Vegan Lactation Cookie recipe to boost breast milk supply

Follow this simple recipe to create delicious vegan lactation cookies. Many of the key ingredients are known to boost breast milk production and these cookies make for a healthy snack too!

Ingredients

• flaxseed
• coconut oil
• sugar
• vanilla extract
• pure maple syrup
• cinnamon
• rolled oats
• all purpose four
• brewer’s yeast
• baking soda
• oat milk or plant milk of your choice
• vegan dark chocolate chips

Why you’ll love them

These cookies are fairly easy to prepare and they are delicious and surprisingly airy, while still soft and gooey! I tried to simplify this recipe without losing any of the taste, which makes these the best lactation cookies you can make! The main ingredients – oats, coconut oil, ground flaxseed, as well as brewer’s yeast – are all ingredients that are thought to help boost milk supply. Combining these with the sweeteners makes for a useful AND delicious treat! Breastfeeding makes mom hungry, especially in the early newborn days when they need to feed what feels like non-stop. These healthy lactation cookies help fill you up – they’re quick and easy to eat, even with just one hand as the other hand holds on to the nursing baby!

How to prepare

Begin by preheating the oven to 350° Fahrenheit. Use parchment paper to line a baking sheet or two. I used two at the same time to bake all the cookies in one go.

In a small bowl mix the flaxseed (2 tbsp) and water (⅓ cup) in order to create your flax egg. Let rest for 5 minutes to thicken.

In another small bowl combine the solid coconut oil (9 tbsp) with the sugar (¾ cup). Mix until no lumps remain. Add the vanilla extract (2 tsp) and maple syrup (1 tsp).

Combine the remaining dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl: cinnamon (½ tsp), rolled oats (2 cups), flour (1 ¼ cup), brewers yeast (¼ cup), and baking soda (1 ½). Leave the chocolate chips to the side for now.

Once the dry ingredients (minus chocolate chips) are evenly mixed, add the wet ingredients: The coconut oil mix, the flax egg, as well as the oat milk.

Finally, gently fold in the chocolate chips (¾ cup).  

Use a large spoon, a scoop, or your hands to make balls of cookie dough and place them on the baking pan. Bake cookies for 10 minutes or until the bottom of the cookies turn lightly golden. Feel free to bake them longer if you’d rather have a crisp cookie instead of the soft version that 10 minutes gets you.

How to store

Once cooled, keep them at room temperature in an airtight container. They are best if consumed within 3 days. I doubt you’ll have trouble getting that done, because these are delicious cookies that new moms will happily devour!

You can freeze these cookies too – either the cookie dough itself in an airtight ziploc bag to be baked after thawing, or the already baked cookies. If you do freeze the baked cookies, just be sure to let them cool completely before placing them into the ziploc bag. And know that they might fall apart in the process, but they will taste just as good! Best if consumed within 3 months of freezing. This way you can do most of the work ahead of time if you’d like to prepare these for yourself before the baby’s birth. You will thank yourself!

How to serve

Eat on their own or with a cup of milk. My preference is to pair it with a cup of naturally caffeine free barley coffee. 

Who are they for?

Yes, these cookies are especially good for any new mama looking to breastfeed soon or already breastfeeding or pumping. But they can be eaten by absolutely anyone! So if you are thinking of bringing these to a new mom, but you don’t know for sure if she’s breastfeeding, just bring them anyway! Call them chocolate chip oat cookies if you don’t want to offend a formula feeding mom. (A fed baby is the best baby!)

Why are they good for lactation?

This vegan lactation cookies recipe is full of milk-boosting ingredients:

• Oats contain a fiber called beta-glucan, which is supposed to raise the level of the hormone prolactin. This is supposed to be good for the production of breast milk.
• Coconut oil boosts breast milk’s lauric acid levels, which provides an antimicrobial effect. Check out this website to learn about more benefits of using coconut oil during and after your pregnancy!
• Ground flaxseeds helps your body produce omega-3-fatty acids, which again is thought to increase milk supply.
• Brewer’s yeast contains B vitamins and is a great source of iron and protein. These are all good things to help your body produce the stuff of life for your baby!

Disclaimer

I am not a lactation consultant nor do I work in the medical world. As a breastfeeding mom of two I did a bit of research and found many of these ingredients are recommended to boost milk supply. Personally, I had an abundance of breast milk, so I think these work. Plus, I remember just how hungry I got during the newborn stage when it feels like you’re feeding around the clock! But if you are struggling with your supply, be sure to reach out to a professional since there could be many reasons for your issues!

*Notes:

It’s important that your coconut oil is solid for this. If you find your coconut oil naturally already melted, place it in the refrigerator to get it back into a solid state. 

Once you add the oat milk the dough will still be rather crumbly. I find it easiest to mix it with my hands. But if you find that yours is too dry to scoop and roll into balls to go onto the cookie sheet, then feel free to add another tablespoon at a time until the consistency is right for you!

I’ll be honest with you, I had to order brewer’s yeast just for this. I had never used it before, but I really wanted to get the highest boost possible out of these cookies. If you happen to be looking to change this recipe into a gluten free one, then please double check your brewer’s yeast. The one I’ve got is not gluten free!

While vegan baked goods often use ground flaxseed, I actually avoided buying it for the longest time. Flax egg somehow just seemed complicated. But I promise you, it’s not! It’s super easy and only takes seconds to mix. Just be sure to buy ground flaxseed so you don’t have to go through the work of grinding it yourself.

If you have coconut sugar, you use 1/4 cup of that, while using only 2/4 cups of regular sugar. I personally don’t store coconut sugar, so I didn’t want to make this recipe any more complicated. Brown sugar can work too, but I personally prefer regular sugar.

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