Lactation Biscuits

You have heard it said before… “Just wait until you have kids…”

Well, you understand as a parent that never before has your topic of conversation been focused so much around poo, vomit, sleep times, lack of sleep, milestones … and breastfeeding. Many of us have only ever known that a woman gets pregnant, gives birth, and then a few days later her milk comes in. Simple yeah? Maybe not as simple for some of us. For those who have struggled to establish a milk supply and yet want to breastfeed, it’s tough going.

You may have been told about lactation biscuits and the wonderful outcomes they can have. The results are brought on by 3 main ingredients: brewer’s yeast, linseed meal, and rolled oats.

Below is a marvelous recipe that despite the long list of ingredients, it requires only a bit of preparation, cooks very quickly (in fact is easy to burn them if you don’t watch them carefully), and the biscuits are absolutely scrumptious. These biscuits are packed with high fibrous ingredients which fill you up nicely if you are a bit snackish throughout the day or even during those middle-of-the-night feeds.

We hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do and, most importantly, we hope it produces great results for you.

Ingredients:

3 cups rolled oats
1½ cups unbleached organic all-purpose flour
5 tablespoons brewer’s yeast
3 tablespoons ground linseed
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons organic unsalted butter (about 180g) (available in-store only)
4 tablespoons unrefined organic virgin coconut oil (available in-store only)
1 1/2 cups organic cane sugar
1 large egg + 1 large egg yolk (available in-store only)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups dark chocolate chips/chunks

Feel free to add any of the following (or be creative with an ingredient of your choice):

• Milk chocolate chips
• White Chocolate Chips
• Unsweetened flaked coconut
• Chopped almonds
• 1 to 2 tablespoons of almond butter (available in-store only)
• Cranberry pieces

Directions:

Preheat the oven the 180° C.

In a large bowl, whisk together the oats, flour, brewer’s yeast, linseed meal, baking powder, soda, cinnamon and salt.

In the bowl of your electric mixer, beat the butter and coconut oil on medium speed until creamy.

Add in the sugar and beat on medium to high speed until fluffy, about 4 to 5 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl if needed.

Add in the egg and egg yolk, beating until combined, about 2 to 3 minutes.

Add in the vanilla extract and beat until combined again.

Gradually add in the dry ingredients, beating on low speed until just combined and mixed.

Stir in the chocolate chips (or other added ingredients) with a spatula until they are evenly dispersed.

Scoop the dough into 1½ -inch rounds and place on a baking sheet about 1-2 inches apart. Bake for 10 to 14 minutes, or until the bottoms are just golden. Let cool completely before storing in a sealed container.

1. You can easily freeze this dough – scoop the rounds on a baking sheet, place the sheet in the freezer for 2 hours, then place the dough rounds in a ziplock bag and store in the freezer. Bake at the same temp – they may or may not need an extra minute or 2 – your preference!
2. You can use all butter if you don’t have/can’t find coconut oil. If you swap any butter amount for more coconut oil, the cookies will spread a bit more. If you decrease the fat (butter/oil) amount in total, these cookies will be drier. It’s up to you!
3. You can use 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour with similar results – any more and the cookies with be drier and grittier.
4. You can probably decrease the sugar by 1/4 cup without issue.
5. If you don’t mind a slightly more bitter taste, you can increase the brewer’s yeast amount by 1 to 2 tablespoons.