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.”
These are delicious! I’m not a baker at all but they were very easy to make. Problem is my husband eats them all!
That’ll probably be my problem too when I make them since I just found this recipe! Lol.
These are seriously the BEST lactation cookies I have ever had. As a birth and postpartum doula I like to give these cookies to new moms when I go for my postpartum visits (I always send along a copy of the recipe too). I have made them several times now and they have turned out great each time. The first time I made them as written and since then have made a few modifications to make them a bit healthier. I now reduce the sugar by 1/4 cup, do half whole wheat flour and add a half cup of unsweetened coconut. Yum! Thanks for the recipe!Â
I love these so much! And they really really really work! I went a couple days without eating any and definitely saw a difference. So I’ve got another batch in the oven now! These are a great snak . I make the following changes:
Extra T butter
Two whole eggs (not separated)
Extra dash of cinnamon
And I don’t roll these into balls. It’s incredibly frustrating. I just scoop a small spoonful.
I also used this recipe to make white chocolate chip pecan cookies, and they were amazing!
Made these cookies but I used gluten free flour, vegetable shortening instead of butter and enjoy life chocolate chips so that they would be dairy free too. So yummy! They turned out great! Thanks for your recipe!
What was your egg alternative?
She didn’t make them Vegan :) You can use ground flax seed  or ground chia seeds mixed with water as an egg alternative.
For each egg, combine 1 tablespoon of ground flax/chia seed (measure after grinding) with 3 tablespoons of water. Stir well, and place in the fridge to set for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, the result should be a sticky egg-like substitute.Â
i follow the recipe the only thing was i didnt have all the buitre it ask but put extra coconut oil and it was very lose is it like thatÂ
Would these be ok if I baked them then froze them?
About how many should I eat a day to see an increase?
These cookies are delicious!! I added:
1/4 C. More flour and an additional 1T. Brewers yeast and 2T. Coconut oil as we are high altitude. They came out perfect. Thanks!
Making these cookies now! Â Can’t wait to try them. About how many cookies should you eat in a day?
I am so glad I found this recipe! I have made the pre-made mixes a few times in the 5 months since my son was born, but as a natural baker, I decided to give these a shot!
The only things I changed were I used the 2 full eggs (who has time to separate?!) and I only used 1 cup of flour and 1/2 cup of PB2. It gave the cookies a glorious peanut butter undertone, but they held together well (did not crumble), and they taste amazing! My parents, my husband, even my 90 y.o. grandmother all love them!! Thanks again for posting this recipe! I may change up the add-ins next time, as I do not love chocolate.
Can i use caster sugar instead of organic cane sugar?Â
Thanks for the recipe! The first batch I made was a different recipe. I didn’t really notice any increase in my supply. Does anyone know if steel cut oats would work as good as old-fashioned oats? Â These look really yummy and I think I will try them next :)
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I would like to make these for my daughter who is breastfeeding her first child. Is it possible to substitute nutritional yeast for the brewers’ yeast? What is the difference and will it work the same to stimulate milk production?
Does this recipe use brewer’s yeast flakes or fresh brewers yeast? I was given fresh brewer’s yeast by a friend and I wonder what the conversion would be?
So I just made these – Wow it makes a lot! Which is great!Â
I got unbuttered brewer’s yeast and I am really happy they had that because I can still faintly taste it – I can imagine if it was more bitter.Â
I am really hoping they help – I will make some for my pregnant friends and bring them to the hospital if they do!!!
I used canola oil instead of coconut because that’s what I had. I used 2 whole eggs. And I used large oat flakes, not sure if those were the right ones but I have 2 bags to use! lol
They turned out great. I am super stoked. :) Come onnnn boobies!
Holy moly…. BEST COOKIE RECIPE EVER, for lactating women or not, I have fallen in love with this epic recipe and so have my mama friends (and everyone else who has been lucky enough to eat one)- how am I supposed to trim down again after baby ever now that I have mastered this? Thanks, absolutely gorgeous. P.s. ground up a tbsp fennel seeds to put in my last batch- YES. (apparently also a super lactation ingredient) x
I haven’t cooked these yet, but I found them incredibly difficult to make. The dough is really thick and I had to stir it by hand because it clogged my mixer. Then, the dough kept crumbling apart when I was forming the balls, which took over 30 minutes. I really hope these taste good, but I won’t be making them again.
I’m having the same problem as Amanda….batter is finished but is crumbly and not sticking together. Â Wondering if there’s anything I should add to make them stick together? Â More coconut oil?
Is there any way to make these softer. My batch came out and the next day they are almost rock solid…
Is there any way to make these softer. The day after my cookies were like rock solid…
I have been making this recipe for the past 5 weeks now- I’m a nurse working with our hospitals lactation department and we sponsor a weekly breastfeeding support group/luncheon- these cookies are a hit! I have tweaked this recipe to make it easier for my Kitchenaid mixer to handle, and frankly, easier for me to handle (less crumbly dough). The following are some things I changed :
1 cup of butter, no coconut oil- like the author recommended.
Three whole eggs instead of 1 1/2.
1 cup of white sugar and 1/2 cup brown sugar in place of all white sugar.
No cinnamon (personal preference).
CAREFULLY measuring all dry ingredients- filling and scraping all dry ingredients level or slightly below level (oats)… This really did make a difference.
These changes yielded a more traditional dough and appearance of traditional chocolate chip cookies, with great taste/ consistency, and all of the galactagogue benefits!
These work wonderfully I actually change it a little instead of the chocolate chips I use 1/2 cup cocoa nibs and 1/2 chopped pecans or almonds depending what I have. I also changed the sugar to 250g of palm sugar and the butter 180g. 1 teaspoon of almond essence and 1 teaspoon of vanilla bean paste. They areamazing last me a week of 4 per day and cook again a week later. Each batch makes me 26 and end up almost being the size of my palm
I bought a bag of oatmeal chocolate chips dough mix, if i just add the brewers yeast and grounded flax seeds would that work?? since almost all the other ingridents are there or is there other lactation ingridents i should really check if its there to also add in please let me know i want to bake them already and produce more milk for my 2 1/2 month baby
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I made these tonight. I have been breastfeeding for almost 10 months and every now and then I need a little help. I did change them. I just couldn’t add a full cup and a half of sugar. I subbed half a cup of applesauce for half a cup of sugar. I also added 2 TBS of PB and about 2 extra TBS of yeast. Also I used white chocolate chips instead of dark. Overall they are pretty good. I’ve had four tonight and they are filling. They are nice and moist. I undercooked my last batch and they were my favorite. Thank you for the recipe.
I am a new mommy of a 5 week old baby boy and I cannot even describe the happiness these cookies brought to me ?. My dear friend Rachel baked these for me right after we left from the hospital and my milk not coming in right away made me worry so much. So she did not hesitate and brought a full bag of them to the house and I couldn’t believe how tasty they were. We had no choice but to say that those were and still are the best cookies we ever had! One happy family also thanks to you ?
what brand of brewers yeast is everyone using? I can only find regular yeast at my local grocery stores. and amazon has a billion with all kinds of reviews. WOndering which one people use the most. thank you
Nature first premium I bought it from foodworks nowhere else nearme sold brewers yeast only bakers yeast otherwise health food stores sell it
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My coworker made these and they are delicious!! I want to try making them myself but was wondering if anyone has tried it using almond or coconut flour?
Coconut flour absorbs a ton of liquid and usually requires about 6 eggs per batch, and a lot less flour, so I wouldn’t sub that. Almond flour absorbs less liquid than wheat, Â so would do well combined with wheat, buckwheat, or a GF mix. You’ll have to play around with proportions and add some fat but I bet you’ll get a good ratio with a few tries! :)Â
I used nutritional yeast instead of brewers yeast, and cooked them for 20 minutes. I also got 36 cookies. They turned out great!
What do i do if i dont have and cant find flaxseed meal?
I used ground flaxseed.. Â worked perfectly
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I’m wondering how many cookies y’all ate before you started noticing a difference? I have to pump at work, and am only getting 4-8 ounces a day, but my lo is already 6 months! I got more than that by 4 weeks with my first child! I’ve been eating cookies since Friday, and haven’t noticed a difference at all. :( Any ideas?
YUM! These are similar to the recipe I use. I never thought to use coconut AND butter.I usually store mine in the fridge so they don’t crumble so easily because of the use of coconut oil. Will definitely try that next time! Thanks!Â
http://www.laurenmottfitness.com/#!Fuel-for-Life-Milk-and-CookiesLactation-Cookie-Recipe/vmcqh/57204e490cf2a12871b9c394
I made these for my daughter who gave birth to twins. She (and her husband) loved them. And she “doesn’t like oatmeal cookies”. I substituted 1/2 c of sugar with 1/2 c organic brown sugar. Added walnuts to the 2nd half of the batch. Yum on all counts. Her husband wants me to add cranberries. Â Daughter is my main concern but I may make a few for him :-)
Oh my goodness, I just made these and they are absolutely DELICIOUS!!! They are everything I love in cookies!!! I’ll probably continue making them even after my lo is done breastfeeding! Here’s to hoping they get me producing more than 2-4 oz a day!
These cookies are amazing! I have made them many different ways and they are always delicious.
I used namaste gf flour mixture and there was no textural difference, and still tasted great!
I’ve made them vegan, and they were a little difficult to form into balls, so I pressed them in a pan and cut into bars. Still yummy!
I’ve substituted 1/2 of the flour for pb2 and that was probably the closest to a traditional cookie. Very smooth batter.
I’ve also done 1/2 brown sugar, 1/2 regular, and they end up with crispy edges, which I also enjoy.
So pretty much, as long as you measure your dry ingredients correctly, this recipe is always amazing!
Thank you so much for sharing it.
Adding dried cranberries never hurt anything, either.
These are delicious. Thanks!
I made the recipe almost exactly as stated, using two eggs instead of 1 1/2. But my batter came out very dry and crumbly. I would use a whole cup of butter next time.
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I loved these! I used Guittard milk baking chips–my only substitution.
The day I made them, they had a weird, unidentifiable flavor that I did not enjoy, so I thought they were a bust. But the next day, Ibtried one again and it was very tasty! Barely a trace of the unpleasant, oddly aromatic flavor. Maybe it’s the Brewers yeast? That’s the only thing in the recipe I’d never had before. Anyway, they only got tastier as the days went on…until (sigh) my husband and I ate every last one.
Honestly, though, I have no idea if it positively impacted my supply. I’m making them again tonight–I am now back at work and pumping multiple times per day, whereas before I was exclusively breastfeeding, except for pumping 1boob in the morning. So now I will be able to quantify any increase. And if not…I like them as stand-alone treats :)
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I made these cookies for my daughter. Â I used steel cut oats (the quick cook ones) and regular sugar. Â With the chocolate chips, I also added about a cup of flaked coconut. Â None of my ingredients were organic. Â I cut the recipe in half to try it out first (for the eggs, I mixed together the whole egg and one yolk and then used half of that). Â To scoop them, I used 1/4 cup measuring cup (it’s round) and the batch made 12 big cookies. Â They are delicious! Â My daughter loved them – WAY better than the bag of 10 for $25 you can get at Toys R Us. Â If they work as far as lactation increase goes, I will be making more and experimenting with additives (nuts, other flavored chips – my daughter doesn’t like raisins, otherwise I would try that). Â Thanks for the recipe!!
Oh yeah, and I had to cook them for about 20 minutes at 350 degrees. Â They came out perfect.. Â crunchy on the outside slightly soft on the inside!
Omg these are amazing. The 4th time I made them, I used Ghirardelli milk, dark, and semi chips (a lot of them) and added Half a bag of Costco dried cherries and 2-3 T almond extract.
Phenomenal. You have to try them this way.
Making my second batch of these for my wife who is nursing our twins(!). First batch made exactly like directions and delicious. Second batch I’m subbing butterscotch chips for chocolate and increased the salt to 1/2 tsp. Great recipe and helpful in getting in those 3600 calories she needs each day! Also, don’t have a stand mixer so just used a hand mixer for butter/sugar/egg mixture and added dry ingredients by hand. You also don’t need to mix in the eggs and vanilla separately, those extra minutes are precious!
These are fantastic! I have made them for several friends and family members when they’ve had babies and they say they really see a difference! Not to mention they are delicious even if you are not breastfeeding!
Yikes, these are good!! I will definitely have to hide them from my family, and I even put pecans in them so that my no-nut husband couldn’t eat them. My lactation consultant told me that anything with brewer’s yeast would taste “healthy ” and I should doctor up my cookies with lots of add-ins. I will definitely be giving her this recipe to show her how yummy lactation cookies can be!
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