Cannabis Baked Goods Recipes: Dessert Dosing Guide

A cannabis dessert carries a dose per piece. A standard serving in a state with legal retail sales holds 10 mg of THC. One brownie pan cut into 16 pieces from a batch with 160 mg THC gives 10 mg per piece. Home bakers get that number by controlling three steps: decarboxylation, infusion, and oven temperature.

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Step 1: Decarboxylate the flower

Raw flower holds THCA, an acid form with no psychoactive effect. Heat converts THCA to THC. Spread ground flower on a sheet pan in one layer. Bake at 240°F for 40 minutes. Stir at the 20 minute mark. The flower turns dark and smells toasted. Skip this step and the finished dessert holds little THC.

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Step 2: Infuse butter or oil

Use 7 g to 14 g of decarboxylated flower per 1 cup of butter. One cup equals 2 sticks, or 227 g. Melt the butter in a saucepan with 1 cup of water. Add the flower. Hold the mix at 160°F to 180°F for 2 to 3 hours. Do not boil. Strain through cheesecloth. Cool the liquid. The butter rises and hardens. Discard the water. Yield is about 3/4 cup. Cannabinoids bind to fat, so skim milk and low fat spreads will not hold the dose.

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Step 3: Bake at 325°F or lower

THC vaporizes at 315°F. Heat above that point drives off potency. Set the oven to 325°F or lower. This covers cookies, brownies, blondies, and bar recipes. No-bake items such as rice cereal treats and no-bake cookies avoid the heat question.

Dose math

Flower at 15 percent THC holds 150 mg THC per gram. Seven grams holds about 1050 mg. Extraction recovers 60 percent to 80 percent, so expect 630 mg to 840 mg in the butter. A batch that uses 1/2 cup of that butter carries half the total. Cut into 36 cookies, each piece lands near 10 mg.

Home infusion has an unknown potency. Lab testing gives a real number. A test costs $40 to $80 at most labs.

Onset and duration

Swallowed THC reaches the blood in 30 to 60 minutes. Peak effect arrives at 1.5 to 3 hours. Effects can last 6 hours. Wait 2 hours before eating a second piece.

Storage and labeling

Write the date and the mg per piece on the container. Refrigerate for 1 week. Freeze for 3 months. Keep the container away from children and pets. Colorado and Washington cap retail edibles at 10 mg per serving and 100 mg per package. Those caps apply to licensed stores, not home baking.