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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1,883 Comments on “Lactation Cookies.”
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 :)
Curious what your substitution ratios would be for the dates instead of sugar. Love dates, and know I need to cut back on refined sugar for the sake of my waistline lol. Thanks!
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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!
I tried your tip and added 3 tablespoons of water. Even the next day they are so soft and chewy! I chilled the dough while each batch was cooking and cooked for 10.5 minutes. THESE COOKIES ARE DELICIOUS.
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. ♡
From yet another NICU mom, it’s hard. Be patient with yourself, and understand that the hard earned efforts WILL pay off. I had to have the steroid shots which also will decrease milk supply. I would suggest that you up your pumping as often as 2hrs if you can, yes even through the night and it will help get your milk supply up. Once you are getting enough milk to give him a bottle (honestly even a little bit helps to add to formula because it improves the flavor and he is still getting all of your antibacterial goodness) ask if you can fortify your milk to help with the weight gain. That is what we have been doing and our little bean gained 6oz in 4 days! You got this!
Maranda, yet another NICU mom x2 here. I believe in the power of fenugreek (good quality, pref. organic) and brewer’s yeast, oatmeal, eating well and often, and plenty of fluids (water mostly). The second time around, with our son, who was born at the end of April this year, I used the brewer’s yeast, the fenugreek, and ate oatmeal, and ate a lot of nutritious (not low calorie) food and constantly drank water. I pumped every 2-3 hours, breastfed our son when they allowed me to (same as you, he was so little that they wouldn’t let me do it very often), and talked frequently with the NICU lactation consultant. The lactation consultants were amazing and super supportive. I also rented a hospital grade breast pump, which made a difference! At the lactation consultant’s advice, I made sure I slept a solid 3 hours every night, too. I was able to make plenty of milk eventually — it took about 10 days after he was born before it really, truly came in — but if you’re still struggling with supply, try everything!! Also, there is a drug called Motilium that will make you produce milk, period — you can buy it online (or you could 8 years ago) OR you can get it from a doctor. I used it with my daughter when she gave up the boob at 5 months, and managed to produce 20 oz daily for the remainder of her first year. Best of luck and loads of love to all NICU moms.
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!
I freeze mine baked too and whenever I want to eat them I pull them out to sit at room temp for a while and they’re great! If I can’t wait I defrost them in the microwave the choc is nice and gooey again! I just freeze the baked cookies in a single layer in a Ziplock bag.
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!
can u sub reg white sugar and brown sugar for equal amounts of the cane sugar?
1 c brown sugar
1/2 white sugar
…..came out perfect…
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These are SO. EFFING. GOOD. It’s makes a big batch so I froze half the dough, then a week later smashed it all down into a pan together and made cookie bars. YUUUUUMMMMYYYY
This recipe is great! I substituted 1/2 cup of the flour with 1 cup almond and coconut( 1/2 of each) and added a bit more coconut oil and peanut butter. I also increased the flax by a table spoon.
Does the butter need to be at room temperature?
Absolutely delicious…addictive!
Chill the dough for 30 minutes before baking., the flavors blends well.
Can I use stevia instead of white or brown sugar.
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Can baking soda be substituted?
I made a batch of these cookies and they were terrible. The bitter beer taste was completely overwhelming. My mother and my husband, who likes beer, agreed. Like others commented, I did not use the debittered brewer’s yeast but I didn’t know I had to. It would be helpful if the recipe author would have mentioned that important fact. I had to throw the whole batch out because the cookies literally made me nauseous. What a waste! Also, like others stated, the dough is very crumbly. I didn’t mind that but the cooking time was much longer than stated. All in all I was disappointed with the recipe. I went and purchased the debittered brewers yeast from Blue Bonnet at a local health food store, then I followed a simpler recipe from geniuskitchen.com, and they turned out great.
Can you sub coconut flour for the non bleached flour? Also can you substitute stevia for the sugar? Thanks!
How many should be consumed per day?
Made these for a friend. Tasted one and they are soooo tummy! I added 3 TBSP water and eyeballed about 3 TBSP almond butter. I only had flax seeds so I put them in the food processor and turned out fine.
THANK YOU, YOU LIFE AND SANITY-SAVING GEM! I made these in massive batches while pumping for my first daughter. My supply was great and these may have had something to do with that. Also, my husband adores them. This week I froze a double batch ahead of our second daughter’s arrival, and just knowing they are there and ready provides stability and calm during the crazy-making “When will this baby come?” days. They are like little life rafts during the first difficult weeks with a newborn. These really helped me through a hard time.
I am making these for the first time (for a new mom) and noticed that I only have Quick Oats in the pantry. Will this make a big difference?
Just here to report that I used Earth Balance Vegan as I am dairy-free and they came out great!
I also used brown sugar instead of white as a matter of preference and they were delightful!
Just made a batch and they came out great! I even added a teaspoon of almond extract! They’re so yummy! This was my first time making lactation cookies :)
I just had a small dip in my supply due to begging to work out again and so I was so glad to see your recipe. These are in fact so good and I think they’ve helped my supply. I added an extra scoop of Brewers yeast and used almond flour and they turned out great!
Oh my goodness. These are so good. I used 2 whole eggs, an extra tsp only vanilla, and 3 Tbs of water. They turned out perfectly.
I have made this recipe twice. It is delicious! I think the cinnamon and coconut oil help make them extra yummy! My dough consistency did not have any issues as other noted. Here are a few differences: I used whole flaxseed instead of ground due to store availability. I used a food processor to grind up the oats for texture personal preference (maybe this will help those who said the dough is crumbly?). I added an extra tablespoon of brewer’s yeast.
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This recipe was very yummy! I can’t comment on how or if it will, in fact, boost my milk supply as I have not had my baby yet. I will be induced next week. But, I am a mama who currently has 4 children that nursed all four with a normal supply of milk and only using fenugreek. I’ve never had an issue with low supply, but I figured, why not give this recipe a try? Snacks with relatively healthy ingredients couldn’t hurt while nursing, right? At any rate, in this recipe, made the following modifications: I added 2 extra tbsp of brewer’s yeast, soaked the flaxseed meal in 3 tbsp of water, added 1 c dark brown sugar and 1/2 c white sugar. I also added 3 heaping TBSP of toasted wheat germ, an extra tsp of coconut oil; and about a 1/8 cup of milk. I also added walnuts and butter and almond extracts to taste. I guess I kinda made the recipe my own, so to speak. Cookies were not dry AT ALL, even with the added ingredients. But, I made sure to compensate by adding more to the wet ingredients. I had my picky eater 10-year-old son try them and even he said they were GREAT!
Can I use instant oats? Please answer I’m dying to make these
I used instant oats and they turned out amazing
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I felt like these had a metallic and or some slight bitter taste, did anyone experience that too? Is it that the brewers yeast?
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I would love to make these vegan for my girlfriend. Would a flax or chia egg work ok? Thank you!