So I recently put a post up on my facebook page about some lactation cookies I had made. I ended up getting more emails and private messages than I knew what to do with. So I decided to get this recipe up fast so that everyone would be able to make them!
Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Lactation Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 c flour
- 1 1/2 c oats can be quick oats
- 1 tbsp. ground flaxseed
- 2 tsp. Brewers yeast
- 1 1/2 c sugar
- 3/4 c shortening
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp. cocoa
- 1/2 tsp. all spice
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 10 oz bag Dairy Free mini chocolate chips
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350 (I baked at 325 in convection oven)
- In medium bowl sift flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, all spice and cocoa.
- In stand mixer on medium speed, add shortening, sugar and vanilla. Add in eggs one at a time. Mix on medium high for 1-2 minutes to ensure well combined.
- Turn mixer to lowest setting in slowly add in flour mixture. Mix until just combined.
- Remove bowl from mixer and add in oats, mini chocolate chips, yeast and flaxseed. Mix by hand.
- These cookies work best when on silpat or parchment paper on your baking sheet. I made each cookie roughly a tablespoon and placed about 2 inches apart.
- Bake for 7-9 minutes and then cool on cooling rack. Keep a close eye on these cookies and remove when edges are just barely browned. The center may appear slightly "wet" and that is ok. Cookie will continue to bake after it is removed from oven.
Did you make this recipe?
Thank you for making my recipe! You took pictures, right? Well go ahead and post them on Instagram! Be sure to mention me @iambaker and use the hashtag #YouAreBaker.
What is a lactation cookie exactly? It a cookie that has a few key ingredients that promote lactation, or increase a nursing mom’s milk supply.
For instance, in this cookie I have included oats. Researchers have long since known that oatmeal has properties in it that help to lower cholesterol and maintain a healthy blood pressure. Oats also provide plenty of iron as well as an abundance of healthy vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. New moms definitely need all that!
These delicious cookies also contain Brewers yeast, ground flaxseed and dairy free mini chocolate chips. The yeast and flaxseed are classic components to a Lactation cookie, but I wanted to take it one step further. I decided to use all shortening instead of butter and the dairy free chocolate in my recipe to ensure it was dairy free.
I know when I was nursing Eddie I experimented with a dairy free diet in the hopes it would help with his colic. To have been able to enjoy a scrumptious chocolate chip cookie during that time would have been such a treat!
These cookies do contain cinnamon and all spice and you may certainly omit them if you have a sensitivity.
In the research I did, it wasn’t recommended to use a cinnamon supplement while breastfeeding or consume more than 1 tsp per day. (In very small doses cinnamon can actually be beneficial.)
These cookies have a crispy crunchy exterior and a chewy center. I loved the juxtaposition!
Here is the nitty gritty. New moms need all the blessings they can get. To be able to make cookies for a nursing mom that not only help her but taste good? AND it’s recommended to eat about 4 a day.
I can’t think of a better prescription!
***These cookies are delicious and can be eaten by anyone.
Yum! My first baby’s arrival is just 5 weeks away now – and since I’ll take any excuse to eat cookies, you’d better believe I will have some of these ready to go! Here’s to eating cookies for an amazing milk supply…hooray!
Phew, I made it through all of the “lactation” comments to make sure I wasn’t repeating a question: where do I find Brewer’s yeast? Will it be near other yeast in the baking aisle? Okay, now it’s obvious that I got here not because I’m a baker but because I googled *gasp!* “lactation cookies”.
And I’m guessing ground flaxseed is something Bob’s Red Mill sells? Look around there?
Thanks so much for a yummy-looking recipe! Super excited to bake, freeze, and eat in a couple months when my baby arrives.
I would recommend ordering Brewers yeast online… find a reputable source and select the quantity you are comfortable with! 🙂 Congrats on your pregnancy!
I just baked my first batch! Supper yummy!! But I have a question, ho long will the batter keep if I choose not to bake the whole batch right away? Also, how many should I eat daily to really make a difference? My daughter is 8 weeks and I’m going back to work, I need all the help I can get while pumping!! Thanks for the awesome recipe!!! I plan to make these for my nursing friends!!
Hi Holly! So glad you liked them! In my research it was recommended about 4 cookies a day, or at least one with every meal. I have not frozen the dough, and am not sure that would be good for the yeast. I will do some more research! 🙂
Thanks! It made more dough than I have pans for so I tossed the batter n the fridge and plan to bake the rest tonight!
Just made a batch and they are super delicious. Moist and chewy, so good! Even hubbers liked them 🙂
How many cookies do you yield from this recipe? I just want to make sure my 4 cookies/day are the right size… I could easily eat the whole recipe. By myself. In one day. 🙂
These are delicious! The only thing I did differently was to add 2 tbsp (per other recipes) of Brewers Yeast. I can’t attest to how well they work, since I JUST ate my first one. But…..if they work, I’ll be making these all the time.
Great Recipe!
PS..I assume the baking powder and baking soda are added at the same time, but it wasn’t in the recipe.
Yes, thank you for pointing that out! Fixed it. Glad you liked them!
can i use butter instead of shortening since i have butter on hand?
You can sure try! Sounds good. 🙂
do you recommend some particular brand of brewer’s yeast i read a lot it is very bitter in taste?
Just what I was looking for! I am wondering though, looking around my kitchen, what can I use for ‘shortening’. At first I understood that to mean margerine, but now I’m not so sure and I don’t have any of that anyway, lol. I have olive oil and canola oil, will that do? And should I mix the flaxseed with water first? I seem to remember seeing that somewhere…
You can use margarine or butter if you prefer! 🙂
I made a recipe similar to these today, but they had more brewer’s yeast in them and they ended up with a very bitter aftertaste. Is there any bitterness with this recipe? The recipe I used called for 2-4 tablespoons of brewers yeast. I think I would rather leave it out all together and take the pill form.