Lactation Cookies + Video
It works! These lactation cookies help boost your milk supply thanks to 3 key ingredients. Freezer friendly, and super delicious, these lactation cookies are a breastfeeding mama’s best friend.
We’re getting personal in here today! Haha. If you’ve followed my blog regularly, you know I have a baby boy, who is 8 1/2 months old now. So I’ve been nursing him, but when I started my health challenge in January, about 2 weeks into it, my milk supply dropped dramatically!
He was waking up constantly in the night to nurse, but he would try to eat and just cry. Repeat that during the daytime, and I felt so awful, but I really wanted to lose weight while nursing, so I had to figure out a way to do both. I know I was getting plenty of water (I was drinking 12 cups a day), and I had tried increasing my caloric intake by 300 calories (to about 1600 calories a day), but nothing was working. It’s been said that as long as the baby stimulates the breasts, your body will make more milk, but I got desperate.
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I scoured the internet for a lactation cookie recipe that sounded legit, and I tweaked it to have less sugar, chocolate chips instead of raisins, and I used half coconut oil & half butter to incorporate some healthy fats (compared to just using all butter). Those adjustments created super delicious (and almost healthy) oatmeal chocolate chip lactation cookies. My husband and kids all love these too, and you don’t have to freak out. It’s not going to give them milk making abilities just by eating them. Everyone can enjoy these tasty cookies!
I ate 2 cookies the day I made these, and 1 each day after that. My supply was back and even better than before by the 2nd day, roughly 24 to 48 hours later! I continued my 6 week health challenge, eating 1 cookie a day for my milk supply, and I still lost 11.8 pounds by the end of it. Success!
The 3 milk boosting ingredients in these lactation cookies are: flaxseed, brewer’s yeast, and fenugreek. I found everything but the brewer’s yeast at Walmart. I had to go to a health store for the brewer’s yeast, which is the most effective ingredient out of the three. (I hear if you have a Whole Foods, they have it there. Or you can buy brewer’s yeast on Amazon.) All-in-all, I spent around $22 on those three key ingredients, which isn’t bad when you think about having to continually buy formula.
The old fashioned oats in these cookies also help with milk production, but I was eating oatmeal and that alone wasn’t helping. The combination of all 3, or rather all 4, saved my milk production! I even gave some to another one of my nursing friends, and she said they tasted better and worked better than a different recipe she had tried, so there you go!
Breastfeeding can have so many ups and downs, making milk shouldn’t have to be one of the stresses. Thank goodness I have these cookies! My favorite thing is to individually wrap them and put them in the freezer. I pull one out each day after lunch and nuke it in the microwave for 30 seconds. It’s a delicious treat that helps me continue feeding my cute baby boy. Win-win!
Print or pin the recipe now! You won’t want to lose it! Share this post with your breastfeeding friends, it’s a great resource to have in case of emergencies. 😉
Lactation Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp flaxseed meal
- ¼ cup (59 ml) water
- 2 cups (304 g) whole wheat flour, (stir, spoon, & level)
- ¼ cup (60 g) brewer's yeast, (this is the main ingredient for milk production)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 9 fenugreek capsules, (empty capsules and discard)
- ½ cup (113 g) butter, softened
- ½ cup (113 g) coconut oil, softened
- ¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar
- ¾ cup (150 g) light brown sugar, gently packed
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 cups (240 g) old fashioned oats
- 1 cup (170 g) semi-sweet chocolate chips
Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Mix flaxseed meal and water; set aside.
- Stir together the flour, brewer’s yeast, salt, baking soda and fenugreek, set aside.
- Blend butter, coconut oil, and sugars well. Blend in eggs. Stir in flaxseed mixture and vanilla; mix well.
- Add dry mixture. Mix until just combined. Stir in oats and chocolate chips.
- Scoop 2 Tbsp of dough, 1 to 2 inches apart, onto a silicone lined baking sheet. (About 8 cookies per tray.)
- Bake at 375˚F for 9 to 10 minutes, until matte on the top.
- Once cooled, individually wrap cookies in plastic wrap and place them in a container the freezer. Eat at least 2 cookies the first day, and one each day afterwards. (I have one every day after lunch. Just unwrap it and nuke it in the microwave for 30 seconds.) Enjoy!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Did you make this?
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Hi! will this work ok with one cup of flour?
They might be really flat, but you could try it. The flour gives the cookies shape.
Does it matter your weight for the dosage of cookies do you know? I’ve taken everything under the sun to boost my supply, and because of baby weight still being on, I always have to take the most as it usually says over a certain weight take x amount. Just wondering…I’m making these tonight, and I’m praying they work for me also 🙂
I’m guessing it might if most of those other dosages say so. You could try increasing all of the boosting ingredients a little bit. Try 1/3 cup brewer’s yeast, 12 fenugreek capsules, and 3 Tbsp of flaxseed meal. This may effect the spread of the cookies. It may be thicker and slightly more dry, but you could definitely try it. Keep me posted Betsy! I hope they work out for you!
Have you tried freezing the cookie dough then baking? I’m wondering if this will prolong how long they last in the freezer? I am due in August and would love to get a head and make several batches of these to bake as I need. Any thoughts?
Hi Allison! It’s not going to hurt to try it. Most cookie doughs freeze well. If you do try it, will you come back and let me know how it worked out? My baby turned one and I’m no longer nursing to test it out. That way others know for sure if it will work or not. Thanks!
I will let you know for sure! Headed to the grocery store to make the dough and freeze it before Baby K makes his/her debut!
How fun that you are waiting to find out the gender! Congrats in advance!
How long have you left these in the freezer? I am due with #2 at the beginning of August and would love to make a few batches over the next 2 months to last for a while. My production had a very slow start last time and I ended up taking fenugreek around the 4 mo mark and it made a big difference. Hoping to get a jump start as soon as baby is born with these!
Hi Molly,
I’ve only ever had them frozen for 1 month because that’s how long it takes me to get through a batch, but I bet they would last maybe two months in the freezer if you wrap them well. You’ll have to let me know how it goes! A cookie a day really made the difference for me, I hope it works out the same for you! Good luck with the rest of your pregnancy!
Great, thank you! I will report back 😉
Hello! I’m making these for my friend who is nursing. I live in a very small town and they only sell fenugreek as a liquid. Would this work as well? If so, do you know how much to use instead? Thanks.
Hi Jen, so I would try and match the dosage as close as you can. I used 9 capsules of 610mg EACH. The only thing is the liquid might make the cookies spread more, so I would also add 2 to 4 Tbsp more flour and then bake a few cookies to test them and see how much they spread. Then add more flour, and bake a few more if you need to, but I don’t think you’ll need more than 4 Tbsp extra. Good luck! Let me know how it turns out!
I’m going to make these today but why do you individually wrap then? Does it make a difference
Hi Elvi,
If you are going to freeze them, wrapping them individually will help them retain their moisture better, so they don’t dry out and get freezer burn. If you are just storing them at room temperature, they will last up to 5 days in an airtight container. I hope they are a success for you just as they were for me!
about how many calories per cookie do you think they are?
Hi Lauren! MyFitnessPal says 176 calories. Kind of a lot, but they were so worth it to help my milk supply!
These cookies worked for me, I could only pump 1 ounce of milk per 15min, now after two days of cookies I pump double the amount!
That’s so great Amanda! Keep enjoying those cookies! Thanks for your feedback!
1 oz per 15 min? Wow lucky! I get 1 oz per 1 hour. These didnt really help my supply. But as you can see, i really struggle. Ive tried everything but my body just wont make a lot of milk sadly.
When you say you wrap them individually and freeze them, what do you wrap them in? I made these today and they taste great! I am hoping I see an increase in my production, too!
Thanks!
Hi Kate! So glad you like the cookies! I like to wrap them really well with plastic wrap. Then I unwrap one and nuke it in the microwave for 20 to 30 seconds when I want to eat one. Best of luck! These cookies saved me!
This sounds like an awesome recipe! Wish I’d had it a few years, ago, oh well. I tried taking fenugreek then and I guarantee a cookie would have been more pleasant than those horse pills.
Fenugreek never works for me on it’s own with the pill, but it helped in these cookies! And those pills always made me burp and it would taste like maple syrup, but not good tasting. Haha.
Hi Amber! I’m currently baking these today but just noticed that I used flaxseed protein? Not flaxseed meal? Do you think that makes a difference?
Like a protein powder with flaxseed? I’m betting it’s not as concentrated as straight flaxseed meal. The cookie texture and bake probably won’t be effected that much, but it might not be as effective for milk production as flaxseed meal.