Written By: Faith Steele
Growing up I had always wanted to work as a pastry chef or in a candy shop. Making little treats, seeing my friend’s faces light up when sharing, and knowing I made them was one of my favorite feelings. Now that the stigma behind Cannabis is lightening up and with the growing legal market, weed infused edibles are becoming more commonplace for your typical Cannabis user. Even so, there is still something to be said about the process of making and enjoying a homemade infused delicacy that buying a prepackaged edible just can’t replicate.
Since I have started making infused treats, the one thing that I’ve learned is that the world of cannabis edibles is only limited by your creativity, as most recipes can be turned into edibles by just infusing one of the main ingredients. Over the years I have tried this with many recipes, each with varying degrees of success, but here I have compiled a few of my favorite edibles recipes that I make regularly:
The Best Brownie Edibles You’ll Ever Have (from scratch!)
What is more classic than a brownie with weed in it? This recipe is actually a Family favorite that was only shared with me under the stipulation that I do not make it into edibles (Sorry Mom and Dad) and is a perfect example of how easy it is to turn any recipe into delicious cannabis infused edibles. While a little harder than the other edibles on this list, these are by far my favorite, and at one time were given the “Mom-approved” award from a co-worker’s mother. So let’s get started with our ingredients!
1 pound Cannabutter (Make sure you have gone through the decarbing process!!)
28 ounces Semi-sweet chocolate chips
6 ounces Dark chocolate
6 extra Large eggs
2 tablespoons Vanilla extract
2 ¼ cups Sugar
1 ¼ cups Flour
1 tablespoon Baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
Preheat oven to 350° F , then butter and flour a 12 x 18 inch baking pan.
In a medium bowl over simmering water, Melt together 16 oz of the Semi-sweet chocolate chips with the pound of Cannabutter and 6 oz of Dark chocolate.
In a large bowl, stir together (not beat) the vanilla, eggs, and sugar. Once the butter and chocolate mixture has cooled down slightly, stir it into the egg mixture and allow to cool to room temperature.
In a medium bowl, sift together just 1 cup of the Flour with the Baking soda and Salt, then add it to the chocolate mixture. Take the remaining ¼ cup of Flour and Semi-sweet chocolate chips and toss them together in a separate bowl. Add them to your brownie batter, and pour it into the pan.
Bake for 20 minutes. At this point, take the pan and rap it against the counter to release the air between the brownies and the pan. Bake for an additional 15 minutes, or until you can poke the middle with a toothpick and it comes out clean. Allow to cool thoroughly before removing from the pan and enjoy!
Notes:
I personally am not a fan of nuts in my brownies, but if you want to tarnish my family’s recipe even more than I already have, you can mix in 3 cups of chopped nuts to the chocolate chips you coat in flour before adding them to the Brownie batter.
DO NOT BE IMPATIENT: Make sure you really let the brownies cool before removing them from the pan. My first time making them I was in a hurry and tried to remove them while they were too warm and lost half the pan to the floor. They are worth the wait, trust me.
These are probably the most labor-intensive edibles on the list. While not necessarily hard, they do take time, and it is important that you don’t overcook them so that they come out moist and decadent.
Cannabis Caramels
While candy is usually a very hard thing to get right, these caramels are not, and have turned out perfectly every time I have made them. The hardest part is making sure it doesn’t get too hot/cool when cooking, as it will be the wrong consistency when it sets. Because of this, I do recommend a candy thermometer if you have one, but you shouldn’t have too much trouble without one.
1 cup Cannabutter
2 ¼ cups Brown sugar
Dash of Salt
1 cup Light corn syrup
14 ounces Sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
Add cold water to a small dish and set aside, then butter a medium sized baking pan.
Slowly melt the Cannabutter in a sauce pan. Once melted, stir in the Brown sugar and salt until combined, then stir in the Corn syrup.
Slowly pour in the Condensed milk while constantly stirring. Cook over medium heat, or if you have access to a candy thermometer, keep mixture in the soft ball temperature range (235-245° F).
Once the mixture starts to stiffen up (usually 10-15 minutes) use a spoon to drop a small amount into the cold water dish, and attempt to pick it up. If it solidifies and you are able to pick it up with out issue, remove the sauce pan from heat, and stir in the Vanilla extract.
Pour into a buttered pan, and once cooled, cut into squares and refrigerate.
Notes:
With the temperature the caramels cook at effecting the consistency, you can cook the caramel at a lower temperature (225-235° F) and for 7-10 minutes to make a sauce.
The great thing about this recipe is that you can add the caramel to other dishes; Cutting them up into tiny pieces and adding them to the formerly mentioned brownies or even a batch of chocolate chip cookies is sure to give them more of a punch.
Gummy Edibles
I’ll be honest, I was very intimidated by making homemade gummies at first. I know from experience that gelatin can be finicky, and if it doesn’t set right you are left with a goopy mess. I have never had this issue with this recipe and I think it is due to the sunflower lecithin, which not only acts as an emulsifier but also helps the cannabis break the blood brain barrier; a fancy way of saying it helps the edibles absorb better.
1 ½ cup Cannabis infused (solid) coconut oil
1 ½ cup Apple juice
6 ounces Flavored gelatin
4 tablespoons Unflavored gelatin
1 ½ teaspoon Sunflower lecithin (liquid if possible)
In a sauce pan over low heat, add Apple juice, Infused coconut oil, and Sunflower lecithin, and stir until oil is melted and the mixture has a consistent texture.
Add in your Flavored and Unflavored gelatin. Using a whisk, stir constantly for 12 minutes over low heat, making sure it doesn’t come to a boil and that the gelatin dissolves.
Pour the mixture through a fine strainer to catch any gelatin or lecithin (If you use powdered) that wouldn’t dissolve. Pour mixture into a baking sheet so that it covers the bottom or is 1 centimeter deep. Place in the refrigerator overnight or until they completely set. Cut into uniform squares and refrigerate.
Notes:
Sunflower lecithin in liquid form can be tricky to find, so I always buy mine online. If you are in a pinch, you can usually find the powdered kind at a nutrition/supplement store.
You can drastically reduce the amount of sugar in the recipe by substituting water for apple juice, and using sugar free flavored gelatin.
Molds are a fun way to put a creative spin on these gummies. I have had luck finding cute robots, dinosaurs, and other designs at craft shops and Amazon. It is also worth mentioning that a dropper or squeeze bottle makes filling molds a lot easier and less messy.
These gummy edibles are rather diverse as you can play around with different flavors of gelatin, but I like to add my own razzle dazzle by mixing in different candies: In the past I have poured Nerds candy on top of the sheet of gummies when they are about half way set and cut into strips to mimic Nerds rope.
Hot Cocoa
While gathering these recipes, I realized that a good amount of my cooking knowledge came from my childhood. While not necessarily a secret, this recipe was something my Dad would make us on special occasions and is extremely rich. Of course you can enjoy hot cocoa at any time, but I feel this is the perfect edibles recipe to make with an indica, as the silky smooth, warm beverage is already a cozy treat.
4 cups Infused milk
½ cup Sugar
¼ cup Cocoa powder
Dash of Salt
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1/3 cup Water
In a saucepan, combine Sugar, Cocoa powder, and Salt. Add Water and bring to a boil. Cook and stir until everything is combined and there are no lumps. Slowly stir in Infused milk and heat to preference.
Notes:
This is a pretty straightforward edibles recipe, which gives you the opportunity to add your own spin to it. While there is nothing wrong with a classic hot cocoa, other variations I have had success with have been adding a couple teaspoons of instant coffee, or adding a dash of peppermint flavoring. I have also enjoyed it as a coffee creamer by substituting infused cream for the milk.
When I was a younger connoisseur of cannabis (of legal age of course), there was a magic surrounding edibles that was lacking when buying a twenty sack behind the gas station; Whether that is because no one had access to a cannabis friendly kitchen or because no one knew how to make edibles, I am not sure, but it was always exciting when someone got their hands on edibles that actually worked. Because of this, there is something almost ritualistic about the infusing, making, and consumption of edibles that no other category of cannabis can replicate for me.
Whether you are looking to save a little money, want to make something special for someone, or just love to cook, I hope that this helped give you a jumping off point for making your own edibles at home. If this article barely scratched the surface of cooking with cannabis for you be sure to checkout our savory dishes recipe guide and our Cannachef article so you can witness experts handle cannabis in the kitchen!
