Krystina VanCleef teaches readers how to make impressive edibles at home with cannabis oils and distillate sold at dispensaries instead of homemade butter. Courtesy of Krystina VanCleef Around half of the country’s population lives in a state that has legalized recreational marijuana, so maybe it’s time we start reassessing […]
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Courtesy of Krystina VanCleef
Around half of the country's population lives in a state that has legalized recreational marijuana, so maybe it's time we start reassessing our homemade edibles techniques.
Cannabis Confectionery Art, a cannabis cookbook from local edibles maker Krystina VanCleef, teaches readers how to make impressive edibles at home with the cannabis oils and distillate sold at dispensaries instead of homemade butter. Using these concentrates instead of older at-home methods doesn't just result in more consistent highs, but tastier edibles, too, according to VanCleef.
A pastry chef in her past career, VanCleef now creates classic candies infused with THC through her edibles brand, Millie's, but she's always in the kitchen trying out new recipes. VanCleef even shared two recipes with us from Cannabis Confectionery Art as a window into her techniques, which she has detailed below.
Blueberry Cheesecake Bars
Ingredients
448 grams white chocolate
1 gram THC distillate or cannabis oil
MCT or coconut oil (equal parts to cannabis oil)
3 teaspoons blueberry flavor powder
3 teaspoons cheesecake flavor powder
6 tablespoons graham cracker crumbs
Blue colored cocoa butter
2 cups graham crackers
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup melted butter
Tools
Tempering machine
Piping bags
Chocolate scrapper
Ladle
Digital scale
Measuring bowl
Chocolate bar molds
Directions
Go and buy your distillate syringe, wax or shatter, and CBD isolate. Using your scale, weight out the amount needed to achieve desired potency. For this recipe, choose whichever ratio you like. The amount needed will be based on the potency of the oil, distillate or isolate you buy. If you bought a gram of shatter that is 88.6 percent THC, then you will have around 886 milligrams of THC, CBD or other cannabinoids, depending on the extraction. If you're adding CBD isolate to the mixture, then you'll have to do the same equation for CBD.
Measure out your cannabis oil and add equal parts MCT oil or coconut oil. Warm in a microwave safe bowl for 15 seconds or in the oven for a few minutes. Measure out CBD isolate and add to cannabis oil, then add equal parts MCT or coconut oil and warm slightly again. Stir well to combine with a dab tool or fork. Set aside for now.
GRAHAM CRACKER CRUMB: This is just like making cheesecake crust: measure out 1 package of ground graham cracker crumbs and grind in food processor (or buy crumbs), 1/4 cup sugar, 1 stick melted butter. Mix together with your hands or a wooden spoon. Sprinkle graham cracker crust onto backing sheet and bake until golden brown. (This is an important step; if you skip it, your chocolate bar will be soggy. This step also imparts a lovely caramelized flavor.)
CHOCOLATE BAR: For this recipe, you well need 1 tempering machine; if you don’t have one, you can use compound chocolate instead.
Prep the color cocoa butter. Heat up water in microwave for 2 minutes, place cocoa butter in water batch, and let sit for a few minutes to melt the outside. Once melted, shake or temper and do not place back in water. You will have to shake and set it down to measure some things out, so make sure you go back and shake periodically until you are ready to use it. Just don’t shake water into chocolate.
Measure out the white chocolate, add white chocolate to tempering machine, and reserve 40 grams for seed. Add cannabis oil to the chocolate and be sure to scrape the bowl as clean as you can; a dab tool or spoon works well for this. Melt white chocolate in tempering machine according to machine manual.
Once the chocolate is in temper, add you flavoring powders, graham cracker crumb, and colored cocoa butter. Mix well or let spin to combine.
Line up the chocolate bar molds on a sheet pan (I like to use polycarbonate bar molds). Using a ladle, pour chocolate into the molds straight from the tempering machine. If the chocolate is too thick, you can turn up the temperature on the tempering machine a few degrees, but do not exceed 86 degrees. Once the chocolate is poured into the molds, use your chocolate scraper to scrape the molds clean. Tap the molds on table to release any excess air bubbles. Set in fridge to cool. Unmold the chocolate bars after a few minutes. Store in the airtight container away from children pets. I like to add blue colored cocoa butter to my bars, or you can airbrush them with colored cocoa butter or splatter them for more of a “wow” look.
Classic Cookie Butter Swirl Brownie
Ingredients
340 grams flour
365 grams dark chocolate
270 grams sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
8 egg yolks
224 grams butter
Topping Ingredients
2 tablespoons cookie butter
200 grams dark chocolate
50 grams white chocolate
Tools
Baking sheet
Offset spatula
KitchenAid mixer
Measuring bowls
Scale
Popsicle stick
Directions
Go and buy your distillate syringe, wax or shatter, and CBD isolate. Using your scale, weigh out the amount needed to achieve desired potency. For this recipe, choose whichever ratio you like. The amount needed will be based on the potency of the oil, distillate or isolate you buy. If you bought a gram of shatter that is 88.6 percent THC, then you will have around 886 milligrams of THC, CBD or other cannabinoids, depending on the extraction.
Measure out your cannabis oil. Add cannabis to the fat that’s for in the recipe. That will act as your carrier. In this recipe, the fat will be butter. Add cannabis oil to butter and melt slowly. Place butter in oven to melt. If using CBD, also add that to the butter and melt in oven. Stir well to combine with a dab tool or fork. Set aside for now.
Measure out your chocolate. Add melted butter/cannabis oil mixture to chocolate and melt over a Bain Marie or double boiler. Don’t know what this is? Get a saucepot and fill it with a little bit of water. Let the water come to a simmer. Place metal mixing bowl with chocolate and butter/cannabis oil mixture over simmering water. Stir constantly until melted. Set aside to cool for now.
Separately measure out sugar, flour, vanilla, and egg yolks. Pour chocolate butter/cannabis oil mixture into mixing bowl. Using whip to a light and fluffy frosting consistency.
Add sugar, mix just to combine. Next, add flour again and mix just to combine — do not overmix or the butter will seep out and the brownie will not be fudgy.
Spray a 1/4 baking sheet with pan spray and cut out enough parchment paper to fit inside it. Spray parchment paper again and pour brownie batter onto parchment.
Press down into pan and smooth evenly with offset spatula. Bake at 350 degrees for 6 minutes, and then turn and bake another 8 minutes. Remove from oven. Bake times may vary due to altitude — check your brownie after recommended time. Shake the brownie batter; if it still jiggles, add a couple more minutes. What you are looking for on this brownie is for the batter to be set but still a tiny bit undercooked. We want a fudgy type brownie, so it’s important to not overcook the brownie.
TOPPING: My grandma taught me this trick, and I have since taught it to all my employees. While the brownie is still hot, sprinkle the second addition of dark chocolate over the top. Let sit and the residual heat will melt the chocolate as the brownie cools.
Smooth evenly with offset spatula. Now, in the microwave safe bowl, measure out the white chocolate and cookie butter. Melt at 30-second intervals, stirring in between each addition of time untiled melted. Pour a few spoonfuls over the dark chocolate and swirl with a popsicle stick to create a marble pattern.
TO FINISH: Let brownie cool in fridge for at least a few hours. Once cool, cut into square. Store in airtight container away from children and pets.
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