These gluten-free Maple Pecan Lactation Cookies are rich in ingredients that are thought of to contain milk supply-boosting nutrients in lactating women; plus, they’re pretty delicious!
When a dear friend and quite possibly the kindest person you know has her first baby (a sweet little girl), you do the only thing you can when you live 12 hours away: make cookies and mail them to her!
I would have loved to pop by to help clean, organize, and stock the freezer in preparation for baby’s arrival. The only issue impeding my efforts was geography (which was unfortunately, quite a problem!), but I still wanted to do something to show my friend I love her.
My friend is breastfeeding because it’s what’s best for her and baby (if you’re interested, you can read about the benefits of breastfeeding on The Cleveland Clinic’s website), and lactation cookies came to mind. If you’re not familiar with them, they’re cookies that contain ingredients believed to help nourish lactating women and boost their milk supply.
My version is particularly healthy and nutrient-dense. They’re almost paleo, expect for the addition of oats, which I didn’t want to leave out because they’re a key ingredient, along with things like brewer’s yeast, fenugreek, and flaxseed meal. Knowing my friend’s preference to not over-indulge in sugar (even paleo sugar sources), I sweetened these cookies just ever so slightly with coconut sugar and a hint of maple. If you like things on the sweeter side, feel free to double the amount of coconut sugar (or swap out brown sugar instead, if that’s what you have on hand).
Now, I’m not a doctor and I can’t personally speak as to whether or not these cookies actually perform their intended function. I’ve heard there is some controversy as to whether they actually do improve milk supply. Either way, these cookies are full of nourishing ingredients, and my friend raved about the flavor, so it’s a win in my book.
The other perk about having these cookies on hand when you’re nursing this that you have cookies on hand. During such a busy time when a mom is trying to juggle so many things, I don’t think it could ever be a bad thing to have a nutritious snack ready and waiting for times when she’s hungry and needs to eat something fast.
Moms out there who breastfed your babies, did you make lactation cookies? If so, what was your favorite flavor? (I want to make my friend another batch!)
- ½ cup coconut oil
- ¼ cup coconut butter (also called coconut manna)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
- 1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1½ cups old-fashioned rolled oats (I used Bob’s Red Mill)
- ½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut (I used Bob’s Red Mill)
- ½ cup golden flaxseed meal (I used Bob’s Red Mill)
- ½ cup coconut sugar
- ¼ cup hemp hearts
- ¼ cup brewer’s yeast
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon ground fenugreek
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- Preheat the oven to 350F; line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or silpat liners.
- Melt together the coconut oil and coconut butter on the stovetop; transfer to a bowl and cool slightly. Whisk in the eggs, maple syrup, and vanilla. Set aside for now.
- In a large bowl, stir together the oats, coconut, flaxseed meal, coconut sugar, hemp hearts, brewer’s yeast, salt, fenugreek, cinnamon, baking powder, and pecans.
- Stir the wet ingredients into the dry.
- Scoop out 2 tablespoons of dough, roll it into a ball, place it on the cookie sheet, and flatten it slightly. Continue this way until all the dough is rolled.
- Bake the cookies until light golden on the bottom, about 15 minutes, rotating the trays once halfway through.
- Cool completely on the trays before removing.
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I’m Faith Gorsky, the writer, cook, and photographer behind An Edible Mosaic. My goal is to inspire you to get in the kitchen and try something new! Feel free to 
I haven’t lactated in 43 years but I’m going to make these for myself :-) Plus I have bags of hemp from being on the auto delivery plan so this will be a great way to use them. Thank you so much!