How To Make Cannabis Cookies

Weed cookies are a delicious and convenient way to enjoy the benefits of cannabis, especially for those who don't want to smoke or who simply enjoy an edible high. To make your own marijuana cookies at home, all you need is regular cookie dough and at least one cannabis-infused ingredient. Once you know how to make weed cookies, you'll have a never-ending supply of euphoria!

Intro to Marijuana Edibles

As anyone who has tried cannabis edibles will know, marijuana that is ingested by mouth is metabolized in a very different way to marijuana that is inhaled or taken sublingually in the form of a THC tincture. Rather than going directly to the bloodstream, the cannabinoids in edibles must first reach the liver where they are metabolized and eventually released.

Whereas a hit of a vape pen or drag on a blunt can get you high within a matter of seconds, you won't feel the effects of weed edibles for at least half an hour and sometimes up to two hours later. However, once that high kicks in, you could be soaring for a good six to 12 hours. With homemade edibles, particularly, it can be hard to predict how high you will get, so it's important to start low (think ¼ to ½ of a cookie) when eating marijuana cookies and wait out the effects before you have any more.

Dosing Your Cannabis Cookies

To make your cannabis cookies a little more predictable, it's advisable to calculate the amount of THC in each cookie before you take that first bite.

Depending on your method of infusion (whole plant, cannabis-infused butter or oil, distillate, concentrate, cannabis-infused sugar), you can usually work out your doses with a little simple math:

• Whole plant. Multiply the THC percentage of your weed by the amount of bud you use in grams to get the total THC. Then divide the total by the number of cookies in the batch for the amount of THC in each cookie.

• Cannabis-infused butter or oil. Work out the total THC in your bud using the method above. Then divide the total by the number of tablespoons of cannabutter or canna-oil (in grams) keeping in mind that one tablespoon is approximately 15 grams.

• Distillate, concentrate, tinctures, cannabis extracts, and cannabis-infused sugar. Working out the potency is easiest with distillate, concentrate, tinctures, cannabis extracts, and cannabis-infused sugar because these products should come with the THC content clearly marked on the label.

In states like Washington where legalized marijuana is abundant, dispensary edibles usually come with 10mg of THC per piece and 100mg THC per packet. You can use that dosage as a guide when making weed cookies at home.

Making Cannabis-Infused Butter

Making cannabutter, (cannabis butter), is the first step to making weed cookies. As cannabinoids like THC are fat-soluble, it's necessary to use a fat-containing substance like butter to create your THC infusion. The good news is that once you have cannabis-infused butter on hand, you can use it in any cookie recipe (or healthy cannabis recipe) you like!

To make cannabutter, you will need:

• 2 sticks of unsalted butter

• 1/2 ounce of cannabis flower

• 1 cup of water

• Double boiler

• Cheesecloth

Method:

1. First, you will need to decarboxylate the cannabis by baking it at 225°F for 60 minutes. This transforms the cannabinoids into a form your body can use.

2. Next, melt the butter in a double boiler over low heat.

3. After grinding the decarboxylated cannabis loosely, wrap the ground marijuana inside the cheesecloth and tie it with food-grade string to make a "marijuana tea bag."

4. Drop the marijuana tea bag into the butter and pour one cup of hot water over the top.

5. Cover the double-boiler with a metal lid and steep for four to six hours. Fewer hours result in a less potent butter and more hours will create a stronger mix.

6. Once the steeping process is finished, the butter should be a shade of green. Using oven mitts, remove the top part of the boiler (where the butter is) and remove the marijuana tea bag, squeezing it between two spoons if desired to add any excess liquid back in.

7. Allow the butter to cool—either in the same container, a butter mold, a plastic container, or a foil pan. After it reaches room temperature, you can put it in the fridge.

8. Once the butter is solid, strain away the excess water and your cannabutter is ready to use!

Making Cannabis-Infused Coconut Oil

For anyone on a dairy-free diet, cannabis-infused coconut oil is a great alternative. To make THC-infused coconut oil, follow exactly the same process that you would for cannabutter but use coconut oil instead.

Alternative Infusion Methods

If you don't have time to make cannabutter or cannabis-infused coconut oil, there are a few other ways to infuse your weed cookies:

• Use CBD or cannabis oil and subtract the amount of oil added from the other liquids in the recipe.

• Use cannabis-infused sugar.

• Use cannabis concentrates. Simply melt the concentrate on low heat and mix it with the melted fat. Some concentrates will need to be decarboxylated first (ask your budtender if you’re not sure; the experts in our Seattle dispensaries are always happy to help).

• Decarboxylate and grind your flower and add it to the cookie dough directly. This will give your cookies a green hue and lumpier texture, but you'll enjoy the fiber content of the buds as well as the effects of the cannabinoids.

Making Marijuana Cookies

Finally, you've made it to the instructions for how to make weed cookies. Once you have cannabis butter or another infused ingredient, making the cookies is really quite simple. Some of the most popular cookie recipes include:

• Cannabis chocolate chip cookies

• Cannabis double chocolate chip cookies

• Cannabis almond cookies

• Coconut cannabis cookies

• Classic cannabis cookies

To make any of these kinds of cookies, simply mix up a batch of cookie dough and add chocolate chips, almonds, or coconut if desired. For double chocolate chip cookies, add three tablespoons of cocoa to the flour and stir until well combined.

Basic Cookie Dough Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 eggs

• 2 1/4 cups of all-purpose flour

• 3/4 cup of butter, softened (use cannabutter or cannabis coconut oil)

• 3/4 cup granulated sugar (or THC-infused sugar)

• 3/4 cup of brown sugar

• 1 tsp. baking soda

• 1/4 tsp. salt

• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

• 3 tbsp. cocoa (optional)

• 3/4 cup of chocolate chip cookies or dark chocolate chips (optional)

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).

2. Line the tray with parchment paper.

3. In one mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar.

4. In another mixing bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, salt, and cocoa (if making double-chocolate cookies).

5. Add the eggs and vanilla extract to the creamed butter and sugar.

6. Mix the dry and wet ingredients together.

7. Roll the dough into balls and place the cookie dough balls on the baking sheet.

8. Bake for 8 to 9 minutes or until the cookie dough loses its shine.

9. Take a bite and enjoy the ride!

Short Version

If you don't have time to make cannabutter and mix up cookie dough, you could always buy cookie dough from your local grocery store and add your favorite cannabis or CBD oil. However, with this method, you need to make sure that you mix the oil extremely well or you could be in for a surprise!

Time to Get Baking

Now that you know how to make weed cookies, it's time to get baking. Remember that there's an infinite variety of ways to make cookies and that you can adapt any recipe that you already know and love. 

The main thing is to include a THC, CBD, or cannabis product somewhere in the mixture. Then, divide the cannabis content by the number of cookies to have some idea of the adventure that.