Get Baked with High Femme: Cannabutter

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Homoganjas, I think most of us can agree that there is a substance more life-affirming, more satisfying, and more delicious than marijuana. That substance is butter. Spread on whole wheat toast, baked into a cupcake, or sautéed into a filet mignon, there are few things in this world as decadent or tasty as butter (with the exception of Nutella, which is basically hazelnut butter why are we kidding ourselves). Today, we are going to talk about the joyful union of marijuana and butter, to create cannabutter!

You KNOW Meryl would have preferred cannabutter!

You KNOW Meryl would have preferred cannabutter!

Cannabutter aka marijuana butter aka budder aka magic butter aka breakfast, lunch and dinner, is butter that has been infused with cannabinoids, the chemicals unique to cannabis that offer psychoactive effects (THC is one of these chemicals). Since cannabinoids are fat-soluble, they are best mixed with natural fats like butter and oil. So take a page out of Hannah Harto’s book and butter yo shit!

This recipe is from The Stoner’s Cookbook:

Things You’ll Need:

1 lb. of butter
1 oz. of ground weed*
Cheesecloth

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*IMPORTANT: Depending on your tolerance and the potency of your weed, you may lower or raise the amount you use. I always advocate a more conservative amount of weed, as you can always eat more to get higher. Being too high on edibles is very unpleasant and can make you sick. It’s not a good time.

1. Melt the butter in a sauce pan until it is simmering. When melting butter, ALWAYS keep an eye on it and keep stirring to avoid it burning.

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2. Add in the weed and mix with the butter. Let it simmer on low heat for 45 minutes to an hour. Stir frequently! The more butter you are making, the longer you let it simmer. The butter should reach a dark green, sometimes brownish color.

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3. While the butter is cooking, place your cheesecloth over a plastic or glass container of your choice. You can secure it with rubber bands or little alligator clips, like I do. Are you still stirring the butter? Keep stirring!

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4. Once the butter is finished cooking, pour it over the cheesecloth and let it strain. Make sure to get all the liquid out of the cooked weed.

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5. Chill the butter over night. It will naturally separate into canabutter and water. Just pour out the water, and you’ve got your cannabutter solidified and ready to go!

6. Substitute your cannabutter for regular butter in your preferred baked goods recipe and go to town! Just remember to eat small servings of whatever you make and give it at least 30-45 minutes to kick in before you go for the second cookie/slice/brownie.

Now the final question, of course, is what are y’all baking? Share your favorite edibles recipes below!


In High Femme, we talk about anything and everything Marijuana related, from legalization to pop culture to how to make your own bong using a box of Diva cups and a broken lamp. Whether you’re a newbie who doesn’t know a blunt from a joint, or you’re planning your gay dream wedding to Mary Jane, this column is for you. Puff, Puff, Pass.

Header by Rory Midhani

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Chelsea

Chelsea Steiner was born and raised in New Orleans, which explains her affinity for cheesy grits and Britney Spears. She currently resides in sunny Los Angeles, where she works as a screenwriter/blogger/sex educator. She's the writer/director of Thank You Come Again, a queer sex positive web series based on her experiences working the Pleasure Chest, which you can follow on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. She’s obsessed with dachshunds, Buffy, 90's dance parties, and roller derby. She loves the word "Jewess" and wishes more people used it to describe her. Follow her ramblings on Twitter and her cute puppy pics on Instagram.

Chelsea has written 46 articles for us.

22 Comments

  1. I usually don’t even strain the cannabutter before putting into a tupperware. If you add about a half a cup of water to the butter and weed while it’s all simmering together it separates perfectly when sitting overnight! The weed (and stems and sticks, best use for them EVER) don’t float up with the nice green butter on top. Plus the THC sits in the substance longer, making the best use of the weed you’re using! <3

    I recently made the most delicious peanut butter cookies for a friend who had her tonsils out and couldn't smoke. Lemme tell you, those puppies warmed up in the microwave with ice cream…aw yeay

  2. It’s not edible per-say, but I enjoy a green dragon drink every once in a while, great for camping. I like to use Everclear(or 151 base liquor), and then add a little flavored high proof European alcohol(I like absinthe cause it doesn’t cause it gives me a more activeness).

  3. I made weed baklava once and it was tremendous. And you don’t have to let the butter solidify because baklava uses melted butter anyway! You also might want to go for just mids or a lower proportion because baklava uses a LOT of butter (about a pound for a 9×13 pan!) and cut it into very small pieces. I liked it because the weed taste was very subtle and played well with the nuts and honey. Also because it got me incredibly high while being delicious. (I make amazing baklava to begin with, you guys. Not to be Miss Braggy Pants but my Greek friend taught me her grandma’s recipe, and I got compliments from a professional pastry chef! I mean. I use frozen dough because I’m not Martha Stewart, but still) (Come to my house we can make weed baklava) (or if you’re like my ex you can watch me make weed baklava while smoking out of an apple) (you do you)

    • Oh my GOD that sounds amazing. And I mean, I don’t even do anything pot related, not for any good reason, just a lack of interest (exacerbated by a series of ex-friends who did not in any way respect that). But that sounds AMAZING.

      But one of my favorite games with my stoner, pastry-school-grad ex roomie was thinking up amazing edibles, and I am both stunned that we never considered baklava and also extremely intrigued by the idea.

  4. When I was visiting my best friend in California we made weed fruity pebble treats and weed apple pies, they were so good.

  5. Whenever I have had edibles, they were made with mids because a) way cheaper and b) in my experience you get nice and stoney but not sick. Also, I’ve heard about using a crock pot set on low to make large quantities…anyone have any experience with that??

    • I’ve read the same thing about using a crock pot, but never tried it myself. I am told it works well though.

    • Hi,I made chocolates in the crock pot by heating condensed milk with weed in a mason jar,strain the weed out,add in grated/ chopped chocolate then leave to firm up in the fridge/ freezer. Hand roll,roll in chocolate…..jobs a good un!!!

  6. Vegan apple walnut ganja pie, with the crust so flaky and full of dank green coconut oil (good for all the things!). Ladies, if you find yourself engaging in the oh so sexual activity of (minimally clothed) ganja pie making with me, I probably really dig you, because this, this may just be the best baked good our tongues will ever behold.

    Combine 1.5c organic, unbleached (because we love our bodies) flour and .5c or more ganja coconut oil for supremely high flakiness. Add 4-7tbsp of the iciest of waters, adding one at a time and keeping the dough cold as you passionately knead away, giving it the level of dedication and attention as you would running your fingers over the small of her back.

    Make sure you’re going local to collect those apples and walnuts, so as to impress the environmentally conscious types. This is when you get your hands dirty ladies, and where the minimal clothes thing comes in handy.

    Chop them apples fine. With haphazard fervor, throw in some cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, the juices of a little lemon and no sugar, so as to remind yourselves of the natural goodness of fruit. Daydream about which fruit she tastes like. Passionately run your fingers through the mixture, paying attention to the crisp but somehow soft texture working itself between your fingers, and remember to look at her in the eyes so she knows this is how you feel about her. Gently put samples into each other’s mouths, or (my preferred method) just throw them at her. Before you get carried away, make sure you slowly pour that mix into your ganja pie crust and top with loads of crushed in your hand walnuts, at which time you will get the chance to show off some of your hand and forearm muscles. Make sure she sees what your fingers are capable of, because crushing walnuts ain’t easy ladies. Before you two get carried away, throw that bad boy in the oven at 350 for 45mins. Leftovers must only be eaten off each others bodies. Enjoy!

  7. YES, YES, YAASS! Perfect methodology behind making cannabutter! When I used to bake, I proportioned the amount of butter to herbs in order to make smaller batches. For instance, use 1/8 of an ounce to two sticks of butter instead of an entire ounce to one pound of butter. If you’ve got the extra, then by all mean, make wicked strong edibles, but if you’re low on funds, or herbs, make it in small batches. Using the eighth to two sticks method will make a whole cake or a couple dozen cookies.

  8. I know people complain about using water but seriously, add water to your butter and you won’t have such a worry with burning the butter or the bud. It works good with coconut oil too, plus it doubles as a skin cream so dropping it on you or getting it on your hands/face, makes it usable instead of wasted. I prefer coconut oil for sure, and now that I’ve used water, I won’t go back.

    Another thing, the last batch I made I used tea bags. We emptied the tea out, filled them with our buds/chopped trim, used the tea bag strings to tie them shut. When it’s done, remove it from the heat and drain the bags with a strainer/spoon or let it cool enough to squeeze the bags out. Put it in the fridge. The next day, cut a piece of oil/butter out and turn the pan over to drain the nasty water out. If you aren’t going to use it soon, turn the butter/oil over to let the wetness on the bottom evaporate (so you don’t get mold) or freeze it.

    This process leaves you with thc infused coconut oil, tea bags with spent bud, water with the filtered nastiness, all separate.

    By not using water, you are essentially leaving all of the waste/chemicals in your butter (basically adding bong water to butter). Using water filters these out. The water filtering makes it taste much better.

    If you want to freeze it – you can reheat the solid butter/oil to make it liquid. Pour the liquid into an ice tray. My icetray has 1oz cubes so I can put my oil in it and when it gardens, I have a bunch of 1oz servings of butter. Pop the frozen ones into a zip lock bag for anytime use.

    I also suggest using the same pot or pan everyone, as eventually the smell seems to be attached. Don’t use a cast iron pan.

    Use a thermometer during cooking to be sure of the temp not reaching high enough to cook off thc. I keep mine around 210°.

    Oh and by using tea bags or making a sachet, you reduce the need to stir it so often. I just squeeze them with rubber tongs into the oil/water, when I check the temp. I also cover my pot to reduce smell but others say not to. It works fine for me.

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