The “special brownie” needs less introduction than most baked goods, but you’ll find no sloppily constructed, slightly burnt bars here.

For those who don’t live near a dispensary (or a group of friendly college kids), here’s a low-key way to get your hands on safe, tasty edibles: Go homemade.

How much weed?

Not only will they taste better, but when you DIY, you’re also fully in charge of how much bud actually ends up in the brownies. This recipe calls for a full 1/8 ounce of cannabis, yet the process still works if you decide to use less.

BTW, if you go by this spice conversions chart, 1/8 ounce of parsley (the closest cannabis comparison we could find), is equal to about 3 tablespoons. So, roughly 3 tablespoons of weed is about what you need. You’re welcome.

We made the full batch of the cannabutter recipe below, used our preferred amount in the brownies, and stored the excess in the fridge in a clearly marked container (emphasis on “clearly marked”).

Must-know tips

Before you dump the contents of your grinder into a box of Duncan Hines Double Fudge, hang on a sec. To draw out cannabis’s full potential in edibles, it must be decarboxylated.

Decarba-what? Decarboxylation is basically a fancy way of saying that the herb needs to be heated to fully activate it to its psychoactive form. Think: A joint won’t get anyone high unless it’s lit on fire.

This recipe makes 16 potent brownies. While they’re delicious, we don’t recommend you eat more than one at a time. If you’re new to all this, eat a small one. And be patient. It could take up to 90 minutes for the brownie to digest and the high to hit you.

What do you need to make pot brownies?

Recipes for most homemade cannabis brownies include a similar list of ingredients. Here’s an easy pot brownie recipe with which to get started in your kitchen:

• ½ cup of canna-butter OR infused coconut oil
• Two eggs
• 1 cup of white sugar
• One teaspoon of vanilla extract
• ⅓ cup of cocoa powder (add more cocoa powder for extra chocolate flavor)
• ½ cup of all-purpose flour
• ¼ teaspoon of salt
• ¼ teaspoon baking powder

You’ll also need the following tools for this brownie recipe:

• an oven
• 8″ square baking pan
• a large saucepan

Of course, to simplify things, you could purchase a pre-made brownie mix from the store. Sub out the oil or butter called for in the recipe with canna-butter or infused coconut oil.

Whether homemade or store-bought, all pot brownies share a commonality: the addition of infused butter or oil.

How to make cannabutter

Cannabutter is what makes a pot brownie a pot brownie. You can’t simply throw your flower into a recipe and call it a day: you must first decarboxylate your weed and infuse it into a high-fat carrier, such as butter. Decarboxylation is the process of THCA turning into THC by way of heating the flower. This process occurs naturally when we smoke or vape weed, but is an essential extra step when creating edibles.

During the cooking process, the butter absorbs the activated THC in the cannabis and makes it ready to add to your recipe.

Making cannabutter isn’t tricky, but it takes about 3 hours to cook. It’s best to prep your weed butter ahead of actually making your canna-brownies. Try the following recipes to create your own, evenly dosed cannabis butter. You can make cannabutter either on the stove, or in a slow cooker.

How to make infused coconut oil

Coconut oil is an excellent dairy-free alternative for those who don’t like butter or can’t eat it due to dietary restrictions.

This infused coconut oil recipe requires a slow-cooker and five hours to make, so this is another infused ingredient you’ll want to concoct before it’s time to bake your edibles.

How to make weed brownies

OPTION #1 – CANNABIS OIL OR CANNABUTTER

The easiest and most palatable option for making cannabis brownies is to make either cannabis coconut oil or cannabutter first.

Cannabis-infused coconut oil, or cannabutter, is an important staple for many cannabis recipes.

Mastering just one of these recipes will help you make more recipes beyond just brownies.

If you have never made either of these recipes before, be sure to:

Making your own oil or butter at home allows you to choose what type of cannabis flower you want to use.

THC dominant cannabis flower is the most preferred starting material, but you can also use CBD flower, or even leaves, trim, shake, or kief.

Once you have your cannabis-infused oil or butter prepared, you can use it anywhere fat is called for in a recipe.

That means you can then use this recipe or your Grandma’s sacred brownie recipe as is and swap regular oil or butter for infused oil or butter.

Should You Use Butter or Oil For Your Brownies?

Choosing between using cannabis-infused coconut oil or cannabutter is a personal taste preference.

I prefer the coconut oil while my husband prefers cannabutter.

Either way, they perform nearly the same when baking and can be made the same way following the same methods and used interchangeably in many recipes.

OPTION #2 – CANNABIS-INFUSED SUGAR

While it’s more likely that you can access cannabis butter or cannabis oil, you can optionally make a cannabis-infused sugar to use in this recipe.

You can use cannabutter and cannasugar in combination for an ultrastrong batch, or use either one, depending on what you have on hand and readily available.

OPTION #3 – DECARBED CANNABIS FLOWER

Alas, some impatient friends don’t want to wait 4 hours to make an infused

oil and insist on adding cannabis flower buds directly to the batter.

While it’s not my favorite or the most palatable way to make brownies, it will still work.

However, it’s important to note that you must decarboxylate the dried cannabis flower before adding it to the batter to reap the full benefits of activated CBD and THC.

If you skip this step, your brownies will not be as strong as you desire or may not produce any intoxicating effect at all.

Click here for a full Beginner’s Guide to Cannabis Decarboxylation.

OPTION #4 – LEFTOVER CANNABIS PULP

It’s not my favorite way to make brownies, but yes, you can absolutely add the leftover cannabis pulp from making butter to your brownie mix.

I would recommend using the infused butter or oil as called for and then adding in a ¼ to ½ cup of the leftover pulp as an additional ingredient.