work. Combining ingredients was easy, except for the fact that I was missing chocolate. One of the main ingredients of these cookies. I don’t know how to this day I forgot to buy semi-sweet chocolate. And it was snowing like mad. So I went deep into my pantry and pulled out some Godiva cocoa mix.
For hot chocolate. Probably been in there for 10 years, but maybe not. I went with the “maybe not” fork in the road, and really questioned to myself whether powdered cocoa can actually go bad. Regardless, I was pushing forward. Dumped a ton of dry cocoa mix in, mixed it up like a man possessed, and in the oven they went. Twenty minutes later, that sweet smell of fresh baked goods filled my kitchen and surrounding rooms, and these bad boys were ready. I pulled them out of the oven and placed them on the stove top. Couldn’t wait to dig in. Well I didn’t wait until they cooled, and the traditional “start with a half cookie” broke off with ease. I devoured that cookie fast. IT WAS DISGUSTING! The absolute worst cookie you can ever imagine. The cocoa was bitter and gross. No other way to put it. And the cannabis taste was strong. Two problems. One, cocoa is gross when mixed dry into a cookie, and two, measure your butter. Turns out I made two pounds of cannabutter, not one like the recipe called for. These cookies were moist and fattening, but also very very potent. I didn’t make it to the “wait 45 minutes to an hour and if you don’t feel anything or want to feel it more, have another half” stage. I waited 20 minutes. Needless to say, I was done baking cookies, but not done baking if you know what I mean. The bottom line, I could have used a cooking class of some sort or should have been a little more careful.
Cooking with cannabis isn’t new, and more and more mainstream organizations are starting to embrace this change in our society as cannabis has become legal. Locally, the Toronto area offers quite a few. Some like The Cannabis Cooking Company offers classes on learning to cook cannabis edibles on Fridays and Saturdays for $125 per session, with some recent dates already sold out. The Green Chef is another company offering to assist in making your edible dreams a reality. They offer assistance in obtaining a prescription for medical purposes as well, and guidance from MedReleaf, CannaConnect, and Veteran Affairs Canada. Recently, George Brown College (Toronto) Food Innovation and Research Studio (“FIRSt”), along with Lifford Cannabis Solutions, Dale & LEssmann LLP, Food Starter, and Restaurants Canada have jointly contributed toward the launch of the “Infused Innovations Initiative”. As their press release states, this collaboration brings together a unique fusion of professions to service the food and beverage entrepreneur who is seeking to participate in the cannabis edibles market. Tricia Ryan, Director of FIRSt says, “We are now hearing from numerous clients, almost daily, with an increasing interest in cannabis product development. At FIRSt, we’re able to help clients with professional sourcing, dosing and food safety issues in this burgeoning sector.” A one-day course to start, but perhaps we will be seeing more going forward, at least it sounds like it. After all, the edibles market is expected to be massive.
Cooking with cannabis isn’t new, and more and more mainstream organizations are starting to embrace this change in our society as cannabis has become legal.
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