Hey, it’s been a while.
Baking for fun hasn’t really been a thing these last couple of years. In the endless tug of war for my energy, baking a pretty cake for the hell of it hasn’t fared very well. Also I have been disillusioned to the romantic idea of baking with a toddler. It is stressful. It is messy. It is a bit gross especially during cold season. They aren’t there to learn the craft. They are there to lick the beater and to shove their little fingers in the butter and sugar mix. Our Gremlin doesn’t give two shits about ruining fat to batter ratios when he grabs a fistful from the bowl. In saying that, when he does feel like participating more than just sampling it can be a lot of fun provided you’re making something reasonably forgiving and tactile (and you’ve all had your flu shots).
Cue these biscuits. Now these are technically lactation cookies but hear me out. I started making these for everyone with a new baby in the house. Supposedly the ingredients are great for milk supply but I personally found them just a great source of energy and rather delicious. They make great afternoon snacks for gremlins and my husband even steals a handful when going out riding as they are full of both simple carbohydrates and more slow release complex ones.
I started using browned butter to make them a bit nuttier and of course I add chocolate drops too because if you are playing Daisy to a new bub then you deserve a treatie at the very least.
I’ll list the core ingredients and then the additional ones I like to add depending on mood and whether or not someone remembered to put them on the shopping list when they ran out.
Sometimes when I make these for friends I cook up a batch and then give them a snap lock bag of all the dry ingredients and instructions for adding wet so they can whip up their own easily.
The other thing to note is these can easily be made either dairy free or gluten free. To make them dairy free just sub out the butter with coconut oil and make sure you’re using dairy free dark chocolate. To make these gluten free just get your hands on some gluten free oats. If they are whole rolled oats I like to pop them in the food processor for a couple of pulses so they resemble the creamy porridge oats which tend to bind better.
Boobie Bickies - or my version of Nadia Lim's breast feeding cookies
Makes about 40
4 1/2 cups creamy porridge oats (or rolled oats gently pulsed a couple of times in a food processor)
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup LSA
3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
2 eggs
200g butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup chocolate drops
Optional ingredients - pick as many as you like
3 tablespoons sesame seeds
2 teaspoons vanilla essence
2 teaspoons cinnamon
3 tablespoons chia seeds
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or any nut of your fancy
Preheat your oven to bake at 180 degrees Celsius and line a baking tray with baking paper.
Place all your dry ingredients apart from the chocolate drops in a mixing bowl. Mix together then add your eggs and mix again until even.
Brown your butter in a saucepan. Do this by melting over a low to medium heat. It will bubble away and start foaming. Once it is at the foam sage gently scrape the bottom of the pan with a spatula and if you see the milk proteins at the bottom a lovely golden brown then you’re in business. Pour this into the main bowl and mix until evenly combined. Leave to cool for a couple of minutes.
Once the mixture has cooled then add your chocolate drops. If you add them too soon they will melt and turn the mixture brown. Not the end of the world but not as aesthetic you know.
Roll into balls (35-40g in size roughly), place on the tray and gently press down. They won’t spread so you can pack them quick closely together.
Bake for 10-13 minutes until they are just golden.
Apparently these freeze well but they never last long enough to try.