How to make the perfect holiday cannabutter board
The Tiktok algorithm strikes again! Food trends on Gen Z’s favorite app are moving at the speed of light, from weird flavor combinations to “hacks” to sheer clickbait. But one twist on a milk treat captured our collective imagination enough to make the pages of the New York Times. Yes, I am talking about butter boards.
What is a butter board?
A butter board is exactly what it sounds like—imagine a slab of smooth, heavily flavored butter prepared for dipping in sweet and savory snacks. Love them or hate them, the national media has decided butter boards are hot. As the holidays approach, they make for a twist on the tried and true charcuterie board that has dominated our summer picnics.
You can flavor your butter board sweet or savory with toppings ranging from lemon zest to honey to fruit, nuts and flowers. But we decided to take it a step further and find a way to bake your butter board too.
We consulted Sheila Dedenbach, the founder and owner of the Heavenly Sweet edibles company, which has been making cannabutter-infused treats for 15 years. The company also sells a 1000mg ready cannabutter that is perfect for the occasion. She’s seen the butterboard craze and hopes it continues through the season.
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How to make cannabutter for edibles with our easy recipe
“Combining things with butter isn’t a new concept at all; It was originally a French technique using composite beds. I think it’s just a different way of serving it,” she tells Leafly. “The recipe I wrote was flavorful, but I could see it with a drizzle of maple syrup, some cinnamon and some fresh fruit – there’s a lot of variety. And I hope that anyone who is hosting any type of community event will inform their guests that cannabis is in it.”
Dedenbach prepared a Margherita-inspired butter board recipe for a California consumer cookbook zine and was kind enough to share it with us. This butter board feeds 12 and uses a dose concentration of 10 mg per volume.
But before you spread butter on every board in sight, Dedenbach urges caution with double-dipping and forgetting about potency: “Once you’ve consumed it, you’re on the ride.”
Dosing is key with a butter board as it’s not 100% accurate, so make sure anyone approaching it for a smack knows what to expect. Plus, most people want to pop champagne at parties or mix a cocktail or two.
Alcohol can increase the intensity of your edible cannabis high because it acts as a solvent, allowing THC to enter the bloodstream more effectively. Always follow the saying “start low and go slow” and maybe ask your friend to drive you home.
Gear:
- A board of your choice (marble works great)
- mixing bowl
- parchment paper
- Electric blender
- Knife or icing tool
Ingredients:
- 8.8 ounces high-fat salted butter (room temperature)
- 1 tbsp Heavenly Sweet Cannabutter (or your own)
- 4 ounces goat cheese
- 3 tbsp tomato pesto
- 6 cloves of roasted garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp chopped basil leaves
- 2 tbsp toasted pine nuts
- Coarse salt
- Black pepper
- A loaf of warm/toasted bread
Note: You are welcome to make your own cannabutter if commercial cannabutter is not available, but dosing becomes even more difficult. We encourage you to try the recipe a few times before showing it to friends and family.
How to make a butter board with cannabutter
Dedenach’s recipe calls for making a compound butter, or butter to which herbs and other dairy products are added for spreadability. This is crucial to making sure your butter board infusion is evenly distributed and doesn’t overdose on one guest while the rest get nothing.
- Most importantly, butter, cannabutter, and goat cheese should be soft and at room temperature. Do not use a microwave as this can damage the cannabinoids in the cannabutter.
- In a mixing bowl, combine butter, cannabutter, and goat cheese. Mix and beat on high for 5-7 minutes until light and fluffy. This texture is crucial for consistent dosing and ease of use.
- Spread your compound butter out onto your clean board (don’t use a cutting board). We recommend laying out parchment paper to minimize clutter.
- It might be tempting to scrawl everything on the board at once. However, if you take the time to arrange individual dabs for dispensing, you and your guests will have an easier time recognizing your dose. For example, if your entire butter board has 50mg of THC, you can arrange the butter into 20 2.5mg doses to ensure no one gets overwhelmed.
- Spread the pesto evenly on the butter board.
- Sprinkle pine nuts, garlic and basil leaves evenly on top.
- Add salt and pepper and other spices of your choice.
- Serve with warm bread, crackers or a carb of your choice.
A few pro tips from Leafly staff: The cannabutter should only be a fraction of the butter for your board. A fully infused butter board sounds fun, but most adults can’t take more than 10mg of THC without feeling uncomfortable. You probably won’t like the grassy taste either.
Related
Dosing Homemade Cannabis Edibles: Why Calculating Potency Is Almost Impossible
Pretty easy right? Get out there and let your taste buds and endocannabinoid receptors thrive. Federal legalization may or may not be on the cards, but it’s never too early to change your mind about what cannabis can be.
“I hope people can see that cannabis is very accessible. I think edibles in particular are the most accessible vehicles for cannabinoids. Especially with the holidays coming up, I think this is a great way for people to see that “oh it may be that it can be beautiful and it would taste like anything else you would make delicious.”
Amelia Williams
New York-based freelance cannabis journalist Amelia Williams is a graduate of San Francisco State University’s journalism program and a former budtender. Williams has contributed to GreenState, MG Magazine, Culture Magazine and Cannabis Now, Kirkus Reviews and The Bold Italic of the San Francisco Chronicle.
Check out Amelia Williams’ articles
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