Making a lactation cookie of my own has been on my to do list for a while now. But, with buying a house and moving and now catching back up with our stores, I finally had to make time to get these cookies made. You see, I woke up the other morning at around 3 am with a stabbing toothache. It prompted me to make a dental appointment only to learn I need to have my wisdom teeth taken out. I knew it would happen sooner or later as it does with most people but this really isn’t the greatest timing. I haven’t pumped a single ounce ahead of time and since I’ll be sedated during the surgery, I have to pump enough milk ahead of time for someone else to feed Kaliah for the 12 hour or so period of time that the sedative is in my system. With a trip to the west coast planned for the first weekend in August, this has to happen quick so I can heal to some degree and not be totally miserable on our trip (or worse, loopy from medication). In an effort to boost my supply a little quicker so I can get my dental work done sooner, I whipped up this yummy lactation cookie recipe.
I came up with this recipe after looking around at the on the internet and not really finding one that I felt would suit my specific lactation cookie preferences. I’m a cookie snob, it’s true. 😉 I used some of the general ratios as an idea and kinda went for a cookie that was packed full of beneficial ingredients aside from boosting milk supply so that they could be a quick energy booster for anyone. Plus, you don’t have to feel guilty snacking on a few either. 😉
Lactation Cookie Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons flax seed
- 4 tablespoons water
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/3 cup molasses (Can substitute coconut oil or butter)
- 1 1/2 cup raw sugar (Can substitute)
- 2 eggs
- 2 cups whole wheat flour (Can substitute all-purpose or alternative flours)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 12 fenugreek tablets
- 3 cups steel cut  oats (NOT instant oats!)
- 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
- 3/4 cups dark chocolate chips
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350.
- Combine the flax seed and water in a small bowl and set aside for 3-5 minutes.
- Cream butter, sugar and molasses together.
- Add eggs one at a time and mix well.
- Mix in flax seed.
- In separate bowl, sift together flour, salt and baking soda. Open 12 fenugreek capsules into the mixture and sift together.
- Add dry mix to the wet sugar mixture. Mix .
- Add in oats and mix.
- Add in chocolate chips and pumpkin seeds.
- Bonus Options::If you want a cookie that will do double duty to boost your milk supply, add in 3 Tablespoons of Brewer’s Yeast.
- Bake for 10 minutes and let cool on a wire rack.
So what about these helps your milk supply?
Oats are great for replacing iron that nursing mothers lose. They’re also kinda filling and act as a comfort food which helps you relax. Relaxing is key to breastfeeding in general, especially if you are stressing about your supply. Flax seed has all kinds of healthy omega 3 fatty acids and the pumpkin seeds, well, they’re just plain tasty. Fenugreek has long been known to aid in lactation and since I had some sitting around, I chose to use that supplement as my main galactagogue.  You can also choose to either substitute for Brewer’s Yeast or if you’re brave, you can use both. I say brave because you may just wake up soaked in the middle of the night. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. 😉
What’s the verdict?
Well, after eating these the first night I made them, I woke up with completely full feeling. I nursed my hungry baby on both sides and still pumped 8 ounces! If you try out our recipe, please let us know how they work out for you!
I’m a creative young mom, wife and entrepreneur loving life in rural Idaho and having a crazy time filling it with laughter and handmade treasures.
Sounds yummy! I made a similar lactation cookie a while back: http://parentingpatch.com/peanut-butter-pumpkin-chocolate-chip-lactation-cookies-recipe/
Thanks for sharing the recipe and best of luck with the surgery!
Awesome recipe – I can’t wait to try it. I BF my 7 week old baby and I’m going to start pumping soon so it’s good to know how to boost my supply the tasty way 🙂
These look great! Do you think these could be made ahead of time and then frozen until needed? I am unfamiliar with the properties of fenugreek and brewer’s yeast. Thank you! Your family is adorable and I admire bloggers 🙂
Great recipe! I don’t have tablets but do have ground fenugreek, roughly how much would you say that is in tsp? Is the fenugreek noticeable in taste? I’m not a fan of the stuff but do think it works wonders 🙂
I would estimate between 3-4 Tablespoons. You could also use Brewer’s Yeast which is a common ingredient in lactation cookies and the recommended amount of that is also 3-4 Tablespoons. =)
These are delicious!! Where do you buy your fenugreek tablets?
I picked mine up at our local Fred Meyer. You can also find them in health stores and may even check a place like Walgreens that sells vitamins and supplements.
How long do you cook them?
I put them in for 10 minutes. Once I take them out I move them right over to a wire rack so they can cool and don’t become hard from resting on the baking sheet.
This looks awesome! I hope this helps many people!
I’m not lactating, nor do I plan to be ever again… but some of those cookies are still yummy sounding!
That’s what I love so much about them. Take out the Fenugreek and they’re still an energy-packed snack I don’t have to feel guilty about.
I’m interested in these but hate real oats. lol. bummer for me!
Impressive! These look delicious and it’s awesome that you included a bit about how they worked. I always wonder if lactation cookies really work, so it’s good to hear that you had success!
This looks great! I plan to make a batch of these to take to a newly nursing mother to aid with healthy milk production. I will probably leave out the fenugreek and use only half of the brewer’s yeast unless she has problems with supply. I also will make some for myself as my little man (7.5 months) has started frantically nursing again. It could be teething, but I don’t ever feel full, even going 6+ hours overnight. So, I’m wondering if it could be low supply or a growth spurt. Either way, these cookies would help!
These look amazing!
Yum! I make a similar cookie but with bananas. I don’t love the texture of flax seed, so I grind them up into a powder. This way I can add it to everything! Thanks for the recipe!
I must make these!!! Great recipe. (:
These sound wonderful. It’s inspiring me to take some Brewer’s Yeast tablets right now. I hope your wisdom teeth surgery went well!
Thanks for sharing the recipe! It sounds delicious and not too complicated. I’ll add making these to my “nesting” list 😉
thanks for sharing i hope they will work for me much better to just make them rather than buy a big order from a company im really not sure of!
YUMMY!! I can’t wait to try these!
Yum! I like pumpkin and chocolate. I’ll give these a try.
These look super delicious and really easy (a must for this kitchen challenged mama!)!
thank you so much for sharing this! it actually looks really good, ive been wanting to make my own since storebought are wayyy too expensive!
Think I’d just eat these to eat them!! Sound so yummy!!
What brand of brewers yeast yo u recomend?? Is there a certain one that works better?
How many cookies did you eat to get those results?
About three. I’ve made these a couple more times and omitted the Fenugreek for half the batch just so I wasn’t wasting it on my hubby or father in law eating them. It got so late that I made a dozen with the fenugreek and ended up putting the rest of the dough in the fridge. I never even cooked them, I just ate a little spoonful of dough in place of a cookie. 😉
Did you supplement with anything else in conjunction with the cookies? I’ve been taking fenugreek for a while and for the past 2 weeks i’ve seen a dip in my production. My baby is also 8 months old and nursing alot less. I hope these cookies work for me, I only wonder if i should continue drinking additional fenugreek capsules. Who knew milk production could be so complicated :-(.
Thank you for the recipe!!
I didn’t use anything else. I still haven’t used anything else and my baby is almost 8 months. I will admit that I haven’t even needed the cookie for the past few months but I’m thinking of whipping up another batch soon…even if they don’t have Fenugreek in them. 😉
I woke up this morning feeling full! It’s been awhile since I have felt this way!! I even felt my letdowns today.
Thanks again!!
When you say flax seed, can you use the flax seed meal?
I wouldn’t use flax seed meal. It’s too much of a powder and would be more at risk for turning bad if there’s any moisture. I use the flax seed. They’re tiny little brown seeds that you can find at most grocery stores. I like to get mine from the bulk bins. 😉
I understand that the body doesn’t digest whole flax seeds – they only act as fiber to push things through your body. You don’t get the nutritional benefit unless it’s ground. I think it’s the same with chia seeds.
You can either grind them or sub with flax meal. This recipe is super adaptable which is why I love it so much!
I made these today and they turned out great. I used ground flax seed meal and the texture is amazing. I’m making them for a friend who has a 3 month old and said she isn’t making enough milk now that she’s gone back to work.
Made these today..yummy I added chocolate syrup and flax seed meal love the texture. .. will post about supply later
Made these today, but with a ton of substitutions, they are fantastic.
Replaced molasses with applesauce 1:1, used 1/4 flax seed meal with 4tbsp water, 1c chocolate chip (I’m a chocoholic), and replaced pumpkin seeds with slivered almonds. Made 2 8×8 pans of cookie bars, baked at 350 for 25 minutes. FANTASTIC!
I baked the cookies as per instructions. They turned out to be delicious buy they are soft like fudge. Is that how they are supposed to be?
They should be soft cookies, but not soft like fudge. Did you make some of the substitutions in the recipe or something? Hmm…
The capsules I have are 750mg each. Would I still use 12 in this recipe? Thanks!
did you guys cook the oatmeal first?
Just made these and they are the best tasting lactation cookies I’ve ever tasted, both store bought and home made! Substituted stevia for the sugar, used almond flour and walnuts and dark chocolate. Looooooved it, thank you for sharing!!!