Monday 24 November 2014

Recipe: Peanut Butter Lactation Cookies

Breastfeeding is hungry work. My Jimmy is a hungry little milk monster and feeds regularly at two hour intervals or thereabouts. Which is fine(ish) during the day but not so fun at night, let me tell you. It's not all his fault though - we are going through a growth spurt, so cluster feedings are normal and expected. He doesn't have the best latch and exhausts himself with the effort of extracting milk (oh to be a newborn!) and therefore feeds (much) more frequently as he isn't filling up as much as he could at each opportunity.

Anyway, ramblings aside, breastfeeding is hungry work. I like to make sure I have snacks and plenty of water handy, and if they're going to boost my milk supply and make it easier for little Jim to chunk up, by all means point me at the food! I concocted these peanut butter cookies as an experiment, and it's been a bit of a challenge not to hoover them all up at once. They aren't the prettiest but they taste nice and serve their purpose.


Peanut Butter Lactation Cookies


Ingredients:
  • 1 cup peanut butter (other nut butter substitutions are fine - I used some almond, brazil and cashew butter too)
  • ½ cup agave nectar
  • ¼ cup flax meal + ½ cup water
  • 1 cup flour (you could be fancy and use coconut, spelt, buckwheat etc, but plain will also do)
  • ½ cup rolled oats 
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 2-3 tbsp brewers yeast 
  • 1 tsp vanilla essence
  • ½ cup milk (I used soy)
Method:
  1. Preheat oven to 180C and prepare your cookie trays.
  2. Combine flax meal with water. Allow to rest until it is goopy and most of the water has been absorbed. 
  3. In a mixing bowl, combine flour, oats, baking powder, and brewers yeast.
  4. Once the flax mixture is ready, add it and all the remaining ingredients to the flour mixture.
  5. Stir well to combine. Add more milk in tablespoon increments, if necessary. (Coconut flour in particular is prone to soaking up liquids)
  6. Once a dough has formed, use a tablespoon (or thereabouts) to roll into balls and place on tray.
  7. Flatten each ball slightly before placing in the oven.
  8. Bake for 10 minutes. Allow to cool.
Notes:
  • These would be delicious with chocolate chips or nuts added I think
  • I skipped the flattening step as Jimmy woke up and was crying, so my cookies didn't flatten much. I don't mind, they look rustic and taste the same anyway


What's your favourite go-to snack?

2 comments:

  1. I don't have breastfeeding as an excuse, but I'd happily munch on these anyway! I hope you're holding up ok under interrupted sleep and a hungry little one.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Kari. It's amazing how quickly reduced sleep becomes the new norm. I think there is a reason they make babies so cute! :-)

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