Edibles may come in many shapes, sizes, and flavors at this time. However, there is still room for customization. When you learn how to make cannabis-infused chocolate, you can control the potency of your edibles and choose a flavor. You might be looking for a cannabis product that includes both CBD and THC, or you just want to enjoy weed in the shape of a dinosaur. Once you master the art of creating marijuana-laced chocolates at home, there’s no limit to what you can do.
Why cannabis chocolates
Because they require few ingredients or equipment, the process of cooking and baking chocolate edibles is fairly simple. The most difficult step to master is tempering the chocolate (which we’ll get to in a minute), but this can be overcome with a few tried-and-true techniques.
Compared to other homemade edibles that require perfectly even mixing to ensure dosing consistency, chocolates are nearly foolproof. When creating marijuana edibles at home, you need the cannabis tincture you love and the ability to read the dosing instructions on the bottle. If you’re adding cannabis to chocolate, measure the tincture amount for each piece rather than mixing a certain amount into your entire batch.
Like cannabis, cacao is a plant. But more shocking similarities exist between the two plants. Eating chocolate produces effects that resemble consuming cannabis – albeit much subtler. That’s because cacao beans produce anandamide, a compound similar to THC which interacts with the human brain, causing euphoric sensations. It should come as no surprise that chocolate and cannabis go so well together.
If you have never consumed edibles before or are not sure of the legal status of edibles in your state, this is not the guide for you. Read more about trying edibles for the first time and your state’s marijuana law before doing anything else.
A word on tempering
Making weed chocolates can be broken into two phases: tempering and cooking. Tempting chocolate may at first seem a difficult task, but it’s all about melting the chocolate evenly without overheating it. There is a lot of science behind this, including the crystal structure and specific temperatures. These are just highlights. Using a double boiler is not necessary because you can achieve perfectly tempered chocolate by using a plastic bowl and waiting.
What is the difference between untempered and tempered chocolate, and how can you tell if your chocolate has been tempered? After the chocolate hardens, it will have a glossy sheen and should snap when broken. When cooled, improperly tempered chocolate (or fake chocolate made with emulsifiers instead of cocoa butter) will lose its shine and may melt at room temperature. When considering the types of chocolate that are easiest to work with, dark chocolate is the best choice. Conversely, white chocolate melts and hardens more quickly than other varieties making it difficult for you to manage when experimenting with it.
How to make cannabis chocolate
To get started, you will need:
- Knife
- Cutting board
- Plastic bowl
- Microwave
- Spatula
- Spoon
- Oil spray or cannabutter
- Chocolate molds
- 9 ounces real, high-quality chocolate
- Cannabis tincture of your choice
Steps for the tempering phase:
- Finely chop the chocolate.
- Put your finely chopped chocolate in a plastic bowl.
- Heat the chocolate in the microwave for 30 seconds.
- Stir the chocolate thoroughly.
- Heat again for another 30 seconds.
- Stir thoroughly.
- Heat for 15 seconds.
- Stir thoroughly.
- Heat for 10 seconds.
- Stir thoroughly.
Once most of the chocolate is melted, stop the heat and continue to mix until it is all melted.
Steps for the candy-making phase:
- Spray your chocolate molds with oil or coat with cannabutter for added potency.
- Spoon the melted chocolate into the molds, filling them halfway.
- Add a few drops of tincture to each mold, dosing the same amount in each for consistency.
- Add nuts, dried fruits, or potato chips, the size of your molds allowing.
- Fill the rest of the molds with melted chocolate.
- Cool in the refrigerator for an hour.
- Pop the chocolates out of the molds.
- Enjoy!
- Storage tips
To store homemade cannabis chocolates properly and preserve the flavor and potency, keep them in an airtight container. Keep your chocolates away from light so they don’t melt or spoil. Various fillings can extend the freshness of your chocolate for a few weeks or even more when stored properly.
Homemade cannabis chocolate easily
You can make marijuana-infused chocolate extremely easily. You just need a few basic supplies and ingredients, which you always have on hand since you’re a stoner.
Weed chocolate supplies:
- Double boiler pot or two stackable pans to make a double boiler
- Spatula or big spoon to stir
- Chocolate bar mold
- Parchment paper
- Baking sheet
Weed chocolate ingredients:
- Chocolate chips
- Cannabutter OR
- Cannabis
- Butter or coconut oil to infuse
Nuts, dried fruit, or other additions for the chocolate (optional)
Step 1. Make a small batch of cannabutter or cannabis-infused coconut oil
If you already have cannabutter on hand, go ahead and skip this step. If not, we’ll show you how to make a small batch that won’t leave you with too much cannabutter.
Step 2. Melt the chocolate using a double boiler
If you have a double boiler, set it up to gently melt the chocolate. If not, don’t worry – you can also use a microwave, but be careful!
Fill two saucepans so that the bottom one has a few inches of water. To assemble the pot, place the top pot on its base and ensuring that it will not touch the water.
Bring the stovetop to medium-high heat then add two cups of chocolate chips to the top saucepan. Mix the chocolate frequently while melting to prevent burning. When almost all of the chocolate is melted, add in 1 ½ tbsp of cannabis-infused oil or butter and stir it well into the mix.
Step 3. Pour into molds
Once you’ve melted the chocolate chips and cannabutter, pour it into your molds. Adding nuts, fruit, or anything else to your melted chocolate will make it more difficult to pour into molds.
Leave the chocolates to cool in the molds at room temperature for 2 hours.
Now that you know how to make homemade Valentine’s Day gifts, your friends (and the ones you love) will be impressed by what you made. You didn’t buy these from a store—you made them!
Final tips for making homemade cannabis chocolates
Doses will vary depending on your preference. If you already have cannabutter or infused coconut oil prepared, the amount of cannabis that is already in the mixture will determine how much additional cannabis to add.
If you make your own infused oil or butter, you can customize it to the taste and potency of cannabis. One gram of cannabis is typically equivalent to 100 milligrams of THC – but how much THC your bud contains might vary depending on the strain.
If you make chocolate with one gram of cannabis, your chocolates will have 100 mg of THC. If you fill 10 molds with chocolate, each piece will contain ten milligrams of THC; if you fill 20 molds the pieces would each have five milligrams per square.
These chocolates are fairly easy to make, but you need to prevent the ingredients from getting too hot to avoid burning them. If you have butter or other alternatives on hand, and chocolate chips besides, it will just take a visit to a pot shop for some bud.