Gluten Free Pumpkin Lactation Cookies

When you’re almost 41 weeks pregnant you look for ways to keep busy, so you don’t drive yourself crazy! Patience is not my strong suit, and it’s been challenging to balance staying occupied with finding time to rest. Although I’ve been feeling great, I am definitely ready to meet this baby, so hopefully he’ll make his appearance this week.

Yesterday we had a some storms come through, so while Nash napped, I decided to experiment with a new lactation cookie recipe. These cookies are such a great option for newly postpartum mamas because they are full of nutrients and are super convenient, especially when you wake up STARVING at 2am. There are tons of variations but typically you’ll see recipes that contain ingredients which are known to support milk supply including: oats, flax seeds, and brewers yeast. With the Fall weather beginning to roll in I thought it was a perfect opportunity to cook with pumpkin, so here is what I came up with:

Ingredients

• 1 cup almond flour
• 1 cup old fashioned rolled oats (gluten free)
• 1 cup almond butter
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
• 3/4 cup coconut sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1/3 cup nutritional yeast or brewers yeast
• 1/3 cup chia seeds
• 3/4 cup dried cranberries (sweetened with apple juice)
• 3/4 cup chocolate chips (Enjoy Life brand is dairy free!)
• pinch of sea salt

Makes 22-24 cookies

Directions

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine all wet ingredients, and in a separate bowl combine all dry ingredients. Slowly incorporate the dry ingredients into the wet until well combined. Line a baking sheet with parchment and use an ice cream scoop to portion out the dough. Bake for approximately 20 minutes or until cooked through. I allowed the cookies to cool and then packed them up to store in the freezer until I need the.

I used all organic ingredients and most came from Thrive Market, which tends to have the best prices on non-perishables. Let me know what you think!