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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I made these tonight and they were delicious! I followed he recipe exactly. Looking forward to seeing a boost in my supply, hope it works! Thank you, great recipe!
I’m so glad you like them! Fingers crossed that they help you!
Okay so it’s been 48 hours and I definitely notice an increased supply, my boobs have felt full all day long and have leaked multiple times today! They haven’t felt like this in a while, so happy!
Wonderful news!!! I’m so happy for you!
Did you notice any side effects from the Brewers yeast or fenugreek? I’ve been eating one cookie the last few days. Haven’t noticed more milk but I do get light headed or dizzy like amd a small headache within a hour of eating. Any ideas or experiences like this??
Hi Manda, I didn’t have any side effects, but I would stop use and consult your doctor about the supplements used if you are having those side effects.
I baked these cookies last night & they are not only tasty but I awoke at 4am with my breasts really full. That has not happened for a couple of months! My milk supply is back up, thank you for sharing this recipe!
I’m so glad it worked out great for you Eileen! I’m sure your baby will be happy too. 🙂
I added an extra tablespoon of almond extract in addition to the vanilla extract and wow it made such a difference these cookies are even more delicious than before.
Almond extract is so yummy! Great idea!
Can I use Milled flax seed instead of whole ground flax seed?
That should be just fine.
Thank you for the recipe! I just made these but I used 1 c almond flour and 1 c coconut flour instead of 2 c of ww flour. Also I had ground flaxseed instead of flaxseed meal and stevia instead of white sugar. I don’t know if I didn’t get my coconut oil soft enough or if it was the change in flours or ground flaxseed or what but they’re super crumbly and kinda dry. The taste is good though! It’s actually probably a good thing because now maybe I’ll stick to one a day instead of being tempted! Fingers crossed the milk gets a little push in the right direction!
Hi Sara,
So coconut flour actually can’t be swapped with whole wheat/all-purpose four cup for cup. For every 1 cup of regular flour you only use 1/4 cup of coconut flour AND you have to increase the eggs too (about 1 egg per 1-ounce of coconut flour). So next time, do 1/4 cup of coconut flour and 5 eggs (the 2 eggs from the recipe + 3 more for the coconut flour). Hope this helps! And I hope it works out for you!
Thank you, Amber! I guess it would’ve been smart to check in here or Google that first, oops 😬 But I got the important ingredients in there so I’m hoping it works, dry or not!
I can’t wait to try these! My hubby went out and bought everything to make them but he got the Fenugreek SEED capsules…are those okay to use or should I stick to the whole herb capsules? I saw on the bottle of the seeds that you should avoid taking them while pregnant and nursing so I wanted to check!
I think the bottle for the whole herb capsules says the same thing (to avoid while pregnant or nursing), but I’ve read a lot about it and chose to take it anyway. I’m not totally sure the difference between the seed and whole herb capsules. I believe they will both work for boosting supply, and since there is only 9 capsules, I doubt it will effect how the cookie bakes. It’s your call if you want to return it to get the whole herb or not, but they should work the same as far as increasing milk supply goes. I’m not a doctor or anything, just sharing my personal experience. I hope these cookies work well for you!
How come you only ate one cookie per day. Could you eat more than one per day?
Hi Claire,
You can absolutely eat more than one per day. I just wanted a balance between keeping up my supply, and not gaining a bunch of weight from eating too many cookies. 😉 Just do whatever works best for you.
These are so delicious!!! I made them and thoroughly enjoyed eating them, as did my husband! LOL However, I didn’t really see a boost in my supply. Is it possible that these cookies just simply don’t do the trick for me or can I try adding more brewers yeast?
Hi Michelle,
So glad you liked the cookies, and I’m so sorry you haven’t seen a difference in your supply. Try adding 2 more Tbsp of Brewer’s yeast and see if that helps. This may effect the taste and texture of the cookies some, but hopefully not too much. You could also try eating the cookies, and adding extra bits of those key ingredients into a smoothie. I add 2 Tbsp of flax to my smoothies every day. I would maybe only do 1 Tbsp of the brewer’s yeast though and a tablespoon or two of oats. You don’t want it super thick. You can take fenugreek daily in the pill as well. I hope you find something that works best for you! Good luck!
I JUST made these and they are ridiculously bitter. I’ve purchased lactation cookies from other moms and theirs were ridiculously sweet. I’m still excitedly waiting for the results of your adapted recipe to kick in 🙂
But is there a happy medium between bitter cookies and saccharin sweet cookies?
Hi Chanelle! That’s interesting! I’m thinking the Brewer’s yeast is that bitter taste you are talking about. You can always try adding more chocolate chips, or increase both sugars to 1 cup each to help with the taste. It will effect the texture of the cookie though. I hope it works out for you!
I would suggest trying a different Brewer’s yeast. I used the Solgar stuff, and the cookies were great. They may be my second favorite cookie…though I am wondering if I can make a peanut butter version.