Healthier Lactation Cookies- Lactation Cookie Recipe #3

So the last two recipes I posted for lactation cookies are delicious, but the jury is out on effectiveness at the moment.  This recipe, I saw an increase right away in my breast milk BUT you are going to spend more $ on ingredients and the cookies are not as yummy.  Maybe that's good, I won't overeat them, that's for sure.  This also only makes around half the cookies compared to the other recipes.

Ingredients:

·         1 cup coconut flour

·         1/2 cup virgin coconut oil

·         1/2 cup brown sugar

·         2 tablespoons flax seed meal

·         2 tablespoons of water

·         2 eggs

·         1 tablespoon vanilla extract

·         1 teaspoon cinnamon

·         1/4 cup of Brewer's Yeast

·         1/2 teaspoon salt

·         1 & 1/2 cups steel cut oats (NOT instant oats)

·         1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix the flax seed and water together in a small bowl and set aside for now.

Cream together coconut oil and brown sugar.  Add the eggs and vanilla extract and mix well.

Add coconut flour, cinnamon, brewer's yeast, and salt.  Mix well.

Stir in oats and chocolate chips.

Roll into balls (again, I use the OK symbol with my thumb and pointer finger and make balls about the size of the empty circle) and place onto a silicon baking sheet.  Smash them flat a little- these will not spread out like other cookies.

Bake for 12-15 minutes depending on your oven.

Make about 36 cookies.

Results-  Well, the day I made these, I ate about 9 (they are very small) and it was my best producing day ever, up just under 2 oz from the day before and also the day before that.  The 2nd day, I only ate 6, and am back down to where I was in the days before eating these.  They are somewhat dry and crumbly, stay in their ball shape after baking, and very, very not-sweet.  You will taste the Brewer's Yeast, but, if you do the math, 1/4 cup of Brewer's Yeast in 36 cookies is less than 1/2 teaspoon per cookie, and it's one of the main things to help your milk supply.  I don't find the taste bad, though some of you certainly will, but I also won't snack on these like I do the other recipes.

Updated results:  While I was still working on this post, on day 3 after making these cookies, I woke up with a small lump that turned into a full fledged clog by noon.  After LOTS of time with a heat pack, my pump and Lecithin pills, I think it's out, but if you've ever had a clog you know that the pain lasts for a few days after it's gone.  At least it's not Mastitis, I suppose.  I NEVER get clogs since starting a Lecithin regime, so I'm wondering if it's these cookies causing a slight increase and me not getting all the milk out as a result.  I will be getting into my breastfeeding regime later.

Chocolate Chip Lactation Cookies- Lactation Cookie Recipe #2

So yesterday I shared my first lactation cookie recipe, made with M&Ms.  This recipe is pretty much the same but made with chocolate chips instead.  The difference is in the sweetness.  I feel like the M&Ms really made the cookie overwhelming and since due to the brewer's yeast this is a less sweet cookie in general, that's alarming.

Take note, tomorrow I'll post a healthier version of a lactation cookie, at least, compared to this recipe and yesterday's recipe.

I'll go ahead with results before I get into the recipe & photo this time, since it's very similar.  I could easily eat 10 of these cookies per day.  They are delicious.  However, any slight increase in breast milk did not require me to continue taking them to maintain, so I'm not really sure if they *really* were doing anything.  On the other hand, I haven't gotten into my whole arsenal of breast feeding tricks yet, so what you don't know is that I pretty much have oversupply and did it to myself on purpose so I can pump lots and wean earlier, plus not stress about milk supply.  You may see a noticeable increase if your supply is low.  I mean, there must be a reason the recipes are so enduring.

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons flax seed meal (found at GNC.  Alternative- buy flax seed and stick it in your food processor)
1/4 cup water
1 cup butter1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1/4 cup brewer's yeast (found at GNC.  NO OTHER TYPE OF YEAST!)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups oats
2 cups chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix water and flax seed meal into a small bowl and set aside for the moment.

Cream together butter, white sugar, and brown sugar.

Add eggs and vanilla extract and mix well.

Add flax seed meal mixture and mix well.

Add flour, brewer's yeast, baking soda, and salt.  Some like to mix dry ingredients in a separate bowl.  I like to do less dishes so I just throw it all into the mixer bowl with the wet ingredients.  Mix well.

Stir in oats and chocolate chips.

Form and set on baking sheets.  I don't really have a set size, in general the little dough balls are around the size of the hole when I put my pointer finger to my thumb and make a circle, like making the "OK" sign.  

I bake on silicone sheets for about 15 minutes in an electric oven.  From owning a gas oven previously I know to remind you that your oven may be different and keep an eye on your cookies the first time you make them.

Recipe makes about 50 cookies.

M&M Lactation Cookies- Lactation Cookie Recipe #1

I have a whole thing planned around breastfeeding and pumping, but as I'm only 8 weeks post partum, I'm still trying out a lot of stuff.

One thing I love to do to help is make lactation cookies.  I don't know if my supply is increasing because that's just what happens when you consistently empty your breasts, because of my supplementation, or both.

Regardless, I like lactation cookies.  They are yummy, they have some things in them that are good for you, and they certainly don't hurt supply.  The cons, well, they are cookies.  I will be posting some other recipes and tweaks to make them healthier in the coming days but in the meantime, enjoy a cookie, moms!  You deserve it.

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons flax seed meal (found at GNC.  Alternative- buy flax seed and stick it in your food processor)
1/4 cup water
1 cup butter
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1/4 cup brewer's yeast (found at GNC.  NO OTHER TYPE OF YEAST!)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups oats
2 cups M&Ms

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix water and flax seed meal into a small bowl and set aside for the moment.

Cream together butter, white sugar, and brown sugar.

Add eggs and vanilla extract and mix well.

Add flax seed meal mixture and mix well.

Add flour, brewer's yeast, baking soda, and salt.  Some like to mix dry ingredients in a separate bowl.  I like to do less dishes so I just throw it all into the mixer bowl with the wet ingredients.  Mix well.

Stir in oats and M&Ms.

Form and set on baking sheets.  I don't really have a set size, in general the little dough balls are around the size of the hole when I put my pointer finger to my thumb and make a circle, like making the "OK" sign.  I bake on silicone sheets for about 15 minutes in an electric oven.  From owning a gas oven previously I know to remind you that your oven may be different and keep an eye on your cookies the first time you make them.

Recipe makes about 50 cookies.

Results:

Well, they are delicious, but almost too sweet with the M&Ms, which is why the next recipe I'll share will have something else.  My supply steadily increase small amounts daily while eating (6-8 per day.../hides) but continued to increase after as well, so I don't know if I can give cookies all the credit.

Vinyl on $1 Chargers

The title really says it all.  A sheet of vinyl, 12 x 24", is about $1.96 and many online vinyl stores have coupons out there.  The chargers were $1 at Dollar Tree.  While some people have had no problems putting vinyl in the dishwasher, you may not be as lucky, so be careful.  These chargers are great for place setting or giving gifts like Christmas cookies.

Cute huh?  Some detail:

Isn't that deer just adorable?  These really jazz up a typical paper plate of cookies, or even better, it's a dish you don't have to worry about getting back!

Red Velvet Cream Sandwich Cookies

The military is throwing us a curve ball and as usual, my diet suffered and I baked to eat my feelings.

We're ok.  An upside is that I discovered this awesome cookie recipe.  Silver linings, right?

Red Velvet Cream Sandwich Cookies- adapted from a Duncan Hines box.

Cookies:
1 box of Red Velvet Cake Mix
2 Eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup of butter, melted & cooled

Cream:
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup Crisco
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (clear vanilla extract is preferred here, but not mandatory)
1/4 cup butter
1/8 cup of milk

To make:

Melt butter and let it cool for a few minutes.  Add all cake ingredients to a bowl and mix by hand until well mixed.  Put in the fridge while you pre-heat your oven to 350.  Place rounded scoops onto a cold baking sheet and bake for 17 minutes or until done- you know your oven better than me!

Let cookies cool.

For the frosting, put all ingredients into a mixing bowl and mix with the paddle attachment until it has the consistency and taste of frosting.  Not very specific, I know.  If you've made it before, you know, and if you haven't, you'll see very quick. Besides, taste testing frosting isn't exactly a bad instruction, right? :)

Use a butter knife to spread frosting on 1/2 of the cookies and top with the other half of your cookies for sandwiches.

Eat!

Nutella Cookies

My husband loves Nutella but I rarely buy it.  I was in such a baking mood over the weekend that I asked him to pick up a jar while he was out, and when he went out again later, I made Nutella cookies to surprise him!

In a mixer, combine:

1 cup Nutella
1 cup Sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp milk

The dough is pretty crumbly.  If your dough is super dry you can add another 1/2 tsp milk.  However, try hand kneading for a minute first.  I pulled out a handful at a time to knead and form into dough balls on the tray.

I have always heard it's best to make these small-ish cookies because they are chewy.  I had dough balls around 1 tbsp in size.  Normally I can fit 12 on my tray but I fit another row of 3 with this recipe & size.

Bake at 350 degrees for around 16 minutes.  I use a energy star gas oven and always seem to need to bake things for a longer amount of time than anyone else.  You know your oven best, just keep an eye on it!

These are a delicious, chewy, brownie-like cookie with a wonderful flavor.  They lasted less than a day here!

Recipe Review: Crackle Cookies

Today the girls and I decided to make cookies while my son was napping.  We settled on Crackle Cookies (click for link to recipe) and got to work!

They look pretty good in the oven, right?

WRONG!

This recipe is like everything wrong with a cookie rolled into one.  They stuck to the pan (both a stoneware pan that NOTHING sticks to, and a greased metal pan).  They were bitter.  They were rock hard.  They fell apart (or had to be scraped off in the case of pan 2- those cookies went right into the disposal, as I needed tons of water just to scrape them off).

So, how do you fix this?  You have three kids staring at you with sad eyes, just wanting some fresh warm cookies.

Well, that didn't happen, but we did the next best thing.

Blend up the cookie pieces with some vanilla ice cream!