These delicious magic cookies are chewy, soft, and full of chocolate and coconut! This special recipe supports nursing mothers to boost milk supply!
These cookies are simply delicious, and unlike many other recipes for “lactation cookies” these do not use brewers yeast and still work for improving milk supply in lactating mothers. I use several lactogenic ingredients to boost milk supply such as healthier omega 3 fats from almond butter (purely ground almonds) in lieu of regular dairy butter, coconut oil, shredded coconut, oats, along with the essential fenugreek and flax meal. All of these ingredients are documented lactogenic foods. Whether they will work with your body or not is not clinically proven, but they each have outstanding health benefits nonetheless. First a few disclaimers:
a) Even though they involve lactogenic ingredients (foods/herbs that increase milk supply), non-lactating individuals need not to worry that eating these delicious cookies will make your nipples drip milk (ahem, silly husbands).
b) While these cookies have worked very well for myself, family, and friends, there are no clinically proven results to support the efficacy of this recipe.
The bottom line is that these cookies are perfectly delicious and scrumptious chocolately treats that also happened to increase my milk for the duration that I ate them. Lactation cookies are wildly popular and all over the net. Proponents tout that the milk was “dripping” and that they could not “pump fast enough”. Did I experience this? No. But even when I was engorged in my early postpartum days with TOO MUCH milk, I still did not “drip” or “leak”. So everyone has a different body… Okay. Enough of that.
If anything, these are delicious chocolate chip cookies, made with natural and clean ingredients, good fats/oils (mainly healthy omega 3 fats from an almond butter and coconut oil), and healthy ingredients such as flaxseed meal, oats, and honey. Most “lactation cookie” recipes call for the essential brewers yeast. I did not use this, which is advantageous because it supposedly smells and tastes awful and it is not easy to find in general grocery stores. I avoided its use because I read on WebMd that pregnant and nursing women should avoid use. After all, it has not been studied enough to assess its safety.
The fenugreek seed (hulbeh in Arabic) is one of the most popular herbs used to increase milk supply. I bought a box from Whole Foods, but you can also find it commonly in Asian markets. Fenugreek contributes a nutty/caramel flavor but can also impart a bitterness if not balanced properly. To balance it I use cinnamon in the recipe, as well as honey :). Simply toast the seeds in a pan, and grind them in a food processor or spice grinder (this improves their potency). The recipe also uses fennel, coconut oil, almond butter, and oats which are all lactogenic ingredients, or galactogogues shown to increase and improve milk supply. Please note, in order to maintain an adequate milk supply, you cannot rely solely on these cookies but must also eat a healthy diet, and most importantly, nurse your baby frequently. Milk supply is based on demand. If the baby is not nursing and the breast is not stimulated, then the milk production decreases. So if you are away from your baby for whatever reasons, limiting nursing to a schedule, using a pacifier to appease the baby when hungry (the sucking of a pacifier will decrease the amount of time a baby nurses), or using formula for some feedings instead of nursing or pumping, then you may be decreasing the demand for milk and therefore decreasing the supply. Read more about that here: increasing milk supply.
Just made these and they are delicious! Will have to update you on how it effects my milk supply!
Thank you for this recipe.
This is great to keep my milk supply up during Ramadan. My baby is almost 6 months and exclusively breastfed and I’m kind of nervous about nursing and fasting at the same time. I really don’t want my milk supply to decrease.
Question: If i don’t have almond butter or coconut oil, should i substitute that with regular butter?
And I have fenugreek powder so I wont have to toast and grind the fenugreek.
JazakaAllahu Khair
Aneela,
Thanks for your comments. I think that this will definitely help your supply inshallah! I used almond butter AND coconut oil for 2 reasons. 1) the fats are healthier alternatives to the saturated fat of dairy butter and almond butter and coconut oil have many nutritional benefits including omega 3 fats in almond butter and lauric acid in coconut oil. 2) These two types of butters are considered “lactogenic” ingredients that help increase milk. So I would suggest getting them, as they are great in so many other recipes and simply to cook/bake with!
Regarding your milk supply and your EBF baby, congrats, this is such a great accomplishment! I hope you can continue to provide this wonderful nourishment to your baby if you are able. Remember though the number 1 factor to affect your milk supply is demand. The more you nurse, the more milk your body will produce. It is essential to stay well hydrated as well. With these long hours and the hot summer, you are exempt from nursing so that you can support your baby. So for me, if I find my milk decreasing, I will not continue to fast. Allah knows best. Check out kellymom.com for more info about milk supply. Wish you the best!
Thank you for your helpful response Noha!
Q: Can almond paste be used as an alternative to the almond butter? or is that a completely different thing?
Thanks 🙂
HI Aneela,
I am sorry for my delay…almond paste is different. Did you end up using almond butter? How did this work out for you?
Damn, thank you so much for posting this! It is gonna aid me when I buy Coconut Milk online! Super Awesome!
Hello, thanx so much for the recipe!
does the raw cookie dough freeze well? or should i bake a big batch and freeze them after-baked?
Thank you
Thanks for your comment Qudsiyya. I have actually never tried freezing the dough because I just eat it all right away haha. But I would definitely try freezing the dough and baking it as needed. I wouldn’t freeze baked cookies because my favorite part is eating ooey gooey warm cookies from the oven! Please let us know how it turns out if you do try to freeze it!
I was wondering if I would be able to use gluten free flour?
I’m on a no egg, no dairy, no soy, no gluten diet.
Hi Bon,
I have not tried it but please let us know how it goes! I would love some feedback. I would add puréed dates to keep it moist. Good luck!
I haven’t tried the dates yet because I didn’t have any but would I use them to replace the egg? I used applesauce instead of egg and they were great! Except that aftertaste.
So I made these cookies. They smell devine and the Initial taste is great but there is this almost bitter aftertaste. I know its either the fenugreek or the fennel. What did I do wrong?
I haven’t tried the dates yet because I didn’t have any but would I use them to replace the egg? I used applesauce instead of egg and they were great! Except that aftertaste. Update: batch 2 : I think I use to much fenugreek. So I use one spoon less And they are amazing.
Masyaallah..finally i found your recipe.i have been looking all around the net for lactation cookies which do not use any brewer yeast.Alhamdulillah & thanks to you. By the way..may i know what kind of shredded coconut you use? Is it the pre pack/ dried shredded coconut of freshly grated? I live in Malaysia so for those who use with freshly grated coconut..dried shredded coconut are quite hard to find and more expensive.meanwhile the fresh one we can just ask the grocery store to grated it for us.so…if i use the freshly grated one will it effect the taste and quality of the cookies and how long i can keep it on the shelf/ container compared with the cookies which use the dried shredded coconut?we all know that the freshly grated is kinda moist or most of the time a little juicy. Thank you in advance.
Hi Addilla,
Thank you for your comments and I am so happy you found this recipe as well! So, I don’t think I have ever had pleasure of enjoying freshly grated coconut! We have a prevalence of the dried kind in the bakery aisles, here is the U.S. I think it would be wonderful to use fresh coconut however! Please give it a try and let us know your results! I would add a little extra flour and sugar/honey if the coconut is too wet or perhaps you can even dry out the coconut on a baking sheet in the oven.
I just tried this recipe (without the chocolate chips) and I’m absolutely in love with the taste. I didn’t have almond butter so I used regular butter instead . Didn’t have flaxseed meal either. I improvised and added some sesame 🙂 Will definitely bake them more often. Hope I see the effect on milk supply :))
Thank you Noha.
Dima
Thanks for trying it Dima,
And I am so happy you love the taste. I really love this recipe, lactating or not! I do recommend you try this again with the almond butter and flax seed because those are major lactogenic ingredients in this recipe. I find eating almond butter on toast alone helped my supply!
Hi thanks for the recipe! Do you know if I’m able to substitute fenugreek seeds for the powder form (in capsules)?
HI Lily,
Thanks for your comments. I am not sure if the capsules should be used; my guess is that those are very high concentrations of Fenugreek with added supplements for absorption. Check the label for ingredients. I would prefer to use the fresh kind, and grind it. I think the capsule’s powder will change the taste too much. But if you try it, let us know what happens!
I’m looking to increase my supply for pumping while at work, how many cookies does this make?..ps this is the only recipe I have found that doesn’t have pumpkin seed and or brewers yeast…in love hope it works out 🙂
Hi Sapphire,
How did this work for you? I hope it helped!
How many of these cookies do you eat a day?
Hi Cortney,
Just a couple of cookies! Or as many as you’d like ?. I’m quite sure I ate many, but I have a sweet tooth and put on too much weight when breast feeding.
Im not a big fan of shredded coconut, can i make without it or is there a substitute?
Hi Umm Unays,
You can omit it but you need to put more fenugreek. The coconut is a lactogenic ingredient.
Can i just check how long can the cookies last? =)
Hi Shahidah,
I would say a few days at least. Maybe a week. If you want to make the dough and freeze it and bake as needed, that is the best option. Everyone loves warm gooey, freshly baked cookies! 🙂
I made these and there is a very bitter aftertaste. I think its the fennel or the fenugreek. Has anyone else experienced this?
Hi Maria,
Thanks for writing. The fenugreek leaves a bitter aftertaste. If you balance it with the cinnamon and chocolate it is mild. Maybe use less fenugreek or add more cinnamon and chocolate. Obviously the more fenugreek used, the more effective the cookies will be for Lactation.
I made two batches but both turned out dry and slightly bitter. Anyone else experience that
HI Louise,
I have never had this come out dry. Are you measuring the flour correctly? Check this link to know if you are not sure. Too much flour can definitely make this dry. There are plenty of moist ingredients here to keeo it soft but you can add more almond butter and coconut oil if you want. The fenugreek is bitter- you will taste that. But the chocolate, cinnamon and other flavors mask it well. I would add more brown sugar or honey if the fenugreek really bothers you- but don’t cut out the fenugreek as that is one of the best lactogenic ingredients!
I hope this helps, Louise! and best of luck!
HI Louise,
I have never had this come out dry. Are you measuring the flour correctly? Check this link to know if you are not sure. Too much flour can definitely make this dry. There are plenty of moist ingredients here to keeo it soft but you can add more almond butter and coconut oil if you want. The fenugreek is bitter- you will taste that. But the chocolate, cinnamon and other flavors mask it well. I would add more brown sugar or honey if the fenugreek really bothers you- but don’t cut out the fenugreek as that is one of the best lactogenic ingredients!
I hope this helps, Louise! and best of luck!
HI Louise,
I have never had this come out dry. Are you measuring the flour correctly? Check this link to know if you are not sure. Too much flour can definitely make this dry. There are plenty of moist ingredients here to keep it soft but you can add more almond butter and coconut oil if you want. The fenugreek is bitter- you will taste that. But the chocolate, cinnamon and other flavors mask it well. I would add more brown sugar or honey if the fenugreek really bothers you- but don’t cut out the fenugreek as that is one of the best lactogenic ingredients!
I hope this helps, Louise! and best of luck!
what flour u used
I’m sorry if I missed it somewhere, but how often should you eat the cookies to make a difference in milk production? One a day? 3 a day?
Hello, Hello! I love how many galactogogues you were able to utilize in these cookies; can’t wait to make them! After reading through the comments, I’ve got just one question: when you say ‘almond butter’ do you not mean, well, peanut butter made from almonds instead of peanuts? You mean, like…butter? Almond butter? I’ve always heard of almond butter as a PB substitute! Thank you!!
Thanks for visiting my blog! To answer your question: Almond butter, just like peanut butter.
How many cookies does this recipe make?
I just came across this recipe and I would like to try it to increase my milk supply. I hope it works! I have to get the fenugreek, almond butter and coconut oil. Do you buy the almond butter or make it yourself? Is there a particular type of almond butter or coconut oil I should get?
Hi Aliya,
I hope you enjoy the cookies and Lactation! I would get organic fresh ground almond butter if possible. Organic coconut oil is recommended. Best of luck!
Thanks for your prompt reply! How many cookies does this recipe make?
Asalaamu Alaykum! Excited to try this recipe this Ramadan, thank you! How many cookies per day do you recommend to see a boost in supply?