Five Holiday-Themed Cannabis Recipes

As much as cannabis users like to smoke a bowl, take a doobie, or vape away, sometimes we want something a little more… tasty. To that end, we’re discussing cannabis recipes that are themed for the holidays.

Cannabutter (or Cannaoil) is the basis for a lot of other cannabis recipes, so we’ll start with it. It is possible to make cannabis-infused sugar as well (our Canna Cribs Episode on Phat Panda covers that), but it requires some extraction experience. Cannabutter, on the other hand, does not require too much technical expertise.

What you’ll need:

1. 1 Cup of Water
2. 1 Cup of Butter (or oil if you prefer)
3. 1 Cup of Cannabis (Strain of your choice)

Step #1:

We’ll need to start by decarboxylating our cannabis. In Digamma’s Treatise on Decarboxylation, we learned that raw cannabis does not contain the active compounds we want, such as THC or CBD. Instead, raw cannabis tends to have the acid precursor forms of these chemicals, namely THCA or CBDA.

In order to decarboxylate our cannabis, we’ll need to give it some heat, but not enough to cause it to ignite, otherwise you’ll be hotboxing your oven. You’ll want to set your oven to about 250° Fahrenheit (120° C) and place your buds or ground cannabis onto a baking sheet with parchment paper for about 30 to 40 minutes. You can decarb at higher temperatures for faster, but you may end up with less even decarboxylation, reducing the potency of your cannabutter. Make sure to regularly shake and move your buds so that they heat evenly.

Step #2:

Once the buds have dried out and been heated, you’ll want to grind them up in a mortar and pestle, or a Magic Bullet. This will make it easy to put into the butter.

Step #3:

Melt the butter in a saucepan with the water. The water will help regulate temperature, we’ll get rid of it later. Don’t boil the water or butter -- let the water simmer gently. As the butter melts, pour in the ground cannabis and stir thoroughly. Let simmer gently for two to three hours, stirring occasionally. Do not let the butter burn or water boil -- try to keep the temperature between 160-200° Fahrenheit.

Step #4:

Once most of the water has evaporated from the mixture, you’ll want to pour the cannabutter over a cheesecloth (or similar filter) and into a container of your choice. Don’t pour it while hot! Let it cool a little bit before pouring, but not so much it resolidifies. The cheesecloth will help strain out the undesirable plant materials.

And there you go! Cannabutter, ready to serve or to be used in other recipes. Just make sure to keep this away from any kids!

This is where your cannabutter (or canna oil) can really come in handy. You don’t need to go to any fancy marijuana cooking website to make infused brownies now! Instead, you can substitute any butter, margarine, or oils in recipes with your cannabutter or cannaoil.

So next we’re going to take a classic brownie recipe and swap out the normal butter for cannabutter. For this recipe, you’ll need the following:

1. ½ cup of cannabutter
2. 1 cup white or brown sugar
3. 2 eggs
4. ⅓ cup cocoa powder
5. ½ cup all-purpose flour
6. ¼ teaspoon salt
7. ¼ teaspoon baking powder

And for the frosting:

1. 3 tablespoons of cannabutter
2. 3 tablespoons of cocoa powder
3. 1 tablespoon of honey
4. 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
5. 1 cup of confectioner’s sugar

You can follow the instructions for the rest of the recipe here, or you can use your own brownie recipe.

Applesauce goes great with a lot of things and is great for people of all ages (Just don’t give this to kids. Cannabis applesauce is not for kids). It can go with breakfast, latkes, dinner, nearly everything. If your grandparents or parents like to medicate, this is a great option for them. The applesauce doesn’t require a whole lot of input, so you can generally do other things while you’re cooking it.

What you’ll need:

1. 3 lbs. of apples of your choice -- can be sweet, tart, whatever you prefer.
2. 4 tablespoons of cannabis-infused glycerine. The recipe to make cannabis-infused glycerine can be found here.
3. Cinnamon (to whatever amount you prefer)
4. A large saucepan

Step #1:

Core the apples and chop them into smaller bits. The smaller the bit, the faster it’ll cook. Put the pieces in a saucepan and move over medium heat until the apple pieces are soft (can take an hour or two). Stir regularly.

Step #2:

Once you see little pools of juice forming around the apple bits, add some cinnamon to the applesauce while maintaining heat. You can mash the apple bits to speed up the process.

Step #3:

Once the applesauce has reached a consistency you like, you can pour in the cannabis-infused glycerine and stir. Once it has been thoroughly mixed in, the applesauce is ready to eat. You can eat it hot, or cool it in the fridge -- whatever fits your fancy!

This one’s a classic for any gathering, so why not make it a family couch day?

Here’s what you’ll need for the salad:

1. 4 cups baby spinach (or lettuce if you prefer, spinach is better)
2. 2 fuji apples (thin-sliced)
3. ⅓ cup feta cheese
4. ⅓ cup craisins (cranberry raisins)
5. ½ cup of walnut pieces

And here’s what you’ll need for the vinaigrette:

1. ¼ cup of cannabis-infused oil
2. ¼ apple cider vinegar
3. ½ teaspoon dijon mustard
4. 1 teaspoon brown sugar
5. ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
6. ¼ teaspoon oregano
7. ¼ teaspoon basil
8. ½ teaspoon salt
9. ¼ teaspoon black ground pepper

Instructions are pretty simple. Stick all of the vinaigrette materials into a blender to make it smooth. Wash the baby spinach and slice the apples, then put them in a bowl together, throw in the feta, craisins, and walnut pieces, give it a mix, then drizzle the vinaigrette on top when ready to eat and give it a toss.

Movies are a family favorite, and popcorn mixes perfectly with movies! Obviously, if you have kids, you may want a separate bowl of popcorn for them, but for mom and dad (and grandma!), the special popcorn bowl will add a whole layer of fun.

You can make the popcorn in a popcorn maker and pour melted cannabutter over them, or you can cook the popcorn and cannabutter together in a skillet, whatever you choose to do. Top it off with a dash of salt to taste and voila! Perfect cannabuttered popcorn.

Well there you have it. Five great holiday and Christmas-themed cannabis foods! Do you have any family favorites? If so, let us know in the survey or comments!