The best lactation cookies recipe balance healthy and indulgent perfectly. Sweet, salty, chewy, and crunchy. These hit every craving and are perfect for a postpartum mama.
Daniel is over a year old somehow, and although our nursing journey doesn’t seem to be ending anytime soon, I have a few friends that are just about to become new moms.
I remember back when my first was born. As a first time mom, everything is new. All those little sounds, squeaks, grunts. We always joke that going from zero to one child is harder than adding any more.
Sounds strange to say that going from zero to one was harder than, say, adding your sixth child, but it’s true. You learn the ropes and learn to let go a little more. And next thing you know, you have a baby in a van.
There is less stress to when babies should be doing things… how to develop a sleep schedule, when to start solid foods, when to begin potty training… it’s endless. Just know that each of those things will happen in their own time.
Starting my nursing journey with my first was a totally new experience. I often worried if I was producing enough milk.
Luckily, we didn’t have any significant issues, but oh boy, I wish I’d had these decadent oatmeal chocolate chip lactation cookies around back then.
These would make the perfect treat to take to a new mom friend. They are literally the most delicious treat… sweet, salty, crunchy, chewy, chocolate-y, and full of healthy fats.
Recipe Highlights:
Sweet, salty and crunchy: These are the best lactation cookie recipe. With delicious flavors and textures, it is so good.
Delicious way to help try to boost breast milk supply: I mean who wouldn’t want to eat cookies and chocolate. Just saying.
Nutritious ingredients like brewers yeast, flaxseed, spelt flour, oats, etc.
Tips For Making Lactation Cookies
- If you don’t have flaky sea salt in your cupboard, it’s okay to skip it, but flaky sea salt is totally worth the buy.
- Don’t have spelt? Substitute it for all purpose flour.
- If the dough is a bit wet to roll the cookies, you can put the batter in the fridge for 20-30 minutes.
- Look for debittered brewer’s yeast. The addition of almond butter in this recipe (or other nut butter) helps to mask the slightly bitter flavor of the brewer’s yeast.
- Have a nut allergy? Swap out the nut butter for sunflower butter.
- You can add the chocolate chunks and the pretzels into the dough and mix it all together, but I prefer to mix in 1 cup of chocolate chunks while reserving 1⁄4 cup of chocolate chunks to add to the top of the cookies. I add a few pretzel bites to each cookie individually, as well.
Do lactation cookies really work?
There haven’t been any scientific studies to show if lactation cookies really work, but many moms swear by them for increasing their milk supply.
When should you start taking lactation cookies?
Since these breastfeeding cookies are made from healthier ingredients, they are safe to consume at any point during breastfeeding. Most people tend to reach for them when they feel like their milk supply is low or inadequate to meet the demands of their baby. You may see a difference in supply within 24 hours of eating lactogenic foods.
Which lactation cookie is best?
These, obviously. Jokes aside, these are not only delicious, but they include healthy fats, less refined sugar, oats, and other healthy ingredients.
What are galactagogues?
Galactagogues are substances that are used to help maintain and breast milk production (source). These can be through prescription or from certain foods: like fennel, oats, brewers yeast, flaxseeds, fenugreek and more.
Key Ingredients
Brewers yeast: Excellent source of B vitamins, protein and iron and may help balance blood sugar levels. This is not the same as nutritional yeast or baker’s yeast.
Rolled oats: Some moms swear by oats as a way to increase their milk supply. Oats are a good source of B vitamins and a source of iron, which may be why women find it helpful with milk production.
Ground flaxseed: Provides healthy fats and makes the cookies heartier. They also include phytoestrogens which may help boost milk supply.
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Tools you may need:
Stand mixer or large bowl with hand mixer
Measuring cups and spoons
Parchment paper
Cookie scoop (optional)
How To Make The Best Lactation Cookies
In a stand mixer with paddle attachment, cream together butter and coconut sugar for a few minutes until light and fluffy.
Add eggs (plus extra yolk) and mix well. Scraping down the sides of the bowl once or twice to make sure everything is combined well.
Add maple syrup and nut butter and mix until well combined.
In a separate bowl, mix all dry ingredients together except the chocolate chunks and pretzels.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients about 1/3 at a time and mix just until incorporated.
Add the chocolate and pretzels and gently combine. (Reserve some chocolate and pretzels for topping the cookies.)
Place cookie dough balls (about the size of 2 Tbsp) on a parchment lined baking sheet and press down lightly.
Add some chocolate and crushed pretzel on the top, and bake for 8-10 minutes.
When the cookies come out of the oven, sprinkle with a bit of sea salt and enjoy!
How To Store Lactation Cookies:
Store at room temperature in an air-tight container for 3-4 days. Freeze baked cookies flat in one layer in a Ziplock bag.
You can also freeze dough balls. Place cookie dough balls on a parchment lined baking sheet and freeze for 30 minutes or so. Then place frozen dough in a Ziplock bag. Bake at the same temperature. Just place on parchment lined baking sheet.
Find More Delicious Desserts:
- Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Cranberry Orange Cookies
- Sourdough Snickerdoodle Cookies
- Chewy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies With Sourdough
- Einkorn Chocolate Chip Cookies
If you try this recipe and love it, I would love if you could come back and give it 5 stars! Tag me on Instagram @farmhouseonboone
The Best Lactation Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups spelt flour
- 4 tablespoons brewers yeast
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons ground flaxseed
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 cups rolled oats
- 1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts
- 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- 1 1/4 cups chocolate chunks or chips, more if desired
- 1 cup mini pretzels, crushed (more if desired)
- Sea salt, for finishing (once the cookies leave the oven)
Wet ingredients:
- 1 1/4 cups softened butter
- 1 cup coconut sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1/3 cup smooth nut butter, such as almond butter, sunflower seed butter, or peanut butter
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- In a stand mixer with paddle attachment, cream together butter and coconut sugar for a few minutes until light and fluffy.
- Add eggs (plus extra yolk) and mix well.
- Add maple syrup and nut butter; mix until well combined.
- In a separate bowl, mix all dry ingredients together except the chocolate chunks and pretzels.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients 1/3 at a time and mix until just incorporated.
- Add the chocolate and pretzels and gently combine.
- Place 2 tbsp-sized cookie dough balls on a parchment lined baking sheet and press down lightly.
- Add some chocolate and crushed pretzel on the top and bake for 8-10 minutes.
- When the cookies come out of the oven, sprinkle with a bit of flaky sea salt.
Notes
- If the dough is a bit wet to roll the cookies, you can put the batter in the fridge for 20-30 minutes.
- Look for debittered brewer’s yeast.
- You can add the chocolate chunks and the pretzels into the dough and mix it all together, but I prefer to mix some in the dough and reserve some to place on top.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I have made this recipe 3 times now, it my favorite lactation cookie recipe! Thank you!
Hi! I’m wanting to make a few batches of these for my sister in law who is due soon. Couple of questions – she is incredibly sensitive to dairy and eggs. Is there something I can use in place of the butter and eggs that wouldn’t mess them up? Additionally, would it be best to freeze these before or after baking?
Thanks!
I pre-made these in a double batch before I had my third kid. Freeze them in bags, then warm them up in a toaster oven for 5 minutes. Would eat this and a cup of peppermint tea after all kiddos went to bed – great reward for the day!
When my mom would come over, she kept on asking to bring a bag home because she liked them so much!
I can tell a difference in milk, from when I stopped eating the cookies. Now I ‘take one daily’ like a supplement 🙂
Would there be a way to make these into sourdough? Or would that ruin the recipe?
I have a recipe on how to convert to sourdough!
Where can I find the sourdough lactation cookie recipe?
This is the only lactation cook recipe that I have!
How manny cookies should th,is make? 12 is much more than approx 2 tbsps. I made 16 and they were still huge and baked another 7 minutes. Thoughts?
I usually say around 18!
I make this recipe a lot. I keep the cookies in the house while I am breastfeeding my baby. I get the laundry done, and it is a nice reward for me. I did try this last batch with 3 whole eggs. I want to know the reason for 2 whole eggs and 1 egg yoke. Thank you in advance!
The egg yolk is more nutrient dense and has a lot of essential vitamins needed.