. I had to leave out the brewers yeast and sugar. I know the Brewers yeast is one of the main ingredients but I read a few other reciepes that said it was ok to leave it out. Plus I added a hand full of chopped almonds and a tablespoon of shredded coconut. I don’t know what I did wrong but my cookies didn’t spread at all, turned out very dry. They stayed the exact shape that I scooped and almost had a scone like texture. But they were absolutely delicious!! thanks for the recipe! Would you happen to know calorie count on these cookies. Thanks!!
These are DELICIOUS! I didn’t have all the organic ingredients so I had to substitute with regular flour and butter. I also added raisins as well as chocolate chips. Cannot taste the yeat at all. I am freezing some now. I really hope these work because they are so yummy!
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Found this pin today & already made them! They are to die for! I only had salted butter, so I used 6 TBL of avocado & 6 TBL butter. I can’t tell any difference, they taste so good!
I also left out 1/4 cup of sugar as suggested and they are plenty sweet.
Thank you!!
Wow! I’m always weary of spending the time and money (since brewers yeast was $10 at the health food store for 1lb and I have no other use for it) on recipes I find on the net but these are fantastic!! I am so glad I tried them. Thanks!! I’ll be making these often! I also hope they do help with the lactation part. They’re so good I forgot they serve a purpose!
Sprinkle brewer’s yeast on your popcorn. My whole family loves it!
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Do I have to use dark chocolate? I’m not a huge fan of dark. I prefer semi-sweet or milk.
My husband was hoping the cookies would taste like beer. I used NOW brand brewer’s yeast with reduced bitterness. The cookies do not taste like beer. I ate three cookies today and pumped twice as much milk as usual.
This is the 1st lactation cookie recipe I’ve tried, my little girl is 4 months old. Umm…why oh why have I not been making these WEEKLY?!? They are crunchy, tasty and the perfect amount of sweet. I’m a horrible baker, so I was scared that I was going to ruin these…but they were perfect. The dough is even good…not that I would know… ;)
Made them and loved them! Thanks. They are a snack that I don’t have to feel guilty about.
I’m exclusively breast feeding my 3 month old and always looking for a snack. I tried to follow the directions to the best of my ability, they didn’t quite look the same as the picture ( it didn’t really spread) but they taste amazing! I’m definitely saving this recipe and sharing.
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Brewers yeast the one you would make beer with? Or Unbittered brewers yeast ?
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Hi! I have made these cookies twice now for a friend with a new and adorable baby girl, and she loves them! (So does my non-breastfeeding husband.) The first time I followed the recipe exactly, the second time, I accidentally put two whole eggs in instead of egg+yolk. I was curious if there was any reason for the egg mixture, what the extra egg white does to the cookies? She actually prefers the 2-egg version, so I’m wondering why the second white was left out in the recipe.
an extra yolk minus white usually equals a chewier cookie, but you can definitely add in the other white if you like the results!
Would it still work for boosting the supply if we were to use vegan Brewers yeast ?
I’m honestly not familiar with vegan brewers yeast! if it’s the same as nutritional yeast, nutri yeast does not have the same effect as brewers, from what i understand.
Your proportions are way off. The dough was so crumbly I couldn’t even scoop it. It was like working with sawdust mixed into dry modeling clay. Just awful. Turned out to be a huge waste of time and money. Which sucks for a new mom on a budget. :-(
hi hotlantan, did you make any changes to the recipe? i have made these countless times as have the others who commented above – this recipe is well tested and usually successful.
I just made these last evening and they were really delicious. My dough was really crumbly too, but I was able to form them into little balls and they baked up just fine. I am not a very good baker, so I am sure I did something wrong! When this batch is gone I will be giving it another try. Thanks for a yummy recipe!
I made these cookies for my daughter in law she loved them.  I was going to freeze the cookie dough but, she doesn’t feel she can bake them.  Have you ever frozen baked cookies?  Thanks  Joanne
Can i use regular butter… does it have to be unsalted… can i use raisins insted of chocolate sinces my baby is allergic to chocolates
I just made these and had a couple with a big glass of milk. Man, are they delicious! I swapped in raisins for the chocolate to make them a little less guilty, but I can only imagine the decadence the chocolate brings. Will definitely make again and play around with the mix ins. Thanks so much for the recipe. I can actually feel my milk letting down as I sit here ?
These are fantastic! Just made my second batch. The first batch I followed the directions exactly. This time I mixed it up a little by pulsing the oatmeal in the blender and doing 1/2 peanut butter chips and 1/2 chocolate chips. Both times delicious and the best part is I notice an increase in my breast milk supply! Thank youÂ
these cookies are not only delicious, they actually do help with milk supply. I was skeptical the first time I made them about whether they’d help with lactation, but I’d guess it bumps it by 2 oz s day or so (though I eat probably 10 cookies a day). A few things I did differently: 1) dairy free butter and dairy free chocolate chips. Works just fine. 2) used brown sugar rather than white, keeps the cookies moister and softer. 3) baked for 12 min so they wouldn’t get too far baked and get hard and crunchy. But I live at 7,200′ so that would vary with elevation. If they do get hard, just throw a slice of bread in the Tupperware and that’ll soften them up some. Great recipe. Thanks for sharing!!
Are these kid-friendly ? :)
as far as i know, they are!
I made these cookies for the first time today and love them! I made a double batch and froze about 55 and baked 9. I’ve already eaten 3. I don’t like oatmeal cookies normally, but these have a completely different texture. Even the hubby ate one and liked it :-)
These look incredible!
I only have whole wheat flour though. Is your recommendation to replace the 1 1/2 cups of unbleached organic flour with just 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour? Did I read that right?
Thanks! Can’t wait!
i wouldn’t do all whole wheat flour – they will be super dry and gritty! i would do 50% all purpose and 50% whole wheat for best results!
King James Bond between the two of them 4th St Louis. I wanted.
So I made these first exactly as the recipe called for and they were so yummy!! My husband even ate a few not knowing what they were for, and once he knew he ate a few more. Then it was recommend to me to cut out dairy. Sniff sniff. So I doctored this up to be dairy free and they still came out great. I used 6Tbs of earth balance soy free ‘butter’, and added 10Tbs of coconut oil in stead of 4. I also used cranberries rather than chocolate chips. I took out the salt as the butter substitute is salty enough and 1/4 cup of sugar, and added an extra Tbs of Brewers yeast. And I must say they are still really yummy. Thank you for the recipe. :)
How long do these last in the freezer? I’m due in a month and want to make dough in advance but not sure if a month is too long? TIA! These look amazing!
Thought this girl’s picture looked familiar… http://www.lifestylehunting.com/blog/the-miracle-milk-cookie
LOVE your recipe, thank you for creating and sharing all that you do. (Found that other person’s page through Pinterest.)
I made these today after I burned my packaged mix to a crisp (I blame sleep deprivation.) holy cow these are amaze balls. How many do you think I should eat in a day? Do you have any thoughts on how long it takes to help make a difference?
I despise oatmeal cookies. With a passion. But I wake up hungry, I am hungry, I think about eating all the time plus the weight gain from pregnancy killed my sciatica at the end so my doc put me on a form of low carb. I looked at this recipe and thought hell, I’ll give it a shot. I can deal with sciatica but the hunger is worse! These are DELICIOUS!! I added some fenugreek and moringa powder (a spoon of each), tablespoon chia seeds, 2 tbsp almond butter, sub 1/2 cup sugar for coconut sugar, and used almond flour instead of AP. AMAZING!!! Best cookies ever!! My husband ate some too! And it’s enough to hold over till morning and normal meals! Slight crunchy, moist and chewy on the inside. Ughhh so good!
So so sooo good. I’m almost 4 weeks postpartum and want to make sure I keep my supply up. Thank you so much for the recipe. They are delicious!! My husband just ate one and now I will have to hide these cookies from him!
I added more coconut oil and butter since the end mix was literally falling apart. They’re delicious. I made them to help my girlfriend breastfeed our daughter but im also loving how tasty they are.
Yes I found the same, the original mixture was very dry and crumbly, couldn’t make it into balls at all and I’ve made it multiple times (I still love the recipe, just add a load more oil (I use a few tablespoons of extra coconut oil) and 2 whole eggs).
Hi! What do you use if you do not have access to brewers yeast? I live in Finland and I know for darn sure I can’t order from somewhere local or buy it in the normal stores.. Thanks!
Do I have to use organic stuff Such as flour, butter and sugar?
Hey I’m wondering if you know of anyway I could make these dairy free? They sound so good!!
I came across this recipe and had to try it. They are delicious! I don’t know if it will increase my milk production but they are wonderful snacks. I will post an update on whether it worked for me. Definitely recommend these cookies.
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I want to make these cookies but I am wondering if there is a difference between brewers yeast and brewers yeast powder. If so, could that explain why some comments say the batter is too dry?
Thanks so much for this recipe! I decided to make a double batch this morning because I’m 38 weeks pregnant, have a 2 year old and an 11 year old. I wanted to taste the cookies, but also freeze the majority of the dough in rounds, so it’ll be easy to bake them again when I’m home with the baby. Lord knows I won’t have time to prep them, then.
First of all, I realized I’d run out of vanilla, so I subbed almond extract (I love almonds, anyway). Second, I used quick oats because I didn’t have rolled oats. Third, I added about a cup of raisins because I didnt have enough chocolate chips.
With the doubled recipe, there’s enough for over 5 dozen, 2 inch cookies; 16 baked and the rest frozen. Regardless, they won’t go to waste. The “test” batch just came out of the oven and my 11 year old scarfed 3 down before they had a chance to cool. Score!!! Looks like I’ll need to bake a few more before d-day.
Im going to make these tomorrow. Anyone made these with just coconut oil and no butter? So 16 tablespoons of coconut oil. Also cane sugar can I substitute with a different sweetener? Coconut sugar? Thanks
Can nut butter sub in for butter?Â
Can I add unflavored protein powder to these? If so, how much would be a good amount without ruining the texture?
THESE WORKED INCREDIBLY WELL! I had 4 of these the night I made them (they’re really good!!) and the next morning I pumped an ounce more than usual. Now a few days later of eating them everyday and I’m pumping even more. For some background: my baby is 11 months and I’ve been struggling to pump enough for her while I’m at work for about a month now. I really thought I would have to supplement. I’m do glad I made these!!
Btw I got Brewers yeast at whole foods.
Hi, would like to ask what if I only have the flax seed meal, is it okay to be alternative to 3 tablespoons ground flaxseed.
Thank you
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