Blondies instead of brownies?
Flameon, the only problem with using clarified butter in a recipe that calls for the normal stuff, is that you'll add WAY too much oil and not enough water (since butter contains some water and proteins and is not 100% oil)
The best way to cook with cannabis is to first select a recipe that calls for oil. Canola, corn, sunflower, olive, it doesn't matter. As long as the recipe itself calls for straight up oil. Unfortunately this limits you a bit, as most (bad for you) baked treats involve butter. Box-mix of brownies calls for oil, which is why brownies are perfect to go hand-in-hand with cannabis :)
Once you have your oil-based recipe, you want to put about 2 cups of water into a medium pot (giggle), and float on top of that the exact amount of oil you need in the recipe. Bring to a boil and add your finely ground cannabis. Cover and let simmer for a couple hours, stirring occasionally and adding water if the level ever gets low. Notice that the oil turns green, while the water turns brown. This is a GOOD THING. The boiling water is essentially 'bong water' if you'll excuse the term, so we want to get rid of it. Using a turkey baster, carefully extract the water from underneath the oil layer. It's OK to leave a little water behind in the interest of keeping all the oil. Once you've removed the water, you should have exactly enough oil to add to your recipe, and it probably has a lot of extracted plant material floating in it. Personally I think it adds to the texture of the product (if you grind it fine enough and boil for ~5 hours, it has a pleasant toothsomeness, and the water took out all the nasty flavours), so I just add the oil plus plant matter to the brownies. Follow the instructions on the box (1 egg, etc), but bake at around 30-50° lower than recommended (like, 275 instead of 325) to limit the vaporization of THC. Check frequently while baking so you don't over-bake it, remember that brownies look underdone when they are ready.
Eat on an empty stomach for full effect, and enjoy! My recipe doesn't add extra salt like cannabutter does, and the brownie texture with a small amount of plant matter is absolutely delicious if you throw in some walnuts and choc chips to supplement the recipe a little. If you use enough weed, it's not too bad for you, because a single brownie (of a dozen batch) should get you flying out of your mind. Honestly, weed goes incredibly well with boxed brownie mix. It's a match made in culinary stoner heaven ;) My suggestion is to save the scratch-made treats for non-cannabis use, because it's nearly impossible to actually make a suitable THC-impregnated butter replacement, only oil.
If you're really set on adding THC to something that doesn't call for oil, or must be heated above 300°F, I suggest making 10x strength cannabis oil. That is, boil more weed with less oil, so you end up with like 1/4 cup of ultra-high-potency oil. Then you can just add a tablespoon to whatever food you want. You could even put it in a dispenser bottle and take it to a restaurant and add a splash to your meal!
Blondies instead of brownies?
Quote:
Originally Posted by greenmeanie
Flameon, the only problem with using clarified butter in a recipe that calls for the normal stuff, is that you'll add WAY too much oil and not enough water (since butter contains some water and proteins and is not 100% oil)
Greenmeanie, you make a valid point.
Just to clarify though, the reason I'm advocating Ghee/clarified butter in this case is simply because it's a far better THC extraction medium than simply using just butter.
For a recipe of this type (and indeed for the majority of cannabis cooking recipes), you should extract the THC First, then add the rest of the ingredients as directed.
For this recipe (as you say) 8tbsp of pure ghee would (perhaps) make it a little too fatty, so bearing in mind that the water content of regular butter is around 15% I'd be inclined to make the equivalent of 7tbsps of cannabutter using ghee first, then simply add 1 tbsp of water to the recipe during the mixing stage to keep the ratios the same.
Blondies instead of brownies?
Greenmeanie
Excellent oil based recipe, and good advice by the way!
There's a couple of things you could do though to further increase the yield and strength of your oil and brownies however,
Quote:
Originally Posted by greenmeanie
The best way to cook with cannabis is to first select a recipe that calls for oil. Canola, corn, sunflower, olive, it doesn't matter. As long as the recipe itself calls for straight up oil.
This is not entirely accurate, as the type of 'fat' used does have a bearing on the strength of the 'baked' goods.
Without getting too technical, the way the human body breaks down and absorbs certain fats differs slightly depending on the type of fat in question.
For example:
Polyunsaturated fats, Monounsaturated fats, Saturated fats & Hydrogenated oils are all processed and metabolized in subtly different ways.
Sadly, saturated fats (the least healthy) generally made from animal products (butter etc) are reported to make the best conductors of THC, whereas canola oil, olive etc are predominately Monounsaturated Fats (still good, but not quite as efficient).
It's a minor point however, and probably wouldn't make too much of a difference.
One thing that would, however, is using a 'double broiler' or 'crock pot' (as they're known in America) when preparing your canna-oil.
The use of a lid firstly removes the need to top up with additional water during the extraction process, but far more importantly, the condensate runs back into the pot, removing (or at least greatly reducing) the loss of any THC due to evaporation/vaporization.
I'd be interested in hearing any other recipes you'd recommend (I absolutely agree with your comments about brownies being a 'match made in culinary stoner heaven').
I'm cooking this afternoon as it happens, by special request, my legendary '8 hour long haul flight' chili-con-canna. It's going to be a great weekend.
Cheers :thumbsup: Flameon
Blondies instead of brownies?
Quote:
Originally Posted by nurse maryjane
Ha!! Nobody responded so we bong'd it up for the fight and attempted firecrackers last night...my fiance had some sort of auditory hallucination (he ate most of them) and I just got a really good buzz....I really didn't like the taste of the nutella, even after adding some pnut butter to it, so I only ate about 3/4 of a cookie. And I think next time I'll grind the weed to powder. Even well ground I didn't like the feeling of tiny buds getting stuck in the back of my throat.
Pulverize the buds in a coffee grinder that is used to grind beans, be sure to get all the precious trichomes out of the grinder, and I do recommend brownies as they complement the green taste better than most anything I've tried to date...
Blondies instead of brownies?
Flameon: I've been experimenting a little recently regarding the saturated vs. unsaturated oils, and I've got some personal experience that backs up everything you said :)
Last weekend I ate a single slice of pizza for dinner, and to finish the meal off I dipped the crust in olive oil spiked with about 1.5g of bud, via the double-boil method. This was at 6PM.
T+1 hour: I was not starting to feel anything, but I wanted to see exactly where it would take me, so I did not join my brother & friends in the smoke session.
T+2 hours: Still not feeling anything, decide to have a drink with everyone else. I had about 2 shots worth, for a minor buzz but nothing crazy. Also had an energy drink.
T+4 hours: Sobered back up from the scotch, and noticed I was starting to come up on the weed high. It was just barely noticeable at first, and 99% body. By the time the alcohol wore off, I was almost completely clear-headed, not giggly.
T+6 hours: Body high starting to plateau into a full-on skin-tingly buzz. Heady high starting to kick in. Shared a cigar to celebrate the end of Ramadan with our Turkish friend.
T+8 hours: Still high and energetic, with no indication of slowing down.
T+10 hours: My mind started to get tired around 4AM, but my body was still stoned out of its skin. I don't enjoy going to bed high, as the skin-tingling effects make it difficult for me to stop tossing and turning. But being ticklish is sometimes fun ;p
T+16 hours: I woke up at 10AM, still about a 6 on a scale of 10 regarding the body high. Mind was totally clear and alert. The gradual comedown left me with a really good Saturday afternoon and evening smoking with friends.
So I think I'm going to have to get some high-saturated coconut oil for my next batch, and see how quickly that hits me :)
Blondies instead of brownies?
Quote:
Originally Posted by greenmeanie
I think I'm going to have to get some high-saturated coconut oil for my next batch, and see how quickly that hits me :)
Hi again Greenmeanie how's it going?
I'm with you totally on the Coconut oil, it really is the way to fly! Especially when used in desserts or sweets (coconut macaroons anyone?) it's generally around 92% saturated fat so really gets that THC into the bloodstream efficiently.
A gram and a half to two grams of decent, finely ground bud mixed with a tablespoon of coconut oil (15 grams) is good for around four doses/portions of highly potent 'rocket fuel' (when simmered in a slow cooker for a couple of hours)!
Expect an intense body high of 7 to 9 hours each (my experience is they'll 'kick in' in around an hour and a half after eating).
I also recommend mixing it with Thai found (the coconut flavour works great!), if you try the ghee (clarified butter) you can stir in anything from Indian, Mexican or even a tin of beans if your feeling lazy!
I just add it to the slow cooker after I've simmered the bud and allow it to gently heat for another 30 minutes. Job done, no effort!
