Before there were tinctures, concentrates, and an array of edibles at our disposal there was the holy grail of cannabis cooking: cannabutter. While cannabutter is still widely used in both the edibles on dispensary shelves and in the kitchen of every cannachef, many cannabis lovers have never tried making their own. While it may seem intimidating, making your own infused butter is deceptively simple and fun to do. All you need to turn your everyday butter into cannabutter is a few kitchen essentials, cannabis, and this Wikileaf cannabutter recipe.

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Why Butter?

We all know that butter is rich and fatty treat, but did you also know that butter is one of THC’s favorite foods? That is because cannabinoids love fat and bind easily to anything with a high fat content, like butter and coconut oil, with just a little heat and a little time. In addition to its lipid-rich makeup, butter is also an unbelievably versatile tool in the kitchen. It can be used in sweet cakes and brownies but also in savory foods like mashed potatoes and biscuits. Its rich flavor and slight briny taste pair perfectly with the herbal notes found in cannabis, making them an undefeated kitchen duo.

Dosing Your Butter

In this recipe, we will not be giving you exact flower amounts, as that is totally up to you and your tolerance. If you want to figure out how to dose your butter properly (and don’t mind crunching some numbers), you have to invest is some tested cannabis that tells you the THC content. Once you know the percentage of THC in your flower, it’s fairly simple to figure out how many milligrams will be in your infusion. For example:

  • Let’s say you start with one gram of Blue Dream that is 20% THC. You know that 20% of this one gram is pure, unadulterated THC baby.
  • You also know that 1 gram = 1,000 milligrams because of the metric system. Thus, 20% of 1,000 (1,000 x .2)  is 200 milligrams of weed.
  • Now that’s if the flower is completely untouched. You’re going to inevitably lose some of this potency through the extraction process, so let’s say you get a 75% yield. 75% of 200 (200 x .75) milligrams is 150 milligrams.
  • Voila — now you know that your cannabutter has roughly 150 milligrams of THC in it.
  • Let’s say you take this cannabutter and you make a dozen cookies. That means each cookie (150 ÷ 12) has about 12.5 milligrams of THC in each cookie.

Simple right? Now for the fun part.

Cannabutter Recipe

Tools You’ll Need:

  • Mason jar
  • Cookie sheet with a lip
  • Aluminum foil
  • Grinder
  • Pot
  • Strainer (cheesecloth if you have it)
  • Airtight container
  • Rubber Spatula/Spoon

Ingredients:

  • 2-5 grams of cannabis flower (use more or less depending on your desired strength)
  • 4 oz salted or unsalted butter (feel free to use more or less, the process remains the same)

Instructions:

  1. Preheat your oven to 235℉.
  2. Line your cookie sheet with aluminum foil.
  3. Grind up your flower. Be sure to not grid it up too fine! It just needs to be broken down into manageable pieces.
  4. Place your ground-up flower onto the aluminum foil-lined cookie sheet in a single layer. Cover the cookie sheet with aluminum foil. This will help prevent the flower from burning while in the oven.
  5. Place the cookie sheet in the preheated oven for 45 minutes. This step is called decarboxylation. Toasting the weed at a low temperature activates the THC and maximizes your final THC yield. Do not skip this step!
  6. While your flower is decarbing in the oven, fill your mason jar with the butter and set aside.
  7. Fill the pot with water and put it onto the stovetop on medium heat. The goal is to get the water close to boiling, but not quite.
  8. After 45 minutes have passed, take your decarbed flower out of the oven. Peel the aluminum off of the cookie sheet and carefully dump the flower into the mason jar with the butter. Tightly seal the jar with the lid.
  9. Place your tightly sealed jar with the butter and cannabis inside, into the pot of nearly boiling water. You should see bubbles on the side of the pot or a slight rolling on the surface. When you reach that sweet spot between boiling and not, lower the heat and keep it at that middle ground for the remainder of the infusion process. Be careful not to let the jar tip over or let the water get too hot as this will degrade the THC! Keep a close eye on your infusion and adjust the water level and temperature as needed throughout the day.
  10. Let the butter infuse for the next 3-5 hours. Now is the time to spark up a big joint.
  11. After 3-5 hours have passed, take your jar out of the pot. Place a strainer over an airtight container and pour your butter into it, straining out any plant matter as you go. If you have cheesecloth, line your strainer with it. Press lightly on the flower with a rubber spatula or spoon to make sure every last drop of buttery goodness is squeezed out. Seal your airtight container and allow the butter to cool and harden. Once the butter is completely cool, it’s ready to use!

Congratulations, you made cannabutter! Now you have everything you need to make your very own edibles all while relaxing on your couch. Try this cannabutter recipe at home and let us know what you think!