Today, the edibles market is flush with tasty infused eats, from sugary candies to savory snacks, chocolates, honey, and more. However, as much as we love these pre-packaged treats, it’s tough to beat the original cannabis edible: The homemade weed brownie.
Arguably as iconic as the pot leaf symbol, weed brownies are enshrined in cannabis legend. There’s a good case to be made that the medical marijuana movement throughout the 1980s and 90s took off in large part thanks to Brownie Mary, aka Mary Rathbun, the feisty San Franciscan who baked thousands of weed brownies for HIV/AIDS patients.
But as anyone who’s tried one knows, if you’re going to make infused brownies, there are many ways to do it, but not all of them pan out. If it’s your first time making them, or you just need a quick refresh, you’re in the right place! Explore our foolproof weed brownie recipe, infusion options, tasty ingredients, and so much more.
Ready to get baked…er, baking? Let’s roll!
Why Fat Matters When Making Weed Brownies
What makes cannabis brownies so special? The obvious answer is “the cannabis!” but it’s not as simple as adding some flower to your brownie batter. To infuse homemade brownies or other edibles with the psychoactive THC, you’ll need fat to extract it since cannabinoids such as THC and CBD—the “major active ingredients” in weed—aren’t water-soluble. Popular fats for cooking and baking include:
- Butter or ghee
- Vegetable oil
- Olive oil
- Coconut oil
Coconut oil, in particular, is an excellent choice since it absorbs THC well and imparts a lightly sweet yet rich taste to homemade goodies. To make an infused cannabutter or cannaoil for your weed brownies, the THC needs to be decarboxylated first—it sounds complicated, but it really isn’t.
Decarboxylation is simply the process of exposing the cannabinoid to enough heat that the inactive THCA changes to active THC. In fact, you decarboxylate your cannabis every time you put a lighter to a joint or a bowl. For your infused eats, you can follow our step-by-step recipe for cannabutter to ensure you’re decarboxylating properly and getting the best experience possible.
More Infusion Options
Don’t want to use an infused fat in your weed brownies? No problem! There are plenty of options on the market that you can use to boost your homemade treats. Today, some cannabis brands offer adventurous cooks infused sugar, so if you want an extra-powerful batch of cannabis brownies, using both cannabutter and cannasugar will increase your dosage and supercharge your edibles!
If you live in a legal cannabis state, you can also use a semi-liquid concentrate, extract, or tincture to infuse THC into your brownies. Just make sure the extract has already been decarboxylated—ask your friendly budtender if you’re unsure. If it hasn’t, you’ll need to do that yourself.
How Much Cannabis is Needed for Infused Brownies?
The amount of cannabis you need to make weed brownies will depend on your desired potency, but the general rule of thumb is that you can use the same ratio of cannabis for either oil or butter. For example, for more potent brownies, consider using one ounce of cannabis per pound of oil or butter. For less potent treats, you can start with a quarter to half an ounce of cannabis per pound.
What Ingredients Do You Need to Make Weed Brownies?
Aside from the classic ingredients of a standard homemade brownie, the sky’s the limit for any tasty additions you’d want to add to your batch of weed brownies, including nuts, chocolate chips, caramel, coarse salt, and more.
The recipe we share is for a standard non-vegan and non-gluten-free weed brownie. If you’d like to alter this in any way, you can source egg, butter, and wheat flour substitutes as you see fit, but don’t omit any of them. Otherwise, your cannabis brownies may turn out dry and disappointing.
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter, cannabutter, or infused coconut oil
- 1 cup sugar or cannasugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ cup flour
- Optional toppings or additions
If you’re unsure of the potency of your cannabutter, consider using half cannabutter and half butter or oil the first time around so as not to end up with an overwhelmingly potent batch. You can slowly increase the cannabutter amount until you find a potency that works best for you.
Homemade Weed Brownies: Step-by-Step Recipe
Once you’ve gathered all the ingredients above, you’re ready to get baking! And don’t worry, you’ve got this—read the recipe from start to finish before diving in, and maybe hold off enjoying too much cannabis until your brownies are safely in the oven.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and allow the cannabutter or oil to reach room temperature
- In a large bowl, mix all the dry ingredients
- In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the butter or oil with the eggs until well combined, then add vanilla extract to the wet mixture
- Combine the wet and dry ingredients, including add-ons like chocolate chips. Mix until just combined, don’t over mix!
- Pour the mixture into a baking pan, then add your optional toppings
- Bake for 30 minutes. For softer, chewier brownies, bake for 25 minutes
- Allow the brownies to cool for at least 10 minutes and enjoy or freeze within seven days
Voila! You’ve just made a fresh batch of delicious weed brownies.
Shop Infused Brownies and Other Tasty Treats at Mission
Making your own homemade weed brownies can be a tasty accomplishment, but if it’s your first time trying cannabis edibles or baking them yourself, remember to start low and go slow. Infused edibles can take up to 90 minutes to take effect, so it’s best to eat a small portion, wait, and then reassess after a couple of hours if you aren’t feeling any effects.
Don’t want to go through the process of making your own edibles? We’ve got your back! Head to your nearest Mission dispensary and browse an extensive selection of mouthwatering, infused eats, including gummies, chocolates, brownies, infused drinks, and more!
Want to learn more about the fun and easy ways to integrate cannabis into your everyday lifestyle? Visit our cannabis blog, where you’ll find in-depth guides on topics like how to smoke a pre-roll, as well as numerous strain guides and other helpful information. Or, stop by your nearest location and ask any of our knowledgeable budtenders—we can’t wait to see you!
