Holiday Recipe: Cannabis-Infused Gingerbread Cookies

Nothing says holiday season quite like the warm, spicy aroma of fresh gingerbread filling the kitchen. Add cannabis-infused butter to the mix and you've got a festive, shareable treat that's perfect for cozy evenings, holiday parties (where everyone is 19+, please), or a thoughtful homemade gift for the cannabis-loving friend who already owns every grinder.

This is a from-scratch recipe — not a shortcut, not a dump-and-stir — but it's beginner-friendly. The most important things to nail are the cannabutter (which you make ahead of time) and the dosing math. We'll walk through both before we get to the cookies themselves.

Before You Start: Dosing Math

This is the most important section in the whole post. Cannabis edibles are unforgiving when it comes to dosing, and the worst homemade-edibles stories almost always come down to someone skipping the math.

The recipe below makes about 24 medium cookies and uses 6 tablespoons of cannabutter. If your cannabutter contains roughly 240mg of total THC per cup (a common potency for homemade cannabutter made with average-strength flower), then 6 tablespoons contains about 90mg of THC. Divided across 24 cookies, that's roughly 3.75mg of THC per cookie.

That's a beginner-friendly dose for most consumers — a single cookie won't knock most people over. But if you're sharing these with guests, label them clearly with the approximate dose per cookie, and remind everyone that edibles take 30–90 minutes to come on. "Just one more, I don't feel anything" is the most dangerous sentence in the edibles world.

Making the Cannabutter (Ahead of Time)

If you've never made cannabutter before, the short version is: decarboxylate your flower in the oven first (to activate the THC), then simmer it in butter with water for several hours, strain out the plant material, and chill the butter so the water separates.

Quick reference:

• Decarb: spread 7g of ground flower on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake at 240°F for 40 minutes.
• Infuse: combine the decarbed flower with 1 cup of unsalted butter and 1 cup of water in a saucepan. Simmer (do not boil) for 2–3 hours, stirring occasionally.
• Strain: pour through cheesecloth into a heat-safe container. Press the cheesecloth gently to extract the butter.
• Chill: refrigerate for several hours. The butter will solidify on top of the water. Lift it off, discard the water, and store the butter in a sealed container.

If you'd rather skip the home-made step, you can also use a high-quality store-bought cannabis-infused butter or oil, scaled to match the recipe's potency. Just be sure you know the mg of THC per tablespoon.

The Cookie Recipe

Now the fun part.

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1.5 teaspoons baking powder
• 0.75 teaspoon baking soda
• 0.25 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon ground ginger
• 1.75 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 0.25 teaspoon ground cloves (optional but recommended)
• 6 tablespoons cannabutter, softened to room temperature
• 0.75 cup dark brown sugar, packed
• 1 large egg
• 0.5 cup molasses (fancy molasses, not blackstrap)
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Instructions

Step 1 — Mix the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves until evenly combined. Set aside.

Step 2 — Cream the cannabutter and sugar. In a stand mixer or large bowl, cream the softened cannabutter and brown sugar together until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Don't rush this step — proper creaming gives the cookies their texture.

Step 3 — Add the wet ingredients. Beat in the egg, then the molasses and vanilla, until the mixture is smooth and uniform. It will look glossy and slightly streaky — that's fine.

Step 4 — Combine. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet, mixing on low until just combined. The dough will be soft and sticky.

Step 5 — Chill. Divide the dough into two discs, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, ideally overnight. This step is critical — it lets the dough firm up so it rolls cleanly.

Step 6 — Roll and cut. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Roll one disc of dough at a time on a lightly floured surface to about ¼-inch thickness. Cut into shapes and transfer to the prepared sheets, leaving an inch between cookies.

Step 7 — Bake. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until the edges are just set but the centres still look soft. Do not exceed 350°F — high temperatures degrade THC, which lowers your dosing accuracy. Let the cookies cool on the sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Optional: Royal Icing

If you want to decorate, whisk together 2 cups of icing sugar, 1 tablespoon of meringue powder, and 2–3 tablespoons of water until you have a pipeable consistency. Tint with gel food colouring, pipe onto fully cooled cookies, and let dry for an hour before stacking.

Storage

Decorated cookies keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week. Undecorated, they freeze beautifully for up to three months.

Whatever you do, store them in a clearly labelled container marked "CANNABIS — ADULTS ONLY" and keep them away from kids, pets, and houseguests who don't know what they are.

Enjoy Responsibly

Edibles take 30 to 90 minutes to come on and can last 4 to 8 hours. Eat one cookie. Wait at least 90 minutes before considering a second. Don't drive. And if you're sharing, make sure your guests understand the dose and the timing.

From everyone at Earth to Sky, happy baking and happy holidays. Stop by either of our locations if you need cannabutter ingredients, dosing advice, or just a little holiday cheer.