Once upon a time, I tried some lactation cookies purchased from Target and I kid you not, they tasted like soap. They were the worst “cookies” I had ever eaten in my life. Baking your own lactation cookies is a much better idea – not only will they taste better, but they won’t be full of any weird preservatives needed to keep them shelf-stable.

During the third trimester, grab a friend and make a triple batch of Mother Rising’s lactation cookies for the freezer (freezer cooking is such a life saver!). Or, while she’s visiting during those first few weeks postpartum, ask your mother-in-law to bake for you. Baking lactation cookies is the perfect task for someone that wants to be helpful but doesn’t know how!

Why Eat Lactation Cookies?

These lactation cookies are full of yummy ingredients like brewer’s yeast, oats, flaxseed, and coconut that can help increase breastmilk production (these are called galactagogues)! Also, nursing mothers are generally starving, so having cookies on hand is probably just wise. 😉

NOTE: If you are struggling to breastfeed your baby please do not use lactation cookies as your first line of defense. Instead, visit an IBCLC (International Board Certified Lactation Consultant). Often times, it is not that a mother can’t produce enough milk, but more so other that things need to be adjusted, like fixing the latch, or feeding on demand, etc. Sometimes new moms evaluate their breastmilk supply based on what can be expressed via a breast pump (which by the way isn’t a good representation of what a baby takes in), which can be discouraging. It takes a team of support for a woman to successfully breastfeed her child. So instead of relying solely on lactation cookies, think of them like the cherry on top. Yes, they can help increase milk production and clearly, they taste delicious, but it’s just one piece of the support system a parent needs to successfully feed their baby.

The Best Lactation Cookies To Make In The Third Trimester

The following are instructions on how to make super yummy lactation cookies that honestly, anybody can eat – breastfeeding or not! Let’s get started!

NOTE: If you prefer a no-bake recipe, check out my lactation energy bites recipe. So yummy, especially frozen!

Lactation Cookies Supplies and Ingredients

Get your supplies and ingredients together! You will need:

a baking sheet
parchment paper
bowls
whisk
measuring spoons and cups
mixer
spatula
cookie scoop
wire rack
old fashioned rolled oats
all-purpose flour (or gluten-free flour blend)
brewers yeast
ground flaxseed
baking soda
ground cinnamon
salt
butter, softened
brown sugar
peanut butter or almond butter
an egg
vanilla
chocolate chips
unsweetened shredded coconut

How to Make Lactation Cookies

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, combine old fashioned rolled oats, flour, brewers yeast, ground flaxseed, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Whisk until combined. Set aside.

3. In a large bowl, combine softened butter, brown sugar, and peanut butter.

4. With a hand mixer (or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment), cream together for 2-3 minutes, until light and fluffy. Use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.

5. Add egg and vanilla to the mixture. Mix for about 2 minutes, until combined.

6. Gradually add in the flour and oat mixture, mixing in between each addition.

7. Stir in the chocolate chips and shredded coconut.

8. Portion out the dough into 24 equal balls, about 2 tablespoons large each.

9. Place 6-8 dough balls on the parchment lined baking sheet. Leaving at least 1-inch in between the dough.

10. Lightly press down on each ball of dough to slightly flatten it as the dough does not spread much.

11. Bake at 350F for 9-10 minutes, until lightly browned on the bottom. Do not overbake.

12. Let cool for 3 minutes on the pan before removing to a wire rack to continue cooling.

13. Repeat with remaining balls of cookie dough.

Thank you, Megan, from A Dash of Megnut creating this tasty recipe for the Mother Rising community. We appreciate you!

Yield: 2 Dozen Cookies

Lactation Cookies

Name: Lactation Cookies
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 43 min
Yield: 2
Cuisine: snacks
Ingredients: 2 cups old fashioned rolled oats; 1 cup all-purpose flour; 3 Tbsp brewers yeast; 2 Tbsp ground flaxseed; 1 tsp baking soda; 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon; 1/2 tsp salt; 8 Tbsp butter, softened; 1 cup brown sugar; 1/2 cup peanut butter; 1 egg; 1 tsp vanilla; 1 cup chocolate chips; 1/3 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

Lactation cookies can increase breastmilk production, but also help with the sudden and intense hunger many nursing mothers experience. These are perfect for making and freezing during the third trimester, or freshly baked during those first few weeks postpartum.

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Additional Time 3 minutes

Total Time 43 minutes

Ingredients

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine old fashioned rolled oats, flour, brewers yeast, ground flaxseed, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Whisk until combined. Set aside.
In a large bowl, combine softened butter, brown sugar, and peanut butter.
With a hand mixer (or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment), cream together for 2-3 minutes, until light and fluffy. Use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
Add egg and vanilla to the mixture. Mix for about 2 minutes, until combined.
Gradually add in the flour and oat mixture, mixing in between each addition.
Stir in the chocolate chips and shredded coconut.
Portion out the dough into 24 equal balls, about 2 tablespoons large each.
Place 6-8 dough balls on the parchment lined baking sheet. Leaving at least 1-inch in between the dough.
Lightly press down on each ball of dough to slightly flatten it as the dough does not spread much.
Bake at 350F for 9-10 minutes, until lightly browned on the bottom. Do not overbake.
Let cool for 3 minutes on the pan before removing to a wire rack to continue cooling.
Repeat with remaining balls of cookie dough.

Notes

This recipe contains oats, brewers yeast, coconut, and flaxseed which are all helpful in the production of breast milk.

You can use any nut butter that you’d like in this recipe. I used peanut butter, but almond butter also works. If you have a nut allergy, you can use sunbutter.

If you cannot tolerate dairy, you can use coconut oil instead of butter.

Since coconut is a good fat for breast milk production, you can also use half butter and half coconut oil in this recipe if you’d like. I just kept it simple with butter as most people have that on hand.

You can find brewers yeast online and at most health food stores.

You can freeze these cookies after baking to eat later. Just defrost at room temperature before eating.

You can also freeze the cookie dough before baking and bake from frozen. You may need to add an additional 1-2 minutes to the bake time.