Imperfect & Fabulous: Dark Chocolate & Cherry Oatmeal (Lactation) Cookies

Don't be scared by the word lactation. There is no breastmilk in these cookies and if you aren't nursing, I promise they won't make you start producing milk. Josh and Jake have both happily eaten these and I'm still the only one who can nurse Luke, though I wish they could at 3 in the morning.

I originally set out to make some lactation cookies because I saw a slight dip in my milk supply and honestly, I'll take any excuse to make cookies. The good news is, these are actually just really delicious cookies with a happy bonus that they help boost lactation so you can make up a batch for your family and no one will be the wiser.

I found this recipe for lactation cookies but decided to make mine a little more satisfying by changing the chocolate chips to chopped dark chocolate and adding in some dried sweet cherries, yum! I also used white whole wheat flour to make them healthy. In case you didn't know, if you use whole wheat flour and antioxidant rich dark chocolate your cookies are practically health food. Just ignore the sugar and butter part. My logic works, just go with it. ;)

Start out like most cookie recipes, by creaming together some butter and sugar (equal parts white and brown).

Beat in a couple of eggs and some vanilla. Then add in some flax you have had sitting in water for a few minutes. Add some flour, baking soda, and salt to your butter mixture and mix it all together. The original recipe called for sifting the dry ingredients together first but I was baby wearing (and I'm lazy) so I just dumped it all in. I'm not sure how they would have been if I sifted them but I didn't notice any ill effects from skipping that step.

Chop up some dark chocolate and some dried sweet cherries. (These would be really good with tart cherries too if you prefer the contrast of sweet and tart.) Then add those in along with 3 whopping cups of oats (not quick oats). Stir it all together and you are ready to go.

Scoop the cookies onto parchment lined baking sheets and bake at 350 for 12 minutes. Leave on cookie sheet for about 2 more minutes and then finish cooling on a cooling rack.

This makes a LOT of cookies, like almost 5 dozen. So... I only baked up a little less than 2 dozen. Look at that delicious melty chocolate with those rich dark cherries nestled inside these chewy oatmeal lovelies.

I froze the rest of the dough by scooping it out onto a wax paper lined cookie sheet. Once the dough was frozen I transferred them to a container. Now whenever my supply starts to dip, or I just want a really delicious oatmeal cookie, I can pull a couple out of the freezer and have freshly baked cookies in under 15 minutes with no dishes. Yay!

For any of you nursing mamas out there, do you have any other tricks for boosting your supply?

Dark Chocolate & Cherry Oatmeal (Lactation) Cookies
Adapted from Noel Trujillo's Lactation Cookies

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
4 tbls. water
2 tbls. flax meal
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 cups white whole wheat flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1/4 cup brewer's yeast
3 cups oats
6 oz. dark chocolate, chopped
1 cup dried cherries, chopped

Preheat your oven to 350.
In a small bowl combine the water and flax meal and set aside.
In a stand mixer, cream together butter and sugars, about 3-5 minutes.
Add in eggs and beat until combined.
Pour in flax and water mixture and vanilla and beat well.
Add in flour, baking soda, salt, and brewer's yeast and mix until combined.
Stir in oats, chocolate, and cherries. The dough will be very sticky.
Use a cookie scoop to scoop dough about 2 inches apart on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 12 minutes.
Let cool on cookie sheet for about 2 minutes then remove to a cooling rack to cool completely.