The holidays are finally here, and with everyone in the kitchen this week whipping up Holiday cookies, what about kicking it up a notch with a batch of cannabis cookies?
Whether you’re planning a non-traditional holiday party or enjoying some quiet time at home, these cookies are sure to get you in the spirit. Best of all, they’re easy to make and don’t require granny’s specialty baking skills.
In honour of the season, we’re sharing some holiday-inspired cannabis cookie recipes even a novice baker can handle. These recipes require cannabutter, so before we jump into making the cookies, let’s make some cannabutter first.
First Things First: How to Make Cannabutter
Cannabis butter, also known as “cannabutter,” is a marijuana-infused butter that you can add to recipes as a substitute for regular butter. This is a creative way to amp up any of your recipes, especially during the holiday season.
TIP: Play around with the type of cannabis to change the effect. For higher potency in each bite, look for marijuana that has 20% THC or higher. You can opt for a strain with a balanced CBD-THC ratio, or look for a higher CBD ratio for a more calming and non-psychoactive effect.
Here’s an easy recipe to make cannabutter:
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Decarb the cannabis: Preheat your oven to 245ºF. While it’s preheating, place your grinded cannabis on an oven-safe tray covered with parchment paper to prevent sticking. Place the tray in the oven and set a timer for 30-40 minutes. Older, drier cannabis may require less time. Every 10 minutes, gently shake the tray to expose all the buds to the heat evenly.
- Melt the butter: Add 1 cup of water and 1 cup of butter into a saucepan. Simmer on low heat and let the butter melt. Adding water helps regulate the temperature and prevents the butter from scorching.
- Add the cannabis: As the butter begins to melt, add your coarsely ground cannabis and mix it well.
- Simmer: Maintain low heat (ideally above 160ºF but never exceeding 200ºF) and let the mixture simmer for 2 to 3 hours, stirring occasionally. The mixture should never come to a full boil.
- Strain the cannabutter: Set a funnel on top of a jar and line it with cheesecloth. Once the butter has cooled off in the pot, pour it over the cheesecloth funnel and allow it to strain freely. Just keep in mind that squeezing the cheesecloth may push more bad-tasting plant material through. You have cannabutter!
- Refrigerate the jar of butter. Keep your cannabutter in the fridge to keep it fresh. It will last about two weeks in the fridge, and up to 6 months in the freezer.
What Are Some Other Ways to Infuse Cannabis Cookies?
You’re not limited to only using cannabutter in your baking, there are other ways to infuse your holiday treats this season. Alternatively, you can use:
- CBD oil: You might want to opt for CBD-infused oil, especially if your favorite recipe calls for oil instead of butter. CBD may not have the jolly effects of THC, but it offers a wellness feeling like no other. We recommend the CBD 50 Plus Formula Oil | 30ml (50mgCBD/ml) for rich CBD infused cookies.
- Cannabis sugar: Cannabis-infused sugar is another great alternative to cannabutter if you have a bit of time on your hands. In a separate bowl, combine sugar and your cannabis tincture, mix well. Let the sugar air dry for 48 to 72 hours and you’re ready to start baking!
It’s important to note that each ingredient brings its own special something to the recipe, so play around and find out what works best for you. Just keep in mind that the recipes below all use cannabutter.
Holiday Cannabis-Infused Cookie Recipes
Holiday cookies are an opportunity to let your creativity shine. The options are endless! But if you’re looking for inspiration, here are a few recipes for some delicious cannabis cookies.
Christmas Snowball Cookies
Snowball cookies are a classic holiday treat, dusted with powdered sugar and packed full of nuts or candy of your choice.
These delicious treats hail from a few cultures, including Mexico (Mexican Wedding Cookies), Russia (Russian Tea Cakes) and Italy (Italian Wedding Cookies). Most people call them simply snowball cookies since they, well, resemble snowballs!
INGRIDIENTS
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup cannabutter
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup finely chopped nuts or candy of your choice
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
TIP: Set aside additional powdered sugar to roll the cookies in.
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees fahrenheit.
- Meanwhile, grab a large bowl and mix the cannabutter, regular butter, sugar, and vanilla. Then stir in the flour, nuts or candy (if you’re using) and salt until the mixture forms a dough that holds together.
- Shape the dough into small balls (about 1 inch). Set them 1 inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.
- Once your oven is ready, place the balls in the oven and bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes or until they are set. Do not let them stay in long enough to brown; you only want them to set.
- Remove them from the cookie sheet and place them on a rack to cool slightly.
- Roll the warm cookies in powdered sugar and set them back on the wire rack. Let them cool and re-roll them in the powdered sugar again.
- Enjoy!
Cannabis Gingerbread Cookies
Gingerbread is a classic winter flavour, and a staple this time of year. Swapping in cannabutter will give this traditional recipe a unique twist!
INGREDIENTS
- 3 ¼ cups flour
- ¾ cup unsalted cannabutter
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup molasses
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon ginger
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon cloves
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
ICING INGREDIENTS (OPTIONAL):
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoons milk
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla
INSTRUCTIONS
- Add the dry ingredients (flour, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, baking soda, ginger, and cloves) to a large mixing bowl. Mix well until all dry ingredients are combined.
- In a clean bowl, blend the cannabutter and sugar on high using an electric mixer for two minutes. Add the mixture to the dry ingredients.
- Add in the egg, vanilla and molasses. Reduce the speed of the electric mixer to medium and blend the ingredients for another two minutes. Slowly add flour to the mixture.
- Use a rolling pin to flatten out the dough. Leave it on a cookie sheet to chill for at least two hours before moving on.
- Use cookie cutters to cut out small gingerbread man shapes. If you want to get crazy, get a knife and turn the whole thing into one giant gingerbread man cookie.
- Preheat the oven to 350 F. and while you wait, remove all of the excess dough.
- Bake the gingerbread for 8 – 10 minutes or until golden brown on the outside. For a giant cookie, baking will take closer to 15 – 20 minutes.
- Once the cookies have been baked, remove them from the oven and let cool for at least one hour.
- While you wait, add all of the icing ingredients to a mixing bowl, and blend them until smooth.
- Using an icing bag, decorate the cookies. Be creative!
Classic Chocolate Peanut Butter Blossoms
These delightfully soft and chewy cannabis peanut butter blossoms are a tasty, classic treat and a delicious way to get high. You can also add a bit of cannabis sugar for that extra boost.
INGREDIENTS
- 1¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ cup white or cannabis sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup peanut butter
- ½ cup cannabutter
- 1 large egg
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 45 chocolate kisses
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. While you wait, line the baking sheets with parchment paper and set it aside.
- Sift together the flour, salt, and baking soda in a medium-sized bowl.
- In a large-sized bowl, mix together the brown sugar, sugar, peanut butter, and cannabutter using a hand mixer. Cream on high until the mixture is light and fluffy.
- Add the eggs and vanilla, and beat well.
- While mixing, gradually add the flour mixture until all ingredients are well incorporated, and the dough is formed.
- Roll the dough into 1-1½ inch balls.
- Roll each dough ball in sugar. After, place each ball on the parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes.
- While baking, remove any foil and wrapper from the kisses.
- Remove the cookies from the oven and quickly press a kiss into the centre of each cookie while the cookies are warm.
- Place the cookies back into the oven for 3-5 minutes, until the cookies are firm and a light golden colour.
- Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack. Let cool for 1-2 minutes before devouring.
How to Figure Out the Right Dosage for Your Cookies
Knowing the right dosage for your cannabis cookies is important – after all, you don’t want to spend the entire holiday party on the couch.
Calculating the right dosage can be tricky, as it depends on the quantity of the flower in the infuser and your tolerance level. The golden rule is to start small and gradually increase after waiting for at least two hours. As edibles take time to kick in, you may want to watch how many you eat.
You can also use this edible dosage calculator to make your life easier.
Happy Baking!
Now that you have some great recipes to try, it’s time to have fun and get creative! If you enjoyed this DIY holiday edition, feel free to share the article with your family and friends.
Just make sure you enjoy these tasty holiday cookies safely and responsibly.
If you are anticipating the new year just like we are, check out our website for the best sativa strains to look out for in 2022 to keep up with the latest cannabis trends. From us here at Leaf Lab, Happy holidays!
