The Best Christmas Cannabis Cookies

Most Italian-Americans acquire Christmas cookies in one of two ways: someone painstakingly bakes them with love and colorful language, or someone has to wait in line for more than two hours at the local Italian bakery. Unfortunately for people who like a bit of relaxation along with their happiness, even “Nonna Marijuana” doesn't make these Brooklyn cookies with the good stuff, and they remain separate pleasures. This is the recipe for the best Christmas cannabis cookies.

Most Italian holiday cookies are heavily flavored with delicious almonds, rich coconut, or a helping of fruit jelly. This special recipe is an allergy-friendly and easy treat that contains no expensive and exotic ingredients yet tastes like a cloud on which a saint is chilling. Thanks to the portion of weed butter, you can climb up and take a look yourself.

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The Lemon Italian Cloud Cookie has a perfect crumble and breaks down into a tart, sugary, buttery (and now weed-infused) treasure. Try this recipe if you want a less complicated introduction to the delicious cookie culture of the paisanas that raised me. My mother and aunts put so much lemon on food and drinks every Christmas Eve that we started a drinking game. Everyone shouts “LEMON!” and takes a sip of their drink when one of them says the word lemon.

Photo by Danielle Guercio

Italian lemon cloud cookies

• • 3 eggs
  • 2 ½ cups flour
  • ½ cup butter (½ stick regular unsalted butter, ½ stick weed-infused butter*, or a stick infused butter if you dare)
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 tbsp and 2 tsp baking powder
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • ¼ tsp vanilla extract
  • 2-3 drops of lemon essential oil

Lemon frosting:

• • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • ⅛ tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 drops of lemon essential oil

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and prepare a work area covered with wax paper for the racks and frosting station. Sift the dry ingredients together in a bowl.

Photo by Danielle Guercio

In a separate bowl, beat the eggs with a hand mixer until well combined and fluffy. Fold carefully into the dry ingredients

Photo by Danielle Guercio

Using the mixer on low speed, incorporate the butter until the dough forms crumbs. Place 1-inch balls of dough on baking sheets lined with silicone mats or parchment paper, leaving some space or they will rise significantly. Bake for 12 minutes, turning once to ensure even cooking. While the cookies are in the oven, prepare the icing by mixing all the ingredients until incorporated. If the glaze is too thick, add a teaspoon of water.

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Photo by Danielle Guercio

Remove the cookies from the oven and place them on a rack to cool. When still warm but safe to handle, dip the top in the glaze and place on a rack to dry. If you're feeling fancy, brush the cookies with fresh lemon zest while the icing is still warm. Allow to cool completely before storing, in a sealed container for up to three weeks, in the refrigerator for a month, or indefinitely in the freezer

Photo by Danielle Guercio

Cannabutter

Decarboxylate 3.5g of finely ground cannabis at 225 degrees for 20 minutes in a tightly closed, oven-safe container. Place in a mason jar with a lid or a vacuum sealed bag with cannabis and 1 stick of butter. Heat in a water bath for at least 1 hour just below boiling point. Strain butter and cool to use in recipes.

These cookies are so delicious and perfect to take you to another dimension when things get too hot in the kitchen due to political conversations or drama. The light but real lemon flavor comes from using a high-quality essential oil like Young Living's Lemon instead of fake-tasting extracts from the supermarket. It complements the subtle cannabis flavor and also helps avoid fears of overindulgence in cannabis – or politics.

Photos: Danielle Guercio [Instagram @danizig]