Thanks to widespread marijuana legalization pushing cannabis products into mainstream acceptance, there are virtually endless types of cannabis edibles beyond the token pot brownie or cookie—think nut butter, guacamole, barbecue sauce, and even cheese. And while you can pick up pre-packaged edibles at your local dispensary, you can also whip up your own marijuana edibles at home.

Making cannabis edibles is easy and fun. If you want to tackle creating your own infused concoctions, this guide is a helpful primer on how to cook edibles at home, how to make staples like infused cannabutter and oils, and easy recipe suggestions you can try.

Jump to a section:

• Intro to edibles and baking with cannabis
• Cannabis butter and cannabis cooking oil recipes
• Cannabis-infused dessert recipes
• Edible gummies recipes
• Cannabis drink recipes
• Other recipes to try

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.

Baking with Cannabis

Baking with cannabis is a great way to get all the medicinal benefits without having to inhale. It also allows you to experiment with different recipes and create tasty edibles tailored just for you. In order to obtain marijuana ingredients, you will need a medical marijuana card to access your local dispensaries. The team of doctors at Arkansas Marijuana Card are here to help.

Even if you’re not particularly adept in the kitchen, making your own cannabis edibles can be simple! We have provided some easy to follow recipes for edibles that each have their own unique charm.

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…

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.

How do you measure edible dosage for baking?

We highly recommend you start with a small amount of cannabis when making infused butter, oil, or anything else.

Most of our recipes below call for equal parts baking ingredient to cannabis—for example, 1 cup butter to 1 cup ground cannabis—but if this is your first time infusing weed, use even less. The worst that can happen is the edible won’t be as strong as you hoped.

Pro tip: Write down the ratio of cannabis to cooking ingredient you use, so that you can copy or adjust the recipe next time. You may think you’ll remember how much you put in, but after a couple edibles it’s easy to forget.

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