Seriously the Best Lactation Cookies Ever

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These lactation cookies are thick, soft, chocolatey and loaded with oats, brewer’s yeast and ground flaxseed. Basically everything you’d want in a chocolate chip cookie with a few special ingredients traditionally used to support breastfeeding. This recipe makes a BIG batch because the last thing you need with a new baby and low energy levels is to bake cookies every three days. Scoop the dough, stash it in the freezer and bake a dozen whenever the craving hits. And breastfeeding or not, these are seriously some of my favorite cookies ever.

This post was originally published on December 4, 2021 and updated on August 20, 2026.

As a dietitian in my baby/little kid era of life,

one of the most common questions I get from new moms is about what to eat postpartum, especially if they’re breastfeeding and hoping to support milk supply.

First, let me say this: you’re doing an amazing job, mama! Whether you breastfeed for one week or two years, I’m a huge fan of nourishing both you and your little one in whatever way works best for your family.

Second, there are several foods that can help support lactation! So let’s talk about them.

Is eating a cookie going to immediately solve your milk production struggles? No. I don’t think you can boil lactation down to a few pantry staples. 

BUT, some of the ingredients in these cookies do have research suggesting they may help boost milk supply.

• Brewer’s yeast: A nutrient-rich ingredient that’s naturally high in vitamin B and minerals. It’s one of the most commonly used ingredients in lactation cookies, and some research suggests it may help support milk production.
• Oats: A great source of beta-glucan, a type of soluble fiber that may play a role in supporting prolactin, the hormone involved in milk production.
• Ground flaxseed: Rich in fiber, omega-3 fatty acids and phytoestrogens, which have been studied for their potential role in supporting lactation.
• Coconut oil: Breastfeeding increases your body’s need for healthy fats, and coconut oil is naturally rich in lauric acid, one of the fatty acids found in breast milk.

I’m generally a hungry person. After having my first daughter, during those hazy weeks of around-the-clock breastfeeding, I was really hungry. And sometimes you just want something sweet, am I right?

I had these prepped and in the freezer for 4 years straight throughout my pregnancies and baby era. Even today, I love to make them. I’m out of my breastfeeding era, but these cookies are literally just GOOD. I’m dead serious; this is my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe. It just so happens to have bonus powerhouse ingredients like brewer’s yeast and flaxseed.

I’ll say that again. You absolutely do not have to be breastfeeding to gobble up these cookies. Brewer’s yeast, oats, flaxseed and coconut oil are nutrient-dense ingredients that everyone should enjoy.

This recipe is designed to be HUGE. It is my philosophy that if you’re going to bake, bake a lot so you don’t have to do it again for a while. Especially in the wild newborn era, amirite?

I recently took batches of these cookies to two of my friends who just had babies and I’m gearing up to make yet another batch. Trust me, your mama friends (and their families!) will thank you!

What Ingredients You’ll Need to Make Lactation Cookies:

• Dry ingredients: Oats, all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, kosher salt and cinnamon make up the base of the cookies. Spoon and level the flour so you don’t accidentally add too much and end up with dry cookies.
• Brewer’s yeast is one of the main ingredients used in homemade lactation cookies. I don’t love the smell or slightly nutty, bitter taste on its own, but I promise, you cannot taste it in these cookies! You can usually find brewer’s yeast in the natural foods or supplement section of larger grocery stores, or order it online.
• Ground flaxseed adds fiber, healthy fats and a subtle nutty flavor without changing the texture much. You can usually find ground flaxseed in the baking aisle, oatmeal section, or natural foods section of the grocery store.
• Wet ingredients: Softened butter, coconut oil, brown sugar, granulated sugar (I like the organic cane sugar from Costco), room-temperature eggs and pure vanilla extract create that rich, soft texture. There is quite a bit of fat in this recipe, but the combo of butter and coconut oil adds plenty of flavor, keeps the centers tender, and supports the extra calories a breastfeeding mom needs. Keep in mind that if you reduce the fat, it will result in a drier cookie.
• Fresh lemon juice sounds random, I know. The best chocolate chip cookie recipe I ever made included lemon juice and now I nearly always add it. It reacts with the baking soda and helps with rise and tenderness, but you absolutely do not taste lemon. You can leave it out if needed.
• Chocolate: You could certainly use all dark or semisweet chocolate chips in this recipe. But I think they’re even more amazing when you use a combo of chopped chocolate from a bar, chocolate chunks, mini and regular chips. The variety is everything and gives you wonderful rich pockets of chocolate!
• Flaky sea salt: Totally optional, but SO good sprinkled over the cookies right when they come out of the oven.

How to Make the Best Lactation Cookie Recipe:

Add the oats to a food processor and pulse until finely ground into an oat flour.

Transfer the ground oats to a large mixing bowl and add the all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, kosher salt, brewer’s yeast, ground flaxseed and cinnamon. Stir everything together and set aside.

Add the softened butter, coconut oil, granulated sugar, and brown sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat until light and fluffy.

Add the eggs one at a time to the wet mixture, followed by the vanilla extract and lemon juice. Gradually add the dry ingredients and mix just until everything comes together.

Add the chocolate and fold it in by hand until evenly distributed throughout the dough. This is a MEGA batch, so yes, your mixing bowl is going to be very full.

Scoop the dough into 2 to 3 tablespoon-sized balls and place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Freeze for 1 to 2 hours.

Once cookie mounds are completely frozen, transfer cookies to a gallon-sized Ziploc bag, seal tightly and lay flat in the freezer. Label the bag with the date, cooking temp and time.

When you’re ready to bake, arrange the dough balls about 2 inches apart on a lined baking sheet and bake at 350°F for 11 to 13 minutes. Pull them when they’re just barely golden on top. They should still look soft in the centers! Sprinkle with flaky sea salt while warm and enjoy.

What are you waiting for? Prep a batch of these cookies for your postpartum mama friends and I promise the whole family will be veryyyy happy about it.

Watch How to Make these Lactation Cookies:

If you try and like this recipe, please don’t forget to leave a comment and star rating down below! For more lifestyle, behind-the-scenes and ‘eating in real life’ type of content, come find me over on Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest, Facebook, or Youtube – I love connecting with you all there!

The BEST Lactation Cookies Recipe

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 4.8 from 26 reviews

• Author: Erica Baty
• Prep Time: 15 minutes + 1 hour chill time
• Cook Time: 11-13 minutes
• Total Time: 1 hour 27 minutes
• Yield: 50-60 cookies
• Category: Baked Goods, Dessert
• Method: Baking
• Cuisine: American
• Diet: Vegetarian

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Description

These soft chocolate chunk lactation cookies are loaded with milk-boosting ingredients like Brewers yeast, flaxseed, and oats. Make a big batch and freeze the cookie dough for an easy postpartum treat whenever the craving hits!

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Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups oats (150g)
• 4 cups all-purpose flour (580g)
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
• ½ cup brewer’s yeast (80g)
• ½ cup ground flaxseed (55g)
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 ½ sticks butter (20 tablespoons), softened to room temperature (270g)
• ½ cup coconut oil (100g)
• 1 ½ cups brown sugar (340g)
• 1 ½ cups granulated sugar (340g)
• 4 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 4 eggs, at room temperature
• 3 ½ cups chocolate chunks, chopped chocolate and/or regular or mini chocolate chips (475g)
• For garnish: flaky sea salt (optional)

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Instructions

1. In a food processor, process the oats until fine, making an ‘oat flour’. You can leave them whole, but I’ve tried both ways and really love the texture of these cookies made with oat flour.
2. In a large bowl, combine the pulsed oats, 4 spooned and leveled cups of flour, 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda, 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder, 1 ½ teaspoon kosher salt, ½ cup brewer’s yeast, ½ cup ground flaxseed and ½ teaspoon cinnamon, stir to combine. Set aside.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream 2 ½ sticks (20 tablespoons) butter and ½ cup coconut oil until light, about 2 minutes. Add 1 ½ cups brown sugar and 1 ½ cups sugar and cream for an additional 4-5 minutes, until very light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition for about 30 seconds. Add 4 teaspoons vanilla extract and 1 teaspoon lemon juice.
4. Gradually add dry ingredients into the batter, mixing until just combined. This is a mega batch so your bowl will be FULL. Stir in the chocolate; I usually do this by hand.
5. Line a baking tray with parchment paper or a baking mat and use a cookie scoop to scoop the cookies into 2-3 tablespoon-sized mounds. Place in the freezer for 1-2 hours.
6. If you’re freezing the cookies, transfer them to a Ziploc or vacuum-sealed bag and store in the freezer for up to 6 months.
7. If you’re baking the cookies, preheat oven to 350°F. Place cookie dough balls on lined baking tray 2 inches apart. Bake for 11-13 minutes until just BARELY golden on top. Do NOT overbake these! It’s better to slightly underbake than overbake; keep a close eye out because all ovens are different, and if you change the size of the cookie, the baking time will vary.
8. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt immediately if you’re feeling fancy like that.

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Notes

If your cookies stay pretty mounded, simply hold onto both sides of the pan and smack it down on your counter a few times to get the cookies to settle. These are not thin and crispy cookies, they are supposed to be soft and thick in the center.

You can use a drinking glass or a round cookie cutter to gently swirl each cookie into a circular shape as soon as it comes out of the oven to ‘reform’ it, if they spread too much or look a little wonky.

Lemon juice: the best chocolate chip cookie recipe I ever made included lemon juice, and now I nearly always include it. The purpose is to react with baking soda to enhance the cookie’s rise and tenderness. You absolutely do not taste the lemon. However, if you want, you can omit it.

This is a big batch recipe. It is designed to prep cookie dough balls to store in the freezer during the crazy newborn era. However, feel free to halve the recipe for a smaller batch, if you want.

Refer to above blog post for ingredient information, step-by-step photos, expert tips, and answers to frequently asked questions.

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Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 cookie (3 tablespoon scoop)
• Calories: 184
• Sugar: 14.5 g
• Sodium: 75.9 mg
• Fat: 8.7 g
• Carbohydrates: 23.8 g
• Fiber: 1.6 g
• Protein: 3.1 g
• Cholesterol: 22.5 mg

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