How To Make Delicious Cannabis Brownies

Chocolate brownies, or weed brownies, are super popular — and rightly so!

Whether you add it to your drinks, food, or anything your heart desires, chocolate makes everything taste good.

But that's not the only reason why pot brownies are incredible. Cannabis is naturally high in vitamins, minerals, fibers, and antioxidants (they're green veggies, after all!), and consuming it allows you to absorb all these good nutrients. 

Plus, pot brownies are a terrific alternative to smoking cannabis — smoking anything is bad for your lungs; however, consuming edibles isn't as bad. Cannabis edibles like brownies not only make the effects last longer but also won't harm your lungs. 

But how do you make some mind-blowing delicious pot brownies? 

In this article, we will discuss everything you need to know about making some mind-blowing pot brownies. 

Edibles vs. Smoking

Before we proceed to make brownies, let's explore why edibles are better than smoking. Smoking — whether it's cannabis or cigarettes — is harmful because of so many carcinogens. 

The only advantage of smoking cannabis is that it produces effects within 3-5 minutes. However, you can switch to vaping if you want to experience effects in just a few minutes while avoiding the harmful effects associated with smoking. 

On the other hand, edibles are slow to produce effects because the liver metabolizes them first. As a result, the liver essentially breaks them down, making them less potent. However, the effects last longer. 

Since it takes a while for the liver to process everything, it may take anywhere from 30 minutes to even 2 hours to feel any effects. So don't get impatient and pop more brownies unless you're okay with transforming a pleasant evening into a nightmare!

How Much Cannabis Can You Add?

How much weed is too much?

If you're cooking pot brownies for the first time, this is important as you don't want something too strong or mild. 

On a side note, some users may not appreciate THC. Not everyone uses cannabis edibles for recreational purposes. So, if you can't tolerate THC due to personal or legal reasons, you can opt for CBD. Just like you'd infuse brownies with strains high in THC, you can replace them with CBD strains. Make sure that your buds contain high levels of CBD, or it won't work. 

Now, many factors affect the potency of the cannabis-infused oils or butter that you will use for your pot brownies. For example, if you forget to decarboxylate the buds (we will explain this later), you'll end up with brownies that smell and taste like grass without effects! Or, if you overheat the oil or butter, you may burn the cannabinoids and affect the potency. 

So, we recommend trying a small amount before you infuse an entire batch of brownies. 

To start, use at least 1/8th of an ounce (3.5 grams) of dry buds. To produce effects, the buds should contain at least 5 to 10 milligrams of THC per serving. However, it's not possible to calculate the exact amount of THC at home unless you get it tested in a lab. Therefore, make sure you get some potent buds. 

However, if you want to avoid guesswork, you can replace the buds with distillates. Distillates will tell you the exact amount of CBD or THC they contain and are perfect for medical cannabis users. 

Keep in mind that distillates are extremely potent and usually contain 80-99% THC/CBD, which roughly equals 1000mg per gram. 

Skip to “How to calculate the dosage” at the end of this section to estimate the cannabinoid content. 

Also, please ensure that your cannabis oil or butter is thoroughly mixed into the batter to ensure a consistent and pleasant dose.

How to Make Pot Brownies?

The first step is decarboxylation, no matter what edible you make. 

Decarboxylation

Decarbing is crucial to drawing out cannabis' full potential in your brownies. You will end up with edibles that have no effects if you don't heat your cannabis. 

Decarboxylation is essentially a process of activating the cannabinoids. The same applies even if you're using strains high in CBD. 

However, if you're using distillates, you can skip this step since they will be decarbed already. 

Here's how you can decarb your cannabis:

1. Preheat the oven to 240-240°F.
2. Spread finely ground cannabis evenly on a baking sheet.
3. Set the oven to bake for 50 minutes, but keep checking periodically to ensure they don't get burnt. 
4. Once done, remove the sheet from the oven and set it aside to cool.

Now, let's get baking!

Ingredients

• ⅛ ounce finely ground cannabis or 165 mg cannabis distillate
• ¾ cup unsalted butter
• 3 large eggs
• 1 ¾ cups of all-purpose flour
• 4 ounces unsweetened high-quality chocolate 
• 1 ¾ cups coconut sugar
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ⅔ cup chopped walnuts
• A few finely minced mint leaves (optional) 

Recipe

If you are using cannabis distillate, skip to Step 4.

1. In a medium saucepan, melt butter over low heat.
2. Once the butter is heated, add decarbed cannabis and lower the heat. Let it simmer for 45 minutes.
3. Then, strain the cannabis butter mix through a cheesecloth or fine-mesh sieve into a small bowl and discard the strained cannabis solids. Pro-tip: Save the discarded strained cannabis solids for cannabis tea!
4. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
5. Grease a 9x13 glass baking pan with cooking spray.
6. Place unsweetened chocolate in a mixing bowl and melt it in a microwave.
7. Once molten, add the cannabis butter or distillate to the chocolate and mix until they are combined evenly.
8. Then, add coconut sugar, vanilla extract, and salt to the chocolate-butter/distillate mixture.
9. Next, add eggs one by one and mix until everything is combined evenly.
10. Lastly, add the flour, walnut, and mint to the batter and stir well.
11. Now, pour the batter into the baking pan and set to bake for half an hour.
12. Once baked, let the brownie cool slightly and cut 16 pieces evenly.

These brownies ought to be delicious, but you can enhance the flavor further with some icing. 

Here's a quick recipe on pot brownies icing.

Icing Ingredients:

• 1 large egg
• 2 ½ cup confectioners' sugar
• 2 tablespoon cocoa powder
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoon unsalted butter

Icing Directions:

1. Add one egg and one cup sugar to an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.
2. With the mixer running, add cocoa powder and another ½ cup sugar into the mixer.
3. Then, add vanilla, butter, and the remaining sugar to the mixer.
4. Once the icing is prepared, spread it over the brownies and let it sit for some time.
5. Congratulations! Your pot brownies are ready. Share it with your friends and enjoy a good time.

How to Calculate the Dosage?

Things can get ugly very fast if you consume too many edibles. To avoid this, you should have a rough estimate of the dosage. 

While there's no technique to finding the exact amount of THC/CBD per brownie at home, you can do some minor calculations to find a rough estimate. The calculations differ slightly, depending on whether you're using distillates or cannabutter. 

Here's a basic calculation if you're using cannabutter:

• Measure the dry weight of buds you used to make the butter, and multiply it by 1000 to convert it to milligrams
• Now, multiply this weight in milligrams by the percentage of CBD or THC in the buds to estimate the total amount of cannabinoids in the batch

Too complicated? Let me break it down for you:

Let's assume you used 10 grams of buds containing 20% THC. This amounts to:

• 10 grams x 1000 = 10,000mg
• 10,000 x 20% = 2000mg

So, your entire batch of brownies contains 2000mg THC or CBD. Now, what if you wanted to estimate the cannabinoid content per brownie? 

The calculation would be:

• Total batch / 12 pieces = 2000/12 = 166mg per piece
• Total batch / 24 pieces = 2000/24 = 83mg per piece 

If you're using distillates instead, this is how you calculate the dosing:

• Note down the mg of CBD or THC in the distillate, and multiply it by the percentage of THC/CBD
• Next, divide this number by the pieces

Let's assume you used 200mg distillate with 95% THC. This amounts to:

• 200mg x 95% = 190mg

To estimate the cannabinoid content per brownie, it would be:

• Total batch / 12 pieces = 190/12 = 16mg per piece
• Total batch / 24 pieces = 190/12 = 8mg per piece

As you can see, it's easy to calculate the dosage. 

A Few Tips...

• Not everyone may enjoy the distinct flavor and smell of cannabis, so we recommend using finely crushed mint leaves to offset the flavor in your pot brownies.
• Pot brownies are delicious, but eat one at a time.
• Consuming cannabis can make you very hungry, so prepare another batch of brownies without cannabis. Follow the same recipe but skip the cannabis butter/distillate/buds and use regular unsalted butter.
• On average, pot brownies take up to 30-90 minutes to digest and produce effects, so please be patient. 
• Eating too many pot brownies can have adverse side effects such as motor impairment, cardiac stress, extreme sedation, vomiting, anxiety, and in rare cases, psychosis. 

Summary: How to Make Delicious Cannabis Brownies

You can't go wrong with this pot brownies recipe — don't hesitate to try it out!

Remember to follow the steps and add the right amount of cannabis to your batter, and you will end up with baked brownies that everyone appreciates not just for the high but also the flavor.