Infuse Your Holiday Treats!

While Santa and his reindeer entourage probably won't appreciate cannabis-infused treats, you should definitely consider one of these delicious holiday snacks!

Cooking with marijuana is reasonably straightforward. With a few easy modifications to classic recipes, you can infuse your cannabis into your holiday feasts.

Here are a few delicious-sounding goodies you can create this holiday season, along with a guide for prepping your cannabis for cooking.

Prepare Your Marijuana for Cooking

To experience the typical effects of cannabinoids found in marijuana, the compounds ought to be activated by decarboxylation. Decarboxylating means to heat-activate your marijuana to achieve a chemical transformation that "triggers" the cannabinoids. But, don't agonize — it's not complicated!

To decarboxylate your weed, you'll need:

• Finely ground marijuana flower

• A baking tray

• Parchment paper

Instructions:

1. Preheat your oven to 250 degrees F. Line your baking tray with parchment paper.

2. Layout your marijuana buds on the paper, spreading them out evenly.

3. Place the tray with the cannabis flower in the oven and bake for 30-45 minutes.

4. Remove the cannabis flower and allow it to cool.

5. Store your decarboxylated marijuana in an airtight container, like a glass Mason jar.

Once you've completed this process, your cannabis is ready to be converted. In most recipes, you'll use the decarboxylated cannabis by first infusing it into butter or oil. For an infusion, use a one-to-one ratio, one pound of butter to one ounce of cannabis.

Follow these step-by-step recipes for "cannabutter," "canna-oil" and cannabis tincture – each of which are substituted for alcohol in cannabis-infused recipes.

Once prepared, you can store them and replace them with butter or oil in most recipes.

Start baking some festive cannabis-infused holiday recipes

Apple cider by CannabisWiki

Enjoy this hot drink with warm spices and tartness for an ultimate armchair getaway.

What you'll need:

• 4 cups of apple cider

• 4 cinnamon sticks

• ½ of a thinly sliced fresh apple (seeds removed)

• ⅛ cup of brown sugar

• ¼ teaspoon of whole cloves

• 3 tablespoons of cannabis tincture (alcohol-based)

Add the apple cider into a crockpot or deep boiling pot. Stir in the cinnamon sticks, sliced apple and cloves. Warm the mixture through on medium-low heat. Mix your tincture and brown sugar in a small bowl. Bring your apple cider mixture to a boil, and then add your brown sugar, tincture mixture and stir until combined. Turn off the heat and serve warm.

Marijuana snowball Christmas cookies by Texas Weed Syndicate

Buttery shortbread-style cookies, reminiscent of Italian Wedding Cookies; prepare to fall in love.

What you'll need:

• ½ cup unsalted butter

• ½ cup cannabutter

• ½ cup powdered sugar

• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

• 2 ¼ cup all-purpose flour

• ¾ cup finely chopped nuts

• ¼ teaspoon salt

• powdered sugar for coating the cookies

Heat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Whip the cannabutter, regular butter, one-half cup of powdered sugar and vanilla in a medium bowl. Stir in the flour and nuts and mix until a firm dough is formed. Shape the dough into golf ball-sized pieces and place one inch from each other on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes and remove from the oven to let cool slightly. Finally, roll the cookies in powdered sugar and serve.

Cannabis peppermint bark by Las Vegas Cannabis Reviews

Chocolate. Candy canes. A touch of cannabis. What's not to love?

What you'll need:

• 12 oz white chocolate

• 6 oz semi-sweet chocolate

• 3 crushed candy canes

• ½ teaspoon of peppermint extract

• 4 tablespoons of canna-oil

Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Fill a medium saucepan halfway with water and bring to a low boil. Place a medium to large metal bowl over the saucepan to create a double-boiler. Melt the white chocolate in the metal bowl until smooth. Add the canna-oil and peppermint extract to the melted white chocolate and stir to combine. Pour this mixture onto the parchment-lined baking sheet and tap out to create a smooth layer, then place in the fridge to harden. Clean the metal bowl and melt the semi-sweet chocolate with the same technique. Once it's all melted, pour the chocolate over the hardened white chocolate layer and sprinkle crushed candy cane on top. Allow to cool and serve.

Cannabis gingerbread loaf by Cannadish

This dreamy loaf will fulfill your gingerbread craving and is excellent for finding some relaxation in the middle of your busy holiday preparations.

What you'll need:

• ¼ cup cannabutter

• ¼ cup regular butter

• 1 egg

• 1 cup molasses

• 2 ½ cup all-purpose flour

• 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda

• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1 teaspoon ground ginger

• 1 teaspoon ground cloves

• ½ teaspoon salt

• 1 cup hot water

Preheat your oven to 330 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease and flour a 9-inch loaf baking dish. In a large bowl, whip together the sugar and butter. Once the mix is light and fluffy, add in the egg and molasses and stir to combine. In a separate bowl mix, together the flour, salt and spices. Add the flour mixture into the creamed butter mixture and thoroughly combine. Whisk in the hot water and pour the batter into the baking dish. Bake for one hour or until a knife comes out clean from the center. Serve the cake warm or room temperature.

Pumpkin "Pecannabis" Pie by Weedlist

This holiday pie is perfect for appeasing just about everyone, whether they prefer pumpkin or pecan pie. The cannabis-infused pecans that serve as the topping for this pie are better than any sugar plums dancing in your head. This pie will serve 8-10 people.

Pie Ingredients:

• 1 9″ deep-dish pie shell (uncooked)

• 1 cup pumpkin puree

• 1/3 cup sugar

• 1 egg

• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Pecan Topping Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups pecans, halved

• 1/2 cup light brown sugar

• 4 tablespoons canna-butter, melted (see recipe above)

• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a large mixing bowl, mix pumpkin puree, sugar, egg, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, and salt.

3. Pour mixture into unbaked pie shell, jiggling to even out the surface and remove any air bubbles.

4. Place pie on baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes.

5. While pie bakes, prepare pecan topping. In large mixing bowl, combine melted canna-butter, pecans, light brown sugar, and vanilla extract.

6. Remove pumpkin pie from oven. Add pecan topping, using a spatula to smooth the surface.

7. Return pie to oven. Bake another 30 minutes or until inserted knife comes out clean.

8. Remove pie from oven and place on wire rack to cool before serving.