As the unofficial holiday of stoners and those who occasionally down a weed gummy, 4/20 is a day spent celebrating one thing: the joy of cannabis. Whether you’re a regular user or someone who’s cooped up with some extra weed lying around, these edible weed recipes are here to take your 4/20 to new heights. (Get it? No? I’ll see myself out.) Because not everywhere allows you to smoke—or in this case, eat—cannabis legally, make sure you’re up-to-date on your city’s guidelines. As long as you stay safe and follow the rules, you’re sure to have a delicious 4/20. From weed grilled cheese to the classic pot brownie, there’s no shortage of weed recipes waiting to help you celebrate.

Since many of us are stuck in our homes this year, it’s the perfect time to try whipping up some tasty—and legal!!—weed treats. You likely have been spending more time in your kitchen than ever before, so go ahead and take this opportunity to try something new. Maybe you’re a hardcore smoker who wants to try edibles while you’re social distancing. Or maybe you make the best weed cookies in your friend group, but want to try a new recipe. However you choose to embrace this kitchen adventure, just be safe, smart and make sure you’ve Netflix set up and ready to go.

If you’ve never made edibles yourself, let this be your introductory guide. Different recipes call for different amounts or variants of weed, so make sure you read all the instructions carefully—preferably before ingesting any other substances, as well. If you follow these recipes correctly, you’ll end up with delicious treats sure to get you flying high before long. Whether you want a sweet treat that you can share with your friends or a cannabis-infused meal all to yourself, you’re sure to find the perfect edible recipe below.

Introduction to edibles and baking with cannabis

What are edibles?

Cannabis edibles are any food that is infused with cannabis compounds like THC and CBD.

A great option for those who don’t want to smoke cannabis but still enjoy it, edibles vary in both form and potency: chocolates, brownies, cookies, gummies, tea, hot sauce, and much more. You can pretty much turn anything into an edible and make it as potent or weak as you like.

How do you cook or bake edibles?

The edible cooking and baking process starts with decarboxylation (de-carb-ox-yl-a-tion). Basically, you need to heat cannabis in order for your body to absorb cannabinoids, like THC and CBD. When you smoke weed, this happens from the flame of your lighter.When you make edibles, you still have to heat weed to decarboxylate it to make THC readily available for your body. But you do it at a much lower temperature so that the plant stays intact while you infuse it with butter or oil, or whatever your base ingredient for cooking or baking is.

How do you store edibles after baking?

You’re probably wondering how long your homemade marijuana edibles stay fresh. The edibles you make are baked or cooked goods just like any other, and they’ll have the same shelf life as any regular food you make. Would you leave grandma’s chocolate chip cookies on your counter for a week? A pot of chili on your stovetop for days on end? Likewise, your homemade edibles will also go stale or bad in time.

In order to keep your weed edibles fresh, store them in a sealable bag or container so they stay preserved and tasty. For baked goods, you can even throw them in the fridge to really prolong their shelf life.

But that’s not to say you can’t eat a stale cookie—it might not taste that great, but it will still get you high. Some amount of THC will typically be in there for up to six months; the main concern is the baked good going bad or getting moldy.

Always, always, keep cannabis edibles out of reach of children, and consider labeling your infused goodies to avoid confusing unsuspecting housemates. We’ve all heard the story of the housemate who came home and helped themself to a fresh brownie, not knowing they were infused with weed…

Simple Cannabis Recipes You Can Make at Home

Cannabutter

Cannabutter is a staple that can be used in many cannabis infused edible recipes. The key to making cannabutter is to first decarboxylate the cannabis flower so that THCA can be converted into THC, which will produce the euphoric effects. 

Ingredients

• 1 cup of butter
• 1 cup (7-10 grams) of ground cannabis, decarboxylated

Method

1. Decarb the cannabis: Preheat your oven to 245ºF. Grab a non-stick, oven-safe tray and place parchment paper over it. Place your cannabis buds onto the tray and put the tray into the oven. Set a timer for 30-40 minutes. If your cannabis is older and/or drier, it may require less time. Every 10 minutes, lightly shake the tray to mix the buds and equally expose the surface area of the tray.
2. Grind the cannabis: Grind the decarbed cannabis with a hand grinder. If you do not have a grinder, you can break up the bud with your hands.
3. Melt the butter: Add 1 cup of better and 1 cup of water into a saucepan. Let the contents simmer on low heat to let the butter melt.
4. Add cannabis to the butter: Add your ground cannabis to the pot as your butter begins to melt.
5. Simmer the butter: Keep the heat on low (ideally above 160ºF but never letting it exceed 200ºF) and let the butter simmer for 2 to 3 hours. Stir occasionally. The butter mixture should never come to a full boil.
6. Strain the butter. Grab a jar and set a funnel on top of the opening and line it with cheesecloth. When the cannabutter has cooled, pour it over the cheesecloth funnel into the jar so it can strain. 
7. Refrigerate the butter. Excess water may form at the bottom of the jar. You can remove the solid butter with a knife and drain out the water. If this occurs, the butter will need to be refrigerated for about an hour before draining the water.

Canna Shortbread Cookies

Canna Shortbreads are a simple 3 ingredient recipe that will provide a sweet treat, along with medicinal benefits.

Ingredients

• ¼ cup of sugar
• ½ cup cannabutter
• 1 ½ cups flour

Method

1. Preheat oven to 375°F
2. Beat the cannabutter and sugar together until smooth and mixed well
3. Add the flour and mix well until a smooth paste forms
4. From here, you can roll out the dough on a floured surface and cut into shapes. Or, you can pack the mix into a baking pan and slice into slabs after baking
5. Chill for 20 minutes in the fridge
6. Bake for 15-20 minutes until only just starting to brown

Cannabis Brownies When it comes to edibles, brownies are one of the most classic baked goods that can satisfy a sweet tooth. The chocolate flavor also helps to cover up the herbal flavor of cannabis, even for the pickier eaters.

Ingredients

• ½ cup cannabutter (melted)
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ⅓ cup of cocoa powder (unsweetened)
• ½ cup flour
• ¼ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp baking powder

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350°F
2. Grease and flour, or line with parchment, an 8” pan
3. In a large bowl, mix the cannabutter, sugar, eggs and vanilla extract
4. Beat in dry ingredients and mix until just combined
5. Spread the batter into the prepared pan
6. Bake for 25-30 minutes
7. Let the brownies cool for a few minutes before slicing and serving

How much weed do you need for edibles?

Although marijuana strains differ in potency, it’s safe to assume that the average version is about 10 percent THC.

Let’s suppose you have a quarter-ounce of marijuana, which is 7 grams. According to The Cannabist, “Every 1 gram of cannabis bud has 1,000mg of dry weight. If a strain has about 10 percent THC, 10 percent of 1,000mg would be 100mg. So for cooking or baking at home, it’s safe to assume that a gram of cannabis contains at least 100mg of THC.”

For further context, in the 420-friendly state of Colorado, it has been mandated that the serving size for weed edibles is 10mg of THC. In the scenario detailed above, a chef has 700mg. A classic cookie recipe yields 60 cookies. Thus, each cookie would have just over 11 grams. First-time users learning how to make weed edibles should cut theirs into quarters, and allow an hour between each dose.