No-Fuss One Bowl Lactation Cookies

These hearty lactation cookies come together quickly using just one bowl! They feature old-fashioned oats, malted milk powder, ground flaxseed, and coarsely chopped dark chocolate. Craving a bar instead? The dough can easily be transformed into cookie bars!

Hi hi! I am just popping in to share the recipe for these super easy lactation cookies!

I never thought I would be posting a lactation cookie recipe on my website as I don't have kids of my own, but my little Sister recently gave birth to my new best friend, and when your big sister is a baking blogger, you get a custom made lactation cookie recipe just for you.

I wanted something super super easy, a one bowl situation which is something that new parents can easily make, but also something that is a great thing to take to new parents if you're looking to do some baking. These lactation cookies are based on my Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe, and I have adapted the recipe so it can be made either as lactation cookie bars, or as individual cookies.

Please note that I am NOT a medical professional and am just sharing a recipe that I have created. If you do have supply issues, please make sure you consult with your doctor or a lactation consultant.

This post has been medically reviewed by Sarah Remmer, RD. 

I am super lucky and have had Sarah Remmer, RD medically review this post for me. Sarah does incredible work as a Pediatric Dietitian and Child Nutrition Expert, and has the most amazing anti-diet outlook, which if you’ve been here for a while, you know I am all about! It is so important that littles have a great relationship with food right from the get go, and Sarah is a super valuable resource for that.

What are Lactation Cookies?

From my research I found that there are two camps of people - those in the know about lactation cookies, and those who have absolutely no idea what they are and ask 'will they make me lactate?' (If you are not a person who lactates, these will not induce it!)

Lactation cookies are essentially a super-powered oatmeal cookie. Although they won’t “make you lactate” they ARE chock full of nourishing ingredients that will provide a new parent many essential nutrients to help with energy, satisfaction, healing and potentially even breastmilk production. Oh, and you can’t beat an easy, yummy snack that you can hold with one hand as you feed baby.

These lactation cookies may support healthy milk supply, however there is some recent evidence out there that this may not be the case.

In fact, many breastfeeding parents turn to various foods, herbal supplements, tinctures, and teas to increase milk supply, despite the lack of regulations or solid research in this area. Most resources have mixed reports and recommendations which can make an already overwhelmed new parent feel even more confused.

What we do know - Oats play a main character!

What we DO know is that there are some foods and herbs that are considered “galactagogues”, which are said to increase or stimulate breastmilk production. One of the most common galactagogues is oats, which just happen to be the star ingredient in this recipe! They contain a special type of fibre called beta-glucan, which can help increase prolactin–also known as the breastfeeding hormone. More research is needed to determine the amount of oats that a breastfeeding mom would need to consume to notice a change in breastmilk production, but this is still pretty cool!

For me, I was just looking to make my sister a cookie that she loved, that keeps super well and is filled with things to keep satisfied, nourished, and full of energy.

I know not every new parent is able to breastfeed too - these are a great option to take to any new parent, regardless of where they are on their feeding journey as they are the perfect snack to have around when they are time poor.

Cookie Ingredients

These lactation cookies are super similar to my Oatmeal chocolate chip cookie recipe, which I used as a base. I did add in a few extra bits and pieces. Here are the main ingredients:

• Butter. These are butter based - if you are after a dairy free situation, my dairy free Oatmeal chocolate chip cookies are a great place to start.
• Sugar. I used both brown and white sugar, adjusting the recipe to give the spread and thickness that I like.
• Old fashioned Oats. These are a staple in most lactation cookies - oats provide loads of fibre and also lots of energy to help keep new parents going.
• Flour. I haven't tried making these Gluten Free sorry, I just used regular All-purpose flour
• (Optional) Malted Milk Powder. I use Horlicks in New Zealand, or you can use any malted milk powder that you can find online. Malted milk powder is just a flavour enhancer - you can leave it out with no textural difference if you do not have it on hand.
• LSA or ground Flaxseed (Linseed). LSA is Linseed, Sunflower seed, and Almond meal, and provides amazing protein and fibre. I tested with both LSA and straight ground Linseed (also called flax seed) and they worked out the same both times. Use ground flaxseed only if there is a nut allergy.
• Chocolate. I used dark chocolate for my lactation cookies, however I did play around with a few flavour combinations using dried fruit and nuts etc, so just use whatever you like in these lactation cookies and make to taste.

Cookie Bars vs Individual Cookies

I made this lactation cookie recipe so that it could be made two ways - either as a cookie bar, or as individual cookies. The recipe is essentially identical except for cookies they have ¼ teaspoon extra baking soda to help them to puff up in the oven.

Make them however you like - they are both delicious! The individual cookies are great to freeze the dough for whereas if you wanted to freeze the actual baked bars, then the cookie bars are the way to go.

There are notes underneath the recipe on how to turn this recipe into individual cookie bars!

How do you store lactation cookies?

Store lactation cookies in an airtight container at room temperature. They last up to a week stored like this, or potentially longer. I often like to refresh cookies in the microwave for 10 or so seconds just to make the chocolate in them nice and gooey and warm.

Can Lactation Cookies be frozen?

Yes - this recipe freezes like a dream. I have frozen them in every form - the raw dough balls, the baked cookie bars, and the baked individual cookies. Freeze the cookies, dough, or bars in an airtight container for up to three months then defrost as directed:

• For cookie dough: You can bake directly from frozen - reduce the oven temperature to 325°f / 165°c and add a few more minutes onto the baking. You can read more about how I freeze cookie dough in my post - how to freeze cookie dough and bake from frozen.
• Cookie bars and baked cookies - Defrost at room temperature. I like eating cookies that have been pre frozen slightly warmed up, although my sister would like me to share that they are also delicious eaten straight from the freezer. You do you here.

Recipe Development for one bowl lactation cookies

I initially started this cookie recipe as individual cookies, then tweaked it slightly to fit into a pan, as I wanted something super easy. I have a friend who has a baby and was chatting to her about a cookie recipe and her two conditions were:

• No Fancy Stuff. No browning butter, no waiting for things to cool, no chill time for the recipe, has to be able to be made while holding a baby.
• Has to last the night. This is a delightfully specific condition she wanted - she wanted it to be able to stay on a plate by her bed so that she could eat it when she woke up first thing or in the night. I plate tested this recipe and can confirm, it passes the test.

With this in mind, I tweaked my oatmeal chocolate chip cookie recipe a bit, switching the butter from brown butter just to regular melted butter, removing the step where you toast the oats, and making it so that they can either be made as a bar or individual cookies.

If you would like to take the extra step to brown the butter, you can follow the instructions in my oatmeal chocolate chip cookie recipe and use 100g brown butter in the lactation cookie recipe (or 120g if you choose to add in the additional milk powder).

Flavour variations for Lactation Cookies

I ended up making these probably 20 times over the course of a few months as I have a ton of new parents in my life (I am a super super lucky Aunty), and so played around with a few flavour variations by switching out some of the chocolate for dried fruit or nuts. Here are a few options if you would like, use these quantities instead of the amount of chocolate in the recipe (this works for both individual cookies and cookie bars)

• Apricot and chocolate: Add in 130g chopped dried apricots, and 120g chopped chocolate of your choice
• Chocolate and Macadamia: Add in 120g chopped toasted macadamia nuts, and 100g chopped chocolate (I used caramelised white chocolate)
• Salted Caramel: Add in 200g chopped soft and chewy caramel (I used my foolproof caramel recipe), and 120g chopped chocolate of your choice.

Frequently Asked Questions

What tools and equipment do you use?
You can find a full list of the tools and equipment I use on my products page

How big do I scoop the cookies?

I used a #24 cookie scoop, which gives 75g balls of dough. Feel free to adjust as needed, a scoop this size makes 10 large cookies.

Can I use rolled oats or quick cooking oatmeal?

I haven't tried it with either sorry - I have only used Old fashioned oats which give a really nice texture.

For more related cookie recipes, check out:

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