To make cannabis caramels, cook sugar, brown sugar, corn syrup, butter, and sweetened condensed milk to 245°F (the firm-ball stage), stir in your cannabutter or cannabis oil off the heat, then pour into a lined pan and cool for at least 4 hours before cutting. The boil takes 20 to 25 minutes; the set takes the rest. Dose depends on the THC strength of your infusion, so measure that before you start.
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What ingredients and tools do you need?
The base is a standard soft caramel: two sugars, dairy, and corn syrup to hold off crystallization. You swap part of the butter for cannabutter, or add cannabis oil at the end.
The Ultimate Guide to Cannabis Caramel Edibles
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 cup unsalted butter (or ¾ cup butter plus ¼ cup cannabutter)
- 1 cup light corn syrup
- 1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Tools: a heavy 4-quart pot, a candy thermometer, a silicone spatula, parchment paper, and an 8x8 inch pan. A thermometer is not optional if you want repeatable results.
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How do you make the cannabis butter or oil?
Decarboxylate first. Raw THC acid does not get you high, and heat converts it to THC.
- Grind the flower coarse and spread it on a baking sheet.
- Bake at 240°F for 40 minutes.
- Simmer the decarbed flower in melted butter or oil at 160 to 180°F for 2 to 3 hours.
- Strain through cheesecloth and press the solids to recover all the fat.
Expect a wide potency range. One cup of butter infused with 7 to 10 grams of flower at 15 to 20% THC lands somewhere between 700 and 1,400 mg of THC after decarb and straining losses.
How do you cook the caramels step by step?
- Line the 8x8 pan with parchment and grease the paper.
- Combine both sugars, corn syrup, regular butter, and condensed milk in the pot over medium heat.
- Stir until the sugar dissolves, then stop stirring and let the mix boil.
- Clip on the thermometer and cook to 245°F. Keep a steady boil and stir now and then so the bottom does not scorch.
- Pull the pot off the heat. Stir in the cannabutter, salt, and vanilla. Add cannabis oil at this point if you are using oil.
- Pour into the lined pan and leave the stuck bits in the pot, since they set hard and grainy.
- Cool at room temperature for 4 hours or overnight.
- Turn the slab onto parchment and cut 64 pieces with a greased knife.
Wrap each piece in wax paper so they stay soft and do not fuse into one block.
How do you figure out the dose per caramel?
Divide the total THC in the batch by the number of pieces you cut.
- Batch THC = THC per teaspoon of infusion × teaspoons used in the recipe
- Dose per piece = batch THC ÷ number of pieces
- Common targets: 5 to 10 mg per piece for casual users, 20 mg and up for people with a high tolerance
Take a batch made with ¼ cup of butter at 40 mg per teaspoon. That is 12 teaspoons, so about 480 mg in the batch. Cut into 64 pieces and each caramel holds roughly 7.5 mg.
Write the number on the container. A caramel looks like candy, and a 25 mg piece eaten by someone expecting 5 mg makes for a rough evening.
Why do cannabis caramels come out grainy, soft, or weak?
- Grainy: sugar crystals formed. Brush the pot sides with a wet pastry brush during the boil and do not scrape the pot when pouring.
- Too soft: you pulled it early. Hit 245°F at sea level; subtract 2°F for every 1,000 feet of elevation.
- Too hard: it passed 250°F. Above that point caramel sets like toffee.
- Weak: the infusion was under-dosed, or too much cannabis went in at the start of the boil.
- Grassy or bitter taste: too much plant matter. Water-cure the butter or use a cleaner extract.
Does cooking destroy the THC?
Some, yes. THC starts to vaporize around 315°F, and caramel cooks at 245°F, so the loss is small but real. Time at heat also converts a share of THC to CBN, which gives a batch a heavier, sleepier feel. Adding the cannabutter after the pot leaves the burner keeps more of the original effect.
How do you store cannabis caramels?
Wrap each piece in wax paper and keep them in a sealed container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks. For longer storage, freeze the wrapped pieces in a zip bag for up to 6 months. Label the bag with the dose and keep it away from kids and pets.
Frequently asked questions
Can you make cannabis caramels without a candy thermometer?
Yes, with the cold water test. Drop a spoonful of the mix into cold water; at firm-ball stage it forms a ball that holds its shape but flattens when you squeeze it. A thermometer gives you far more control.
Can you use distillate or tincture instead of cannabutter?
Distillate works: warm it and stir it in off the heat. Alcohol tincture does not, because the alcohol boils off and leaves the THC behind in patches. If tincture is all you have, evaporate it onto a little sugar first and use that sugar in the recipe.
How long do edibles take to kick in?
30 to 90 minutes, with the peak around 2 to 3 hours. Wait at least 2 hours before eating a second piece.
Do you need to decarb if you buy ready-made cannabutter?
No. Decarbing already happened during the infusion. Butter from a licensed shop also lists THC per serving on the label, which takes the math out of dosing.