Why do lactation cookies suck every last drop of moisture from your mouth? Have you ever had a zinc lozenge do that? Lactation cookies are so much worse. Oh, and they come out of the oven the very same pale shade of beige that they entered the oven with. Never a good sign. They often crumble apart at the very thought of touching them. You know the kind – oatmeal, a bit of honey and cinnamon, some peanut butter or tahini? No eggs for binding, no butter, no oil, no flour. Perhaps they would be good sprinkled all over ice cream, graham cracker style, or stirred into yogurt, like granola. Or smothered with banana and topped with whipping cream. Or put back in the oven with a layer of nutella and broiled with a marshmallow on top. I’m really reaching here. Why must all lactation cookies be either like gooey uncooked batter mounds, or cause acute xerostomia? There has to be a better way.

If you want to eat something sweet and tasty and loaded with sesame seeds, I say go out and buy some halva instead. It’s a little dry, but flaky, almost creamy, and satisfying. I met a mom of an 8 week old recently that wants to up her supply, and I’m intent on whipping up some tasty things for her. I’m no baker, but I think tried and true recipes can be tweaked to be more lactogenic. I even question why honey is used in many lactation cookies and not molasses, which is a galactogogue. And sometimes the good old old brewer’s yeast is missing, too.

So get out your recipes for your favorite cookies, your favorite muffins, and see what you can come up with. Here’s what I’ve learned can be added or substituted into recipes. Great galactogogues are listed here in red. Even if you’re not nursing, a lot of these are very healthy, nutritious things to add to your baking arsenal. I tried some of these substitutions for my go-to banana bread recipe, and it was still tasty, and even more moist.

 

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Flax seeds can replace eggs. To make the equivalent of one egg, whisk 3 Tbsp of water into a small bowl containing 1Tbsp of freshly ground flaxseeds. Leave the refrigerator for 15 minutes to set. You can do the same thing with chia seeds, but I can’t find any non-anectodal sources to say they are also lactogenic. I’m always hesitant to omit eggs from a recipe because I think they are kind of fundamental, but I would certainly add 1/4 of a cup of ground flax seeds to any baked good all willy nilly.

1 cup of molasses can replace 3/4 cup of brown sugar, or it can replace 1 cup of honey. When substituting molasses for sugar, reduce the amount of liquid in the recipe by 5 tablespoons. Molasses is also more acidic than sugar; add ½ teaspoon baking soda for each cup of molasses used and omit or decrease baking powder by 1 tsp. Replace no more than half the sugar called for in a recipe with molasses.

Solidified coconut oil can replace butter in baking 1:1.

Chocolate chips could be swapped out for chopped, dried dates or figs.

A D D  – I N S

Add 1/3 to 1/4 cup of uncooked millet to quickbreads like banana bread or zucchini bread and it will also give it an extra crunch.

Try adding 4 Tbsp of brewer’s yeast to your cookies or quickbreads. Nutritional yeast is much easier to find in the supermarket, but it is not the same thing. Try to get unflavored brewer’s yeast if you can. Warning – it is so very bitter and I couldn’t handle 4 Tbsp worth in any of my batches.

Many people in North America that seek out remedies to promote lactation seem to use fenugreek capsules, but I don’t see a lot of lactation recipes involving fenugreek. I grind fenugreek seeds to use in Indian recipes all the time, and although it smells like maple syrup, it can make my sweat smell like maple syrup, and is actually used in cheap, fake maple syrup, using too much in a recipe can make it bitter. I’ve read that you have to counteract the bitterness with more sugar, but I’ve added 1 Tbsp of ground fenugreek seeds to a banana bread recipe and didn’t taste a difference.

Throw in some flaxseeds – whole or ground.

Nuts and seeds are great galactogogues, and perhaps almonds and sesame seeds are two of the best, so add a handful or two to your baked goods.

A L L – P U R P O S E  F L O U R  S U B S T I T U T E S

Barley flour is malty, sweet, and nutty and pairs well with citrus fruits in baking. Reduce the oven temperature by 25°F for an evenly baked product. Substitute it for 25-50% of the all purpose flour called for in recipes like breads, pancakes, crepes, scones,  biscuits, cookies, and muffins.

Millet flour has a light, mild flavor, making it perfect for sweet or savory baking. It lends a delicate cake-like crumb to your baked goods. Replace up to 25% of the flour in your recipe with millet flour for added nutrition. It can also be toasted in a dry skillet before cooking for a nuttier flavor.

Oat flour renders cakes, cookies, and pies moist, creamy, and sweet. Swap out up to 1/4 the all purpose flour for oat flour in quick breads, cakes, and muffins.

Quinoa flour pairs well with fruits, nuts, spices like anise, cinnamon, and cardamom. Substitute 25-50% of a recipe’s all purpose flour for quinoa flour, or completely replace wheat flour in cakes and cookies.

*All grain flours can be purchased as flours or made from the grains in a food processor or coffee grinder.

Bland, dry, lactation cookies be-gone!

Do you have any tried and true lactation sweets?