Cinnamon & Date Oatmeal Lactation Cookies
I’m really excited to share this recipe today! When I was pregnant I wanted to stock my freezer with some nourishing snacks to keep on hand in the early days of postpartum. And being the “locavore” that I try to be I wanted to use as many local ingredients as possible. I was able to source most of the ingredients from within 200 miles of the farm except the spices, coconut sugar and dates. And I would have used honey for the sweetener but we had some really old coconut sugar in the cupboard that needed to be used. But with all of that, the other ingredients were sourced from Oregon which felt pretty good (oats, hazelnuts, butter, and eggs). These cookies have been something that I’ve continued to whip up almost weekly since last winter. And spoiler alert! You don’t have to be breastfeeding to enjoy these cookies (though I joke with Taylor that they’ll make him lactate so he can start taking some of those 1am and 3am feedings!) But all jokes aside, these cookies are just simply a healthy snack to have on hand and they’re damn delicious. My whole family has enjoyed them including my parents, siblings, and a few new mom friends that I’ve dropped off on doorsteps. I also think they make a lovely holiday cookie because I’ve added a lot of warming spices like cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves which makes this feel like a cozy, comforting winter treat.
The only reason these are considered lactation cookies is because they’re loaded with a few key ingredients that are great for milk production– oats, brewers yeast, hazelnuts and dates. The oats are high in iron with is great for milk production. And brewers yeast is packed with iron, zinc, vitamin B, magnesium, and potassium. Hazelnuts are rich in a ton of vitamins and minerals such as vitamins E, K, B1, B2, B6, potassium, calcium, iron, zinc, phosphorus, chromium and magnesium. Hazelnuts are also rich in fatty acids which are beneficial for the brain development of a growing baby. And lastly I added some dates which were one of the secret ingredients my midwives had me eating a TON of in my last trimester. Dates have a lot of nutritional value but when it comes to breastfeeding they are rad because dates contain prolactin, which is the hormone that tells your body to produce milk. Pretty sweet!
Anyhow, like I said, even if you aren’t a new mom and you’re just looking for a tasty holiday cookie, whip these babies up. Just tell all your friends and family that they’re “Cinnamon Date Oatmeal Cookies” No one will be any the wiser.
Happy baking and snacking everyone!
Cinnamon & Date Lactation Cookies
Prep Time: 20 minutes Cook Time: 10 minutes Serves: 20 cookies
- 2 1/4 cups old fashioned rolled oats
- 3/4 cup hazelnut flour or hazelnut meal (see note)
- 3 Tablespoons Brewers Yeast (see note)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) melted unsalted butter (see note)
- 1 cup coconut sugar (or brown sugar)
- 1 egg, whisked
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup chopped and pitted dates
Preparation
- Preheat the oven to 350F and set a lightly greased baking sheet to the side.
- In a large bowl whisk together the oats, hazelnut flour, brewers yeast, baking soda, baking powder, spices and salt. Add the melted butter and coconut sugar. Stir well. Add the whisked egg and vanilla. Gently fold in the dates.
- Place the bowl in the fridge for about 15 minutes to firm up the dough a bit (it's a wet dough)
- Using a small spoon, drop the dough into rounded tablespoons onto the prepared baking sheet- placing the cookies about 2 inches apart. If you can't fit all the cookies on the baking sheet return the bowl with the remainder of the dough into the fridge). Bake in the oven for 10-11 minutes (they may seem slightly under-baked but they'll continue to harden up on the baking sheet). Repeat with the rest of the dough if you couldn't fit it all on the sheet.
- Let the cookies rest for about 7 minutes on the baking sheet before removing to a wire rack to completely cool. Store in an airtight container on the counter for a week or place in the freezer for 6 months.
Notes
*You can make your own hazelnut flour by processing hazelnuts in a food processor until a coarse meal. Alternately, you can use almond flour. *Brewers yeast can be found in a supplement isle or vitamin shop or you can order online via the link I provided in the ingredients list *If you are avoiding dairy you can substitute the butter with coconut oil *
The Brewers Yeast link, in the ingredients, doesn’t seem to be working. Looking forward to tasting these yummy sounding cookies!
working now!!
Thanks for this recipe, Andrea! I made them this morning for a friend who recently gave birth. I subbed the hazelnut flour for half almond and half buckwheat. I found my cookies were on the drier side, and crumbled a bit while baking. Perhaps b/c of my flour choice? Either way, they are delicious and I’m thankful you shared this!
So happy you enjoyed these. They may have been drier because of those slight substitutions but I’m glad they still turned out well despite being on the dry side. Congratulations to your mama friend. xoxo
As a nursing mom I had to try these out and they were so delicious. Came together super quick, and I used almond flour instead of hazelnut. The only thing next time I’ll have to hide them from my husband. Lol !
Ha! i love hearing this! My husband eats them too and the disappear too quickly!
Hello! Can regular flour be used instead of hazelnut or almond? (Not trying to avoid gluten or dairy) just want to know if that’ll work!
Hello! Will regular flour work instead of hazelnut or almond flour? Not trying to avoid gluten or dairy so just want to know if that’ll work! If not how can one make hazelnut flour so I just need to throw them in the food processor?
unfortunately, no. They aren’t a one to one ratio. But you can process hazelnuts (or any nut) in the food processor until it reaches a fine meal. I hope that’s helpful!
This recipe is fantastic! And not just for nursing mothers–everyone loves these cookies. I’ve made this recipe 3 times now, and have made a vegan version with flax egg, which was delicious. I also used almond flour instead of hazelnut flour, and the consistency was perfect–a bit chewy. My only other switch, is that I divide the batter in half and make half with chopped dates and the other half with chocolate chips.
Love the chocolate chip version!!