Xlr8's Magic Brownies - Step by Step - With Pictures!

[Hiker]

I used coconut oil as well, so my "oil" is really a solid atm (stored in fridge).
I haven't even begun to look into other edibles. I don't really have a sweet tooth in general, so I might look to use it in other food dishes. I've been wanting to experiment with home made energy bars for hiking, maybe I could use the oil in those. What a great trail snack!

I always thought I needed to keep it under 200F. Now I'm realizing it's probably safe up to 275F. I'll be looking for low temp recipes for sure. I bet I can get a LOT of ideas from the raw food folks. They don't let anything hit 200F either and use coconut oil all the time.

Thanks for all the advise. I'll be sure to post the results of anymore experiments.

 

[Xlr8]

I used coconut oil as well, so my "oil" is really a solid atm (stored in fridge).
I haven't even begun to look into other edibles. I don't really have a sweet tooth in general, so I might look to use it in other food dishes. I've been wanting to experiment with home made energy bars for hiking, maybe I could use the oil in those. What a great trail snack!

I always thought I needed to keep it under 200F. Now I'm realizing it's probably safe up to 275F. I'll be looking for low temp recipes for sure. I bet I can get a LOT of ideas from the raw food folks. They don't let anything hit 200F either and use coconut oil all the time.

Thanks for all the advise. I'll be sure to post the results of anymore experiments.

Hi Hiker - no prob!

For drying/decarbing, under 210f. For infusing it into the oil, you want to keep it between 180-200f ideally. But in baking the final product with your infused oil you should be good to 325f (optimum) or at most 350f (still good typically). I think all the guidelines are in the initial recipe, but those are the important temps for the different aspects/stages.

 

[Mrgivemethat]

Hey X, making brownies now, and was wondering after the decarb does the smell of the trim change alot and are you starting with fresh or dry trim? My decarbed trim doesnt smell like it did before the decarb? Help please

 

[Xlr8]

Hey X, making brownies now, and was wondering after the decarb does the smell of the trim change alot and are you starting with fresh or dry trim? My decarbed trim doesnt smell like it did before the decarb? Help please

It starts to smell a little like roasted nuts (to me) when you decarb. Yes, the smell changes as it thoroughly dries.

I use dry material to begin with and always have so far, so I can't speak much for starting from wet... beyond best guesses.

After harvest, I put my trim leaves in paper bags to dry, giving the bag a shake once or twice a day until it's dry. If I don't use it right away, i store it in large containers until I want to use it. I check/burp them when I do my bud from the same harvest.

If you started from dry like I do, it should work fine if you are sticking to the process.

Hope it turns out great for you!

 

[erysichthon]

Brilliant post, tons of info i was looking for here. first post here too.

I have been making cannabutter brownies with mixed successes. slow cooking the butter double boiler style low and slow for 5-6 hours, mason jar in a boiler, not decarbing. using about 5g shake and 5g bud per stick of butter minimum. I recently invested in a corded probe digital thermometer so now i can monitor the temps with total accuracy.

Either i will use your oils method for my next batch, or i will use your decarb and lecithin method and combine it with my butter method. either way this tread was very informative, i will post my results either way after i score some lecithin Monday.

thanks,

Ery

 

[Xlr8]

Awesome, will be cool to hear how things turn out. Thank you for the great feedback. I think you'll find that the lecithin and decarbing make a huge difference. Oh, and welcome to 420magazine, Ery!

Brilliant post, tons of info i was looking for here. first post here too.

I have been making cannabutter brownies with mixed successes. slow cooking the butter double boiler style low and slow for 5-6 hours, mason jar in a boiler, not decarbing. using about 5g shake and 5g bud per stick of butter minimum. I recently invested in a corded probe digital thermometer so now i can monitor the temps with total accuracy.

Either i will use your oils method for my next batch, or i will use your decarb and lecithin method and combine it with my butter method. either way this tread was very informative, i will post my results either way after i score some lecithin Monday.

thanks,

Ery

 

[Hiker]

Xlr8, your post reminded me I wanted to ask about the decarbing. Wouldn't the same effect be achieved during cooking? Or is this step to aid in a better extraction from the plant matter?

I did try the lecithin, but I don't have enough edible experience to know how much of an impact it made. I'll have to run 2 batches as an experiment.

 

[Xlr8]

Decarbing essentially ensures that all the THC is available and activated before you make your oil/butter, which helps ensure maximum potency and absorption of the THC and various compounds. You can still get potent oil or butter without doing it, but it's a good way to maximize the effect.

Once decarbed, you could actually eat it raw (gross!) and get the full medicinal effect from it. When burned as in smoking it, it's all activated as part of the combustion and goes "up in smoke" that you inhale. But, it's not necessary to burn it to do this (hence vaporizers that heat it to just under combustion and activate it via vapor instantly, or decarbing).

Cannabis will decarb and activate the THC on it's own as it dries, so really dry bud that is devoid of moisture is already decarbed, and again, would get you "high" if you ate it raw (again, gross!). That's in part why you see people debate over whether you can get high from "eating" your bud. The truth is, sometimes you can (if it's dry) and sometimes you can't (if it's still holding a fair amount of moisture and not crumbly dry). Of course, there's an in-between, too - hence people in those debates saying "I definitely felt something...".

I'm not really an expert on decarb'ing, but scoured the web for people and information who knew more about it than me - some of the information comes from people very respected for their knowledge in this regard, and people who make edibles for dispensaries, etc. Same with the soy lecithin. Once I tried incorporating these two things, compared to previous batches without doing so, I was stunned by the difference. I'd done pretty much all else the same aside from these two things, so the difference was easy to pinpoint. After a lot of trial and error, starting with my first batch that was so weak it was a terrible waste of herb, I wanted to share the things I learned the hard way... and through a lot of reading/asking questions!

What does soy lecithin do? For one, it's an emulsifier, which helps your body absorb the oil and it's ingredients much more effectively. It's used a lot in cooking, typically to make things like chocoloate taste more... chocolatey. It has healthy properties, too, and generally should be good for you. It should also make the brownies taste better for the above mentioned reason. It's one of the top 10 additives in processed foods, incidentally, so most people probably are exposed to it in their foods fairly frequently.

Again, I'm not an expert on these things, just trying to share some things I've learned that clearly have worked and made a difference.

 

[Xlr8]

Re: Xlr8's Magic Brownies - Step by Step... with Pictures!

Replied in your thread, but also re-reference the beginning of this thread for key notes on temps, and grinding/drying/decarbing. Good luck!!

 

[sfttailpaul]

Decarbing essentially ensures that all the THC is available and activated before you make your oil/butter, which helps ensure maximum potency and absorption of the THC and various compounds. You can still get potent oil or butter without doing it, but it's a good way to maximize the effect.

Once decarbed, you could actually eat it raw (gross!) and get the full medicinal effect from it. When burned as in smoking it, it's all activated as part of the combustion and goes "up in smoke" that you inhale. But, it's not necessary to burn it to do this (hence vaporizers that heat it to just under combustion and activate it via vapor instantly, or decarbing).

Cannabis will decarb and activate the THC on it's own as it dries, so really dry bud that is devoid of moisture is already decarbed, and again, would get you "high" if you ate it raw (again, gross!). That's in part why you see people debate over whether you can get high from "eating" your bud. The truth is, sometimes you can (if it's dry) and sometimes you can't (if it's still holding a fair amount of moisture and not crumbly dry). Of course, there's an in-between, too - hence people in those debates saying "I definitely felt something...".

I'm not really an expert on decarb'ing, but scoured the web for people and information who knew more about it than me - some of the information comes from people very respected for their knowledge in this regard, and people who make edibles for dispensaries, etc. Same with the soy lecithin. Once I tried incorporating these two things, compared to previous batches without doing so, I was stunned by the difference. I'd done pretty much all else the same aside from these two things, so the difference was easy to pinpoint. After a lot of trial and error, starting with my first batch that was so weak it was a terrible waste of herb, I wanted to share the things I learned the hard way... and through a lot of reading/asking questions!

What does soy lecithin do? For one, it's an emulsifier, which helps your body absorb the oil and it's ingredients much more effectively. It's used a lot in cooking, typically to make things like chocoloate taste more... chocolatey. It has healthy properties, too, and generally should be good for you. It should also make the brownies taste better for the above mentioned reason. It's one of the top 10 additives in processed foods, incidentally, so most people probably are exposed to it in their foods fairly frequently.

Again, I'm not an expert on these things, just trying to share some things I've learned that clearly have worked and made a difference.

Back around 1995-6 I was eating Cannabis daily. I would take an oz. of buds and break apart then into a wok at a low temp. constantly morning the material around until tiny "whisps" of smoke appeared. Nothing fancy. Then I ground it up into a fine powder and kept it in a light & moisture proof container. I would take a tablespoon in the morning, toss into my mouth (yes very gross) and chase it with some water or OJ. I would get blasted around an hour later. The body and head high would last me most of the day. Very, very effective for an uplifting and painless day...
It was actually cheaper this way over the conventional joint in the morning with coffee that would only last a few hours.

 

[HonkNation]

Great thread here, and sincere thanks to Xlr8 for creating this wonderful thread here - FINALLY able to make some edibles that work!

A couple of questions if I could lend your feedback or suggestions, etc.:

1) RE: 'decarbing': when placing the ground bud in the oven bag and then heating, I notice that the mist/vapours (when up to temp) appear (much like using a vaporizer with oven bags, Volcano, etc.) in this process. As such, 2 questions:
A) you had indicated to fold-over the open bag end, to help seal it.. the first time I tried this (just folding over), the bag slowly unfolded as the vapours pushed the bag open, and ultimately escaped within the oven; I consequently used duct tape the next time, to totally seal the bag to prevent this (kept enough expansion room prior to sealing, via the fold-over so when heated, it would not 'pop'.) --- IS THIS SOMETHING YOU'D ENDORSE? - OR DOES THE VAPOURS ESCAPING NOT MEAN ANYTHING?

B) since I've had experience vaping with oven bags, I know the vapours that appear (specifically: during this baking 'decarbing' process) are the good stuff, so the question is: WHEN THE VAPOURS ARE CREATED IN THE BAG, DO THEY ULTIMATELY NOT FIND THEIR WAY BACK INTO THE BUDS? - IS THIS LOST THC?

C) this this decarbing process really just to get the THC released from buds, so they can be infused into the oil?

2) a friend of mind has some keif (which he harvested via cold air extraction), which I understand are the THC crystals. (I used to make 'fire crackers' with this stuff, but the taste.. yeeshh.) the question I have is: IF I WISH TO USE KEIF FOR BAKING WITHIN THIS METHOD: DO YOU THINK I'D NEED TO 'DECARB' THE KEIF?

Thank you so much!

The Honk.

 

[Xlr8]

Great thread here, and sincere thanks to Xlr8 for creating this wonderful thread here - FINALLY able to make some edibles that work!

A couple of questions if I could lend your feedback or suggestions, etc.:

1) RE: 'decarbing': when placing the ground bud in the oven bag and then heating, I notice that the mist/vapours (when up to temp) appear (much like using a vaporizer with oven bags, Volcano, etc.) in this process. As such, 2 questions:
A) you had indicated to fold-over the open bag end, to help seal it.. the first time I tried this (just folding over), the bag slowly unfolded as the vapours pushed the bag open, and ultimately escaped within the oven; I consequently used duct tape the next time, to totally seal the bag to prevent this (kept enough expansion room prior to sealing, via the fold-over so when heated, it would not 'pop'.) --- IS THIS SOMETHING YOU'D ENDORSE? - OR DOES THE VAPOURS ESCAPING NOT MEAN ANYTHING?

B) since I've had experience vaping with oven bags, I know the vapours that appear (specifically: during this baking 'decarbing' process) are the good stuff, so the question is: WHEN THE VAPOURS ARE CREATED IN THE BAG, DO THEY ULTIMATELY NOT FIND THEIR WAY BACK INTO THE BUDS? - IS THIS LOST THC?

C) this this decarbing process really just to get the THC released from buds, so they can be infused into the oil?

2) a friend of mind has some keif (which he harvested via cold air extraction), which I understand are the THC crystals. (I used to make 'fire crackers' with this stuff, but the taste.. yeeshh.) the question I have is: IF I WISH TO USE KEIF FOR BAKING WITHIN THIS METHOD: DO YOU THINK I'D NEED TO 'DECARB' THE KEIF?

Thank you so much!

The Honk.

Hey there Honk - thanks for the post, the compliments and the questions.

I'll do my best here...

1) and B) I try to keep the vapors in the bag, and I'm not sure how much difference it makes, truthfully. I have used tape to help it stay folded, though I didn't attempt to make it a perfect seal. I just used scotch tape, as we're not using really high temps here. The goal is to really just make it "dry" as this activates the THC in it. I don't know if it finds it's way back to the buds, but letting them bath in the vapor seems better to me than letting it escape into the oven. Temps are important, so try to not let them get too high as too much will vaporize away. 210f for about 20 minutes works well for me. I see some small amount of vapor, but I don't sweat it because they end up so danged potent anyway that it obviously didn't hurt things much.

C) Yes, basically - though I would say it like this: it activates the THC (and CBD) in the bud/herb material. Post #108 goes into a little more detail on this. I believe it helps ensure better potency when infused into the oil. It really does seem to make a significant difference.

2) If the kief is dry, then no. Sometimes if I want to really give my brownies a kick, I mix a little kief in with the oil. My kief is always dry, though. If it is fresher, then I'd decarb it just like you would with ground sugar leaf or bud via an oven bag, etc.

Did I miss anything? Give me a shout if I did - good luck!

X

 

[HonkNation]

LOL! - wow -- awesome - one stop shopping Q&A here, LOL... thank you very much sir. Absolutely didn't miss a thing my friend.. I very much appreciate your very detailed reply, thus the detail was assumed in my run-on questions to you above -- again, thank you very much!

Graciously and humbled,

The Honk.

 

[Xlr8]

Really glad if it was helpful, Honk.

LOL! - wow -- awesome - one stop shopping Q&A here, LOL... thank you very much sir. Absolutely didn't miss a thing my friend.. I very much appreciate your very detailed reply, thus the detail was assumed in my run-on questions to you above -- again, thank you very much!

Graciously and humbled,

The Honk.

 

[HonkNation]

Just an update to my post above, and only sharing as such, so I can possibly spare some other soul(s) from my mis-adventures.

I attempted to make some brownies over the weekend, using the keif ONLY. My keif is as dry as it comes, so per Xlr8's advice, I didn't decarb it first (makes sense now, since I was able to make fire crackers with the keif, didn't have to decarb that stuff first, and they were turbo-powered without decarbing, but very ungodly taste..); my keif is also very very fine in coarseness, almost like flour.. I used 3 well-rounded teaspoons of keif for a single-box batch of Duncan Heinz brownies (from which I calculated by guesstimating how much keif I used when making fire crackers back in the day) to about 1/2 cup of oil.

I simply did the 2hr 180-200 F double boil, with a combo of peanut and coconut oils, just as with bud, but only keif in this batch. It pretty much dissolves on contact with the oil, and surely dissolves fully once up to heat. All went well during the double boil, nice rich dark oil produced, etc. I did notice that the odour coming from the keif mix is about 10-20 times more pungent than when using bud -- but that was only through the small hole that my thermometer poked in the tin foil.

Upon time to make the batter/mix, I removed the tin foil from the double boiler, and was summoned to my knees upon removing the tin foil - it was like a speeding freight train to the nose.. the ganga pungent-ness almost knocked me over, and slightly initiated the gag reflex..

Was quite nervous now, considering how bad this stuff stunk at this phase -- on a whole other level the stink on this oil.. soldiered on with mixing the brownie batch, gaging the entire time. Enough so that my wife, 2 floors up, came storming down, ranting about the stink.. had to end up mixing and batching out on the exterior balcony.. Got my mix batched out in pans for baking and apart from the smell, had every intention of actually baking the mix, to see how bad it rendered after bake.. grabbed my bowl and spatula to head back into the kitchen, and the 5 year old in me, couldn't help but want to lick the leftover batter off the spatula, and thus did.. good thing I was close to the kitchen sink, as soon as I swallowed it (didn't dare breathe while swallowing, as I knew my olfactory cells in my schnoz wouldn't tolerate this stuff if they dare caught wind of what I was trying to ingest, as it came right back up, projectile vomiting style.. goodness.. didn't even have a millisecond to see if I could keep it down, as my body, said, thanks anyway, but NO THANKS.. there went my dins an hour prior..)

WOW.

Decided to see if it was a one-off, and if the shock to my body was now over, but as soon as put even just a tiny tiny dab to the tongue.. gag reflex initiated..

The raw mix batch went straight into the garbage.. impossible to eat.

So I don't know if this is simply the kind of keif I have, but upon this experience, reminds me of why I stopped making fire crackers with keif, as the taste is just so ungodly, they're almost impossible to eat... BUT: if you get them down, the strength of the keif is tremendous.. I used to eat fire crackers (micro-nibbles of a 2"x2" graham square cracker - would take 1/2 hour just to get one cracker down, with 1/4+ of teaspooon of keif, per cracker) and struggle with vomiting each and every time, even in very light doses of keif..)

A few times in the early experiences, when experimenting with the fire crackers, I used to hurl with them, if I make them too strong.. sometimes even if I was able to get it into my stomach, my body would force it back up; trust me, this is not my first rodeo with baking and all things that make one vomit.. I can swallow and keep down pretty much anything - would have been a Fear Factor champ @ bug and gross eating based contests..), but I must admit I fully and utterly had to fall on my knees when trying to swallow anything with keif involved..

Xlr8: you're probably correct and best in just adding a bit of keif to the bud mix..

BUT NOT TOO MUCH! LOL..

UPDATE: after the all-keif mix batch ended up in the trash, went back to bud-based baking right after, and there's NO COMPARISON.. the bud based oil was light in smell and taste, didn't stink, and probably about 1/2 potency vs. the keif, but at least you can get the stuff into your body..

SO: for any people inspired to try full keif baking, unless you've had your olfactory cells removed.. I find it highly improbable that one can get past the taste/smell involved and actually let it stay inside your body once ingested.

Too bad, as this keif's convienent medium (THC crystals) is perfect for baking, and is so VERY strong in potency, but unfortunately, the smell is married to it, and I don't think there's any 'masking' of the odour..

Unless anyone has had success in countering the 'death by ganga issue' as confirmed with 2 different cooking/baking attempts with keif - please do share, but I would only endorse execution tesitomy vs. theory, as mentioned above, this keif taste and smell is ON A WHOLE OTHER LEVEL..

LOL.. too bad, as I just purchased a few OZs of this keif, prior to the above.. LOL.. trial by fire

But at least we have Xlr8's PERFECTED baking guide here.. so my story on the weekend did have a happy ending.

PS: with your instructions and method, per source post on this thread, I am now batting 100% for edibles that work!!

Thank you!

 

[Mal459]

Re: Xlr8's Magic Brownies - Step by Step... with Pictures!

Man i'm pumped to try these out. First time making brownies gonna go to an amusement park all day then buzz under the stars concert night Heck yeah https://www.420magazine.com/community/styles/420style/smilies/rasta.gif

 

[HonkNation]

Dear Xlr8:

I thought I would ask you, to see if you've done, or others here might have tried:

Do you suspect or know if your process works with butter instead of oil? - am thinking the full spectrum process from decarbing, soy lecithin, double boil, etc..

I know this forum is packed with butter-based methods, but I spent many failed attempts at getting the butter based processes to work, including just straining the melted butter with cheese cloth, to using the water/fat separation method, etc. - my old attempts (before have found your thread) were about 1 in 5 attempts worked.

I suspect the decarbing, plus soy lecithin, plus double boil, but using butter vs. oil would still work?

Can anyone tesitify if they've tried and had success, simply by swapping out the oil with butter, per Xlr8's method?

If YES, this opens up much more baking products to be used for edibles that call for butter vs. oil..

Thank you!

And lastly, RE:

Man i'm pumped to try these out. First time making brownies gonna go to an amusement park all day then buzz under the stars concert night Heck yeah https://www.420magazine.com/community/styles/420style/smilies/rasta.gif

Yes, you bet - I must admit the duration of the edibles effect lasting hours and hours is clearly the best way for long term highs.. on average buzz lasts about 4 hrs, and starts to taper after 4hrs (gauging from when it actually starts to kick in, usually and hour to an hour and a half).

BUT: if you in areas/places that you CANNOT readily, conveinetly, nor legally fire up to smoke, just munch, and you're set.. and no one else is the wiser! - just beautiful really..

I parallel the high process with edibles munch like magic mushrooms or LSD.. a slow climb for the effects to kick in, and once kicked in, a nice and sustained high for at LEAST 2/3 hours of MAX effects, with a slow decline of the effects taking an hour or two. The entire high from start to finish on average for me is about 6 hours, and really even after 6hrs, I can't really say I'm sober, LOL.. or at least gauged by the ravenous munchies incurred, LOL

My personal methodology is: much edibles, then fire up a hit (smoke), and since smoking usually lasts an hour or so, essentially the edibles take over the smoking high and sustain it for 3-4 hours.. so really, it's almost like one joint lasts 5/6 hours.. just beautiful efficiency for the drug I love so much..

PLUS: at 40 years old, I've already smoked a lifetime of everything into me poor ol' lungs, so one spliff for a night (with edibles as well) vs. 10 joints (without edibles), clearly has HUGE health benefits.

For those never having eaten edibles, I would defintely try at least one edibles session WITHOUT smoking anything first or during, just so you're aware of how the process works, and what to expect..

And if you're a greedy THC fiend like myself, and want to get totally wasted, eat edibles, and smoke as you'd normally, puffing the entire time.. can't guarantee you won't get lost in your own house though, LOL..

Cheers,

The Honk.

 

[Xlr8]

Hi Honk - I haven't tried to do butter this way, just the oil - but there are some good butter methods on here. If you dig through this thread, I believe a couple of people have chimed in with some butter ideas, too.

If you (or anyone) want to make life a bit easier with edibles -- check out the Magical Butter machine (they are a sponsor here with a truly awesome product):

home | MagicalButter.com

This thing really rocks - it makes butters, oils, even tinctures... it even decarbs for you, and has a self cleaning function. Doc Bud did a great review on it here, and I can't wait to try it myself. I've been told it works great, and really takes the hassle out of things. For anyone who wants to do a lot with edibles - this thing is way-freakin'-cool... it even has glowing lights that bounce off the walls while it works!

Mal459 - Good luck, have fun, and be careful (don't eat too many brownies!)

 

[Hiker]

Hey Honk

I've made mine using butter and mostly following X's guidelines. I only like to use butter or coconut oil as they are both solids at room temperature. I use the water/oil extraction method though, so having the oil as a solid is a requirement with this method. They both have their pros and cons, but I have to say I think I prefer the results with butter. Most of the things I've made with the oils taste better with some butter anyway. My preference is entirely based on taste. For performance and usability, I prefer the coconut oil. Both seem to be about the same potency. Keep in mind I've only made a couple batches of each and did vary my techniques a little with each batch.

LOL X. That's good advice since I've found edibles give me strong munchie affects and it can be a bad thing when the only thing around to eat are more brownies.

 

[HonkNation]

Dear Xlr8, you totally ROCK my friend - I didn't even hesitate once you sent me the link to the magical butter site - ordered one within 2 minutes of browsing the site - anything that takes the hassle or reduces steps or workload for the needed medicine is welcome - even if a $200 gamble..

The unit is supposed to be here by early next week, so I'll make sure to munch up all my current brownies, to try a fresh batch with the magical butter device.

Question: I was reading on the magical butter site that some folks still suggest to decarb independently of the device, thus would be: standard oven-bag decard, and then put ingredients into device.. THOUGHTS? -- I somehow suspect that having the bud in liquid oil or butter medium, expecting this device decarb the green while wet won't quite work as good.. to me that almost seems as parallel to trying to bake (such as Xlr8's recipe here) without having done the dry oven-bag decarb step - as there seems to be some tesitomy even within this thread that for folks whom skipped the dry decarb step did get the 'magic' infused into the brownies.. What do you think?

Lastly, thanks for answering the butter inquiry Xlr8 -- you're so diligent on this forum!

Anyway, looks like I won't be able to bake with the magical butter device for a couple of weeks still, but as soon as I do, I'll report my findings.

Thanks again!

Cheers,

The Honk.