Cannabis cookies are one of the classics.
Long before dispensary shelves were filled with gummies, chocolates, mints and THC beverages, homemade weed brownies and marijuana cookies were probably what most people pictured when they heard the word "edibles."
The basic idea is actually pretty simple.
Instead of adding cannabis flower directly to cookie dough, you make the recipe with cannabis-infused butter, usually called cannabutter.
From there, you're basically making cookies.
The part that requires more attention is figuring out how strong your homemade edibles might be and making sure nobody accidentally eats one without knowing it contains THC.
For adults 21+ only: Cannabis products should always be kept securely away from children and pets. Homemade cannabis edibles should be clearly labeled so they aren't mistaken for regular food.
What Is Cannabutter?
Cannabutter is butter that has been infused with cannabis.
Cannabis flower contains cannabinoids primarily in their acidic forms. Before making an infusion, cannabis is typically heated through a process called decarboxylation, or "decarbing," which converts compounds such as THCA into THC.
The prepared cannabis is then infused into butter.
Once you have cannabutter, it can be used in recipes that normally call for butter, including cookies.
If you've never made it before, read our guide to cooking with cannabis and making cannabutter first.
Cannabis Chocolate Chip Cookie Ingredients
This recipe makes approximately 20 cookies, depending on how large you make them.
You'll need:
- 1/2 cup cannabutter
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 2 cups chocolate chips
You can adjust the chocolate chips or other ingredients to your preference.
What you shouldn't casually adjust is the amount of cannabutter without considering how that changes the potential THC content of each cookie.
How to Make Weed Cookies
Step 1: Preheat the Oven
Preheat your oven to 375°F.
Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper or lightly grease it so the cookies don't stick.
Step 2: Mix the Wet Ingredients
Combine the cannabutter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and egg in a mixing bowl.
Mix until everything is evenly combined.
Step 3: Add the Dry Ingredients
Add the flour, baking soda and salt.
Mix until a cookie dough forms.
Avoid aggressively overmixing the dough once you've added the flour.
Step 4: Add the Chocolate Chips
Fold the chocolate chips into the cookie dough until they're distributed throughout the mixture.
Step 5: Portion the Cookies Evenly
Divide the dough into roughly equal portions and place them about two inches apart on your baking sheet.
Making the cookies approximately the same size isn't just about getting them to bake evenly.
It's especially important with cannabis cookies because uneven portions can also mean uneven amounts of THC.
Step 6: Bake
Bake for approximately 10 to 13 minutes, or until the cookies are lightly golden around the edges.
Ovens vary, so keep an eye on them rather than relying entirely on the timer.
Step 7: Let Them Cool
Remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool before eating them.
And before anybody grabs one off the counter:
Make sure everyone knows these contain cannabis.
How Much THC Is in a Homemade Weed Cookie?
This is the part of homemade edibles that gets complicated.
We can't tell you exactly how many milligrams of THC are in one of your cookies just from knowing how much cannabutter you used.
The potency depends on things like:
- How much cannabis was used to make the cannabutter
- The THC content of the starting flower
- How effectively the cannabis was decarboxylated
- How efficiently the cannabinoids infused into the butter
- How much cannabutter went into the recipe
- How evenly it was distributed throughout the dough
- How many cookies you made
- Whether the cookies are actually the same size
This is one of the biggest differences between homemade weed cookies and edibles purchased from a licensed Washington cannabis store.
A regulated edible has labeled cannabinoid and serving information.
Your homemade chocolate chip cookie doesn't come back from a testing lab with a label telling you exactly how much THC ended up inside it.
Treat homemade edibles accordingly.
Don't Eat Another Cookie Just Because You Don't Feel It Yet
This is important.
Edibles can take considerably longer to produce noticeable effects than smoking or vaping cannabis.
The old advice of eating a cookie, waiting 30 minutes and deciding whether you need another one can get you into trouble.
Give an edible plenty of time before consuming more THC.
How quickly you feel the effects can vary based on the dose, your metabolism, what you've eaten and your individual response to cannabis.
If you're unsure how potent your homemade cookies are, start conservatively.
There's no prize for finding out how much THC you can handle.
Why Homemade Edibles Can Be Unpredictable
Even if you know the THC percentage of the cannabis flower you started with, calculating the final potency of homemade cannabutter isn't perfectly precise.
Some THC can be lost during preparation and infusion.
The finished butter may not be perfectly uniform.
Then that butter has to be distributed evenly throughout your cookie dough.
Then the dough has to be divided into equal servings.
There are a lot of variables between "this flower contains THC" and "this cookie contains exactly 10 mg."
You can estimate.
You shouldn't pretend an estimate is laboratory testing.
Clearly Label Your Cannabis Cookies
This might be the most important step in the entire recipe.
Do not put cannabis cookies in an ordinary container and leave them sitting next to regular cookies.
They look like food because they are food.
Someone who doesn't know they contain THC could easily eat one.
Store homemade cannabis edibles in a clearly labeled container and keep them securely away from children, pets and anyone who shouldn't have access to cannabis.
If you live with other adults, make sure they know what's in the container too.
Nobody should accidentally consume THC because your weed cookies looked like regular chocolate chip cookies.
Can You Make Other Cannabis Cookies?
Absolutely.
Once you understand how cannabutter works, chocolate chip cookies are only one option.
Cannabutter can potentially be incorporated into many recipes that normally use butter.
That means you could experiment with:
- Peanut butter cookies
- Sugar cookies
- Oatmeal cookies
- Snickerdoodles
- Double chocolate cookies
- Other baked recipes that use butter
Just remember that changing the amount of cannabutter or number of servings also changes your potency calculations.
A batch that makes 10 giant cookies isn't equivalent to the same batch divided into 30 smaller cookies.
Homemade Weed Cookies vs. Dispensary Edibles
Making cannabis cookies can be fun.
Buying edibles is definitely easier.
Commercial cannabis edibles from a licensed Washington dispensary come with labeled THC and cannabinoid information, which takes a lot of the guesswork out of serving size.
There's also considerably more variety today than there was when homemade pot brownies and weed cookies were the stereotypical cannabis edible.
Depending on what's currently available, you can find gummies, chocolates, candies, mints, beverages and plenty of other options.
So if you're interested in edibles but don't particularly want your kitchen turning into an edible experiment, you have options.
Looking for Cannabis Edibles in Seattle?
At Seattle Cannabis Co. in Rainier Valley, we carry a rotating selection of Washington-made cannabis edibles and beverages for adults 21+.
If you're new to edibles, talk to one of our budtenders.
We can help you understand the THC information on the package, explain serving sizes and show you the different options currently on our menu.
Or make the cookies.
Just please don't call it pot butter.
We've all grown since then.
