The weed world has been heating up ever since legalization efforts began, and now, with no shortage of cannabis products to choose from, it is easy to forget our roots: making burnt, barely-edible firecrackers in our mother’s kitchen with the extra crumbs of whatever stale weed we had lying around. However, times have changed, and whether you’re a flower, oil, wax, vape, or tincture kind of person, it might be time to try your hand at cannabis cooking once again. We have compiled 5 stoner-friendly recipes that are perfect for when you’re looking to season your food with just a little something extra, without breaking the bank or the clock.

Why go through the herbal effort?

Eating your weed hits differently than when you smoke it, and often results in a deeper, longer-lasting high. This is because when you smoke, the THC goes straight to your brain, but when you consume an edible, the THC must pass through your liver where delta-9 THC metabolizes into 11-hydroxy-THC. This chemical change makes your green hit harder and allows deeper relaxation to set in. 

With legal edibles lining the shelves of every dispensary, it’s easy to opt-out of going through the effort of making your own. However, making your own edibles is cheaper, you can make them in bulk, and you can cater to your own tastes and dietary restrictions. Plus, it’s never a bad idea to take some time and reap the psychological benefits of cooking your own food. So, while making your own edibles may take a tiny bit longer than picking up a bag of gummies from your local budtender, the experience of creating your own edibles will be more fulfilling, more taste-friendly, and more economically sound.

The Essentials

The easiest way to turn any meal into a cannabis creation is by keeping your fridge stocked with homemade cannabutter or cannaoil. Both are incredibly easy to make, and making just one or two batches will help you enhance many meals to come. 

However, if you would rather forgo the process of making your own cannabutter or cannaoil, you can just keep decarboxylated bud in your cabinet and add it to any meal. By sprinkling some of your favorite bud on a baking sheet and popping it into the oven for 45-60 minutes at 225o, your flower will become much more potent.

Cannabutter

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) of butter (plant-based alternatives work just fine)
• 1 cup (7-10 grams) of ground decarboxylated cannabis
• Saucepan
• Cheesecloth or fine strainer
• Jar/container of your choice!

Technically, you can make cannabutter without using decarboxylated cannabis, as simmering the herb in the butter acts as a method of decarbing in and of itself, but by using bud that has already been decarboxylated, your finished product will have a much better taste.

Steps:

• Melt butter in a saucepan over low-medium heat (above 160ºF and below 200ºF)
• Simmer for 2-3 hours, stirring occasionally. You can add small amounts of water to your saucepan to prevent burning/sticking.
• Using either cheesecloth or fine strainer, strain your butter into a container of your choice.
• Refrigerate!

Tip: When grinding your herb, try to achieve a coarse consistency rather than a fine one, this will help when you are straining the butter! 

Alterations: You can also make cannabutter using a crockpot as opposed to on the stove, and if you prefer a more potent butter, you can use hash, wax, oil, or a tincture. But dose carefully! A single gram of hash can have between 300 and 630mg of THC, while a gram of wax can exceed 800mg. 

Cannaoil

To make the perfect cannaoil, simply follow the same instructions as the cannabutter but swap out the butter for your favorite cooking oil, but simmer for 30 minutes longer.

Elevated Eats

TeaHC

Cannabis tea is an easy and quick way to make a delicious infused-beverage. Plus, it can be made a variety of ways depending on dosage and taste preferences. Here, we have outlined 3 different ways to make the perfect cup of TeaHC.

Ingredients:

• Decarbed herb, cannabutter, OR cannabis tincture
• Your favorite tea
• Water
• Sweeteners/additives of your choice.

Steps:

Using Decarbed Herb

• Add your decarboxylated herb and your favorite tea to a tea infuser.
• Steep in hot water for 5-10 minutes depending on desired taste/potency
• Add your go-to sweetener and additives

Using Cannabutter

• Steep your favorite tea for 5-10 minutes
• Once you remove the tea infuser/tea bag, add 1-2 teaspoons of cannabutter, depending on your taste and potency preferences.
• Add any additives of your choice

Using a Tincture

• Steep your favorite tea for 5-10 minutes
• Once you remove the tea infuser/tea bag, add your preferred dose from your favorite tincture.
• Add any additives of your choice

Tip: You can also make/buy THC-infused honey, a perfect sweetener for your morning tea.

Kief Kookies

You know the bottom compartment of your grinder that you forget about 364 days of the year? Open it. You’ve probably accumulated enough kief to make yourself some super easy edibles. 

Ingredients:

• Decarboxylated Kief (same process as decarbing bud)
• Whatever your favorite cookie recipe calls for!
• Baking sheet

Steps:

• Follow your go-to cookie recipe as normal until you have your dough ready
• Place 12 ping-pong ball-sized pieces of dough on your baking sheet
• Make a well in each piece of dough, and evenly distribute the kief into each piece. 
• Fold the dough into itself and work the kief into the mixture.
• Bake as normal! 

Tip: You could add the kief directly into the dough as you are mixing it, but by adding it after you have already separated the pieces, you can ensure a more even dosage!

Alterations: If you don’t have enough kief, you can always swap out regular butter for the cannabutter! 

Mary Jane’s Milk

The perfect sidekick to your Kief Kookies: Mary Jane’s Milk!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of milk of your choice 
• 1 tablespoon of decarbed herb
• Saucepan
• Cheesecloth or fine strainer
• Container of your choice

You can also make this recipe in bulk, just keep the recipes the same!

Steps:

• Combine the milk and herb in a saucepan.
• Simmer over medium to low heat for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Remove from heat and let sit for 10+ minutes.
• Using either cheesecloth or fine strainer, strain the milk into a container of your choice.
• Refrigerate!

Bud Bacon

Ingredients:

• Decarboxylated flower
• Uncooked bacon (plant-based alternatives work just as well); as many strips as you would like!
• Baking sheet

Steps:

• Grind your decarbed herb extra fine
• Sprinkle herb on each side of every bacon slice
• Bake for 20 minutes at 2750, flipping halfway through
• Remove from oven and let sit for 2 minutes to cool
• Enjoy!

Tip: You can also pan-fry your bacon in cannabutter or cannaoil to make an extra-potent breakfast sandwich. If you save the grease, you’ll have THC-infused bacon grease to add to other dishes!

Firecrackers 2.0

We couldn’t finish this edibles list without revamping one of the most (in)famous cannabis concoctions of all time. Classic firecrackers require 5 things: weed, peanut butter, crackers, an oven, and little to no regard for your tastebuds. Typically, they are made by sprinkling some herb over peanut butter smeared crackers, wrapping them in tin foil, and slapping them in the oven at 3250 for 25 minutes. However, this recipe takes it a step further (your high and tastebuds will thank us). 

Ingredients:

• Graham crackers
• Peanut butter of your choice
• Cannabutter 
• Decarbed flower
• Bowl
• Tinfoil
• Baking sheet

Make as many as you would like, with as much peanut butter/cannabutter/decarbed flower as you want!

Steps:

• Break your graham crackers in half, set one piece to the side
• Spread peanut butter on one piece of graham cracker
• Spread cannabutter on the other piece of graham cracker
• Sprinkle one piece lightly with decarbed herb
• Sandwich the two pieces together
• Wrap the final product in tin foil
• Bake at 3250 for 25 minutes.
• Let cool for 5-10 minutes
• Enjoy!

Optional: You can also drizzle your Firecrackers with infused honey, agave nectar, or chocolate syrup! 

If you’re feeling extra chef-y, serve your creations on a V-Syndicate food-inspired rolling tray to really take your plating to the next level.