Christmas is nearly upon us, and New Year’s is fast rounding the corner. It’s a time of family gatherings, traditions, and whipping up those special family recipes. Take those holiday goodies to the next level by creating infused versions. We revamped some holiday classics to get you started!

 

First Things First: How to Decarboxylate Cannabis

Cannabis must be heated to activate compounds such as THC in a process known as decarboxylation. This is generally the first step of making edibles. Here’s how to do it at home.

Ingredients & Equipment

• Dried Cannabis
• Non-stick baking tray
• Parchment paper
• Oven
• Hand grinder

Directions

Preheat oven to 235° F.

Line non-stick baking tray with parchment paper. Place cannabis in an even layer on tray and bake for 30-40 minutes. Lightly shake the tray every 10 minutes to evenly bake the cannabis.

Once baked, grind the cannabis coarsely with a hand grinder.

Use these instructions for the decarboxylate step in all the recipes below.

 

How to Determine Potency

When making edibles, it pays off to run some numbers to determine potency. It helps you create edibles at a potency that matches your tolerance and dosage needs. There’s also an edibles dosage calculator you can use instead.

To determine potency of a dose, start by multiplying grams used by 1000 to convert to milligrams. Then convert the THC percentage to a decimal by moving the decimal to the right two places. Multiply the milligrams of cannabis used by the THC decimal to determine the milligrams of THC.

3 grams of dried cannabis x 1000 = 3000mg of dried cannabis
20.5% THC = 0.205 THC
3000 x 0.205 = 615mg of THC

This is a generous estimate of how much THC will make it through the infusion process, but it’s better to overestimate than underestimate with edible potency. Next, you can use this information to calculate milligrams per serving.

 

How to Calculate mg per serving

Divide the mg of THC determined previously by the number of servings to determine milligrams per dose.

600mg of THC / 16 servings = 37.5mg of THC per serving

Or divide the mg of THC by the amount of solvent used (butter, oil, sugar, etc). This is helpful for cutting infused ingredients with uninfused ingredients to achieve desired doses per serving.

600mg of THC / 1 cup = 600mg per cup
600mg of THC / 16 tablespoons = 37.5 mg per tbs
600mg of THC / 48 teaspoons = 12.5mg per tsp
600 mg of THC / 192 quarter tsp = 3.125mg per quarter tsp

Okay, that’s enough math. On to the cooking!

 

Infused Basics: Canna Butter & Canna Sugar

Creating infused basic ingredients like butter or sugar opens up the range of recipes you can turn into edibles. Canna butter can stand in for butter or most other fats in recipes. Canna sugar can be used in the cooking process, or even sprinkled on top.

Canna Butter

Makes 1 cup

Ingredients & Equipment

• 7 grams – Dried cannabis
• 1 cup – Butter, unsalted
• 1 cup – Water
• Saucepan
• Jar for storage
• Funnel
• Cheesecloth

Directions

Decarboxylate 7 grams of dried cannabis.

In saucepan over low heat (160° F – 200° F), simmer water and butter until butter melts. Add coarsely ground cannabis to saucepan. Simmer on low for 2-3 hours, stirring occasionally.

Remove from heat and allow to cool to a safe temperature for pouring.

Cover storage jar with cheesecloth. Pour cooled canna butter through funnel over cheesecloth into jar. Refrigerate. After an hour, remove any excess water.

 

Canna Sugar

Makes 1 cup

Ingredients & Equipment

• 3 grams – Dried cannabis
• 1 cup – Grain alcohol
• 1 cup – White sugar
• Glass Jar
• Cheesecloth
• Glass baking dish

Directions

Decarboxylate 3 grams of dried cannabis.

Place cannabis in jar. Pour in enough grain alcohol to cover cannabis, and close jar. Let sit 30 minutes, shake every 5 minutes.

Preheat oven to 200° F. Strain cannabis and grain alcohol through cheesecloth into glass baking dish. Add sugar to strained liquid and stir well. Bake the dish and stir regularly until the alcohol evaporates, then remove from oven.

Allow sugar to cool, then break up any large pieces. Store in an airtight container.

 

Holiday Classics

Now that we have the basics down, let’s get to the goods!

Infused Fudge

Makes 16 servings

Ingredients & Equipment

• 3 c – Chocolate chips *
• 1 (14 oz) can – Sweetened condensed milk
• 1/4 c – Canna butter **
• 1 c – Chopped walnuts
• Cooking spray
• Microwaveable bowl
• 8” x 8” Glass baking dish

Directions

Add chocolate chips, sweetened condensed milk, and canna butter in microwaveable bowl.

Set microwave to medium heat and cook until chips are melted, stirring every 90 seconds. Stir in in walnuts, if desired.

Grease an 8×8 glass baking dish then pour the mixture in. Refrigerate to set. Cut into 16 pieces.

*Make different flavors of fudge by using different flavors of baking chips.

**Cut canna butter with uninfused butter to control dose per serving, if needed.

 

Infused Snowball Cookies

Makes 24 servings

Ingredients & Equipment

• 2 1/4 c – Flour
• 3/4 c – Finely chopped nuts
• 1/2 tsp – Salt 1 c – Canna butter*, softened
• 1 tsp – Vanilla 1/2 c – Powdered sugar + extra
• Baking sheet & Parchment Paper
• 2 Small bowls
• Cooling rack

Directions

Preheat oven to 400° F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.

Combine flour, chopped nuts, and salt in small bowl. Set aside. Beat butter, vanilla and powdered sugar together until creamy. Add in flour mixture and mix until combined.

Form 1” dough balls, make 16. Place dough balls on prepared pan. Bake 8-10 minutes until bottom edges are lightly browned. Allow to cool until cookies can be handled, then roll in powdered sugar. Place on rack to finish cooling.

*Cut canna butter with uninfused butter to control dose per serving, if needed.

 

Infused Hot Cocoa

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients & Equipment

• 1/3 c – Baking Cocoa
• 3/4 c – Sugar mix*
• 1/16 tsp – Salt
• 1/3 c – Boiling water
• 3 1/2 c – Milk
• 3/4 tsp – Vanilla extract
• 1/2 c – Half-and-half cream
• Saucepan

Directions

Combine cocoa, sugar mix, and salt in saucepan. Blend with boiling water. Bring mixture to a boil, stirring continuously.

Reduce heat to simmer and stir for another 2 minutes. Watch for scorching.

Stir in milk and heat until hot, but do not boil.

Remove from heat and add vanilla. Serve into 4 mugs, then add cream.

*Note for creating sugar mix

Create a ratio of canna sugar and uninfused white sugar to control dose per serving. First, determine the potency of canna sugar using the How to Determine Potency card. Then use the equivalent measurements below to ratio canna sugar and sugar to desired dose per serving.

3/4 of a cup = 12 tablespoons = 36 teaspoons

Generally, a ratio of 1 tbs canna sugar + 11 tbs white sugar (or a rounded 2/3 cup white sugar) will work with most potencies for 4 servings.

 

Infused Candied Pecans

Makes 10 servings

Ingredients & Equipment

• 1 c – Sugar mix*
• 1 tsp – Cinnamon
• 1 tsp – Salt
• 1 – Egg white
• 1 tbs – Water
• 1lb – Pecan halves
• 2 Mixing bowls
• Baking sheet

Directions

Preheat oven to 250° F.

Mix sugar, cinnamon, and salt together in a bowl. In another bowl, whisk egg white and water until frothy. Toss pecans in egg white mixture. Add sugar mixture into pecan mixture until evenly coated. Spread pecans into a single layer on a baking sheet.

Bake until pecans are evenly browned, approximately 1 hour. Stir every 15 minutes. Divide into 10 equal servings to maintain correct dose for consumption.

*Note for creating sugar mix

Create a ratio of canna sugar and uninfused white sugar to control dose per serving. First, determine the potency of canna sugar using the How to Determine Potency card. Then use the equivalent measurements below to ratio canna sugar and sugar to desired dose per serving.

3/4 of a cup = 12 tablespoons = 36 teaspoons

Generally, a ratio of 3 tbs canna sugar + 3/4 cup white sugar will work with most potencies for 10 servings.

 

A Few Final Tips

As always with edibles, we strongly recommend starting with a low dose, and then waiting 3-4 hours to feel the effects before consuming more. This is especially true with homemade edibles. Consuming responsibly ensures you can keep enjoying your holidays stress-free.

Store all edibles in secure containers, label clearly that it contains marijuana, and keep out of reach of children. Avoid accidental consumption by following those guidelines.

If you love a particular recipe and know you’ll have a hard time keeping it to one dose because it’s such a great treat, make an uninfused batch for snacking!

 

And remember…

Medical decisions should not be made based on advertising. Consult a physician on the benefits and risks of particular medical marijuana products.

Interested in becoming a medical marijuana patient? Click below to learn how.