Not sure how you would measure the potency....
And if you mix your batter well isn't the amount of oatmeal uniform?
Why not make plain butter cookies and add some mint extract and chocolate chips?

The last 1/4 of the batter, near the bottom of the bowl, seems to have less oatmeal. I make a double batch - the whole can of Quaker Oats - so there's a chance it's not completely mixing. I noticed it when I roll the cookies into balls before placing them on the baking sheet and it's obvious in the potency.

I'm leaning towards plain butter cookies but their not as healthy as oatmeal.

As far as measuring the potency, I'll just have to leave that up to your imagination.

It does sound like a mixing issue. It's unusual to have that much of the batter not mixed well, but there could be an issue with the way it's being mixed. One way you could deal with it would be to make it into bar cookies, or even just press it evenly into a rectangle on a baking sheet or silpat or counter, and cut squares (you can roll them into balls or just use them as squares, which should round out when the butter melts in the oven). Use your fingers so you can feel the concentration of oatmeal and redistribute.

Or just put the weed into brownies....the old fashioned way....or is the oil in the butter different?

If you want to continue to use the oats for more 'healthy' cookies, I'd either be sure to mix your double batch better, switch to making a single batch at a time (for easier/better mixing), or switch to using oat flour in your recipe so it's fully incorporated.

I had to look up how cannabutter is made, and wanted to know if you are making it yourself, and that may be where the first bit of baking science comes in.

You might have better results using a cookie recipe where the fat is liquid (eliminate the more common creaming of solid fat and sugar), and use a dough method where it's refrigerated for a fairly long period of time before baking.

I'll have to do more searching for some particulars on the subject, but thought I would toss out those bits for you to contemplate.

-Grainlady

I am making the cannabutter myself and I do let the finished batter sit in the refrigerator for a hour before I start baking it. I did sent an email to the Quaker Oats company and I got this reply just now: "The oats do not absorb butter fat."

So better mixing may solve the problem, but it sounds like the best solution would be to leave them out and make a different cookie.

Maybe reading this article will shine some light on the subject:

http://sweets.seriouseats.com/2013/12/the-food-lab-the-best-chocolate-chip-cookies.html

I know it's about chocolate chip cookies, but the science may help you out.

Thanks for sharing the oatmeal - fat absorption - factoid. I find that really interesting and will add it to my "Book of Odd Knowledge" for future reference.

I don't think it's just better mixing (you always want to keep mixing to a minimum for cookie dough so you don't over-develop the gluten and get tough cookies), but I think it's all about using a liquid fat and refrigerating the cookie dough for 12-24 hours so the flour has time to absorb the moisture, and therefore the cannabutter as well. Recipes for cookies using a liquid fat are less common, but once you have a few for comparison, you should be able to come up with a cookie (with the ingredients you posted in your second request for a recipe with specific ingredients). Just keep an eye out for the ratio of ingredients as your clues to how much liquid fat to flour.

Since cannabutter is made by melting the butter, that's another reason to stick to a recipe using a liquid fat. Once butter is melted and resolidified, it doesn't work the same in a recipe. Other recipes you might want to research are those that use ghee, which initially is made with melted butter, as well. Editing to add: liquid fat is absorbed by flour while solid fat coats flour.

Be sure to let us know how things work.

-Grainlady

Wow! Brilliant. This one could be the answer. Thanks.

linda - to answer your question: The goal is to extract as much of the active ingredient in the weed prior to baking. This process is called Decarboxylation and it involves roasting the vegetative matter for many hours at very low temperature. Because THC is fat-soluble, melted butter is used to absorb it and the vegetative matter is discarded. In the old days, we simply ground up the herb and made brownies. Don't mind the grit between your teeth and make sure you eat plenty of brownies, otherwise you're just going to get fat and not stoned.

The goal for medically useful edibles is to produce something that has a fixed potency (within practical limits), tastes good, leaves no greasy mess or crumbs, and produces the same result every time. I have been baking edibles for nearly 3 years now and other than the fixed potency, I've got the other issues covered.

Since there's no way for me to accurately measure the amount of THC, I've been relying on the patients to tell me if the cookies are too strong, too weak, or just right. One of the problems is that each person reacts differently to the same cookie. Producing a cookie that gives the same effect for the same patient is paramount.

As an aside, the other problem with brownies is that no one can eat just one!

Since cannabutter is made by melting the butter, that's another reason
to stick to a recipe using a liquid fat. Once butter is melted and
resolidified, it doesn't work the same in a recipe.

Grainlady - how does it work??? What changes should I expect and compensate for in the recipe?

It has to be the recipe...and improper mixing. And that is one cookie that does not act kindly to doubling. The creaming needs to be soft so maybe that step is not completely incorporated.

I know of a professional baker in Philly that has been making medicinal things for a while now. I have only looked at the results but not sampled. Must be dozens of oatmeal raisin canna cookies in ovens right now, somewhere.

When butter is heated/melted, some of the moisture is reduced, the flavor is altered, and even when it's chilled again to harden, it won't cream the same way as unheated butter and it melts faster. I'm sure I've read there is a chemical change somewhere - but don't know exactly just this minute to lay my hands on the reference. It will still "work", but it won't work the same.

-Grainlady

Duh. I knew that and didn't think of it. The release of steam as the butter melts is an important reason for using butter while baking. Still, there are plenty of recipes for oil cookies (you can't just swap them because of the whole melt/spread thing). Since you said "healthy", can you make canna-oil? You could make vegan cookies, or at least lower the animal fat content.

There's a reason they call it canna "butter". I've tried other shortenings - oils, lard, etc. - but nothing seems to work as well as butter.

In that case: Yummly clarified butter cookie recipes.

You can also try to re-solidify the butter if you have the patience. Basically, you're stirring the water and solids back into it. Add some extra water to replace what has steamed off. There should be a total of about 17% water by weight, depending on the kind of butter. Stir it all up as smooth as you can get it. Put it all in a jar or container, in an ice bath (lots of ice plus water), and stir gently while it thickens, and once its very cloudy put it in the coldest part of the fridge for some days. I've only done this accidentally, mind you, and I don't know if the THC would have any effect.

You could also try making a more concentrated cannabutter--say double--then cream the sugar with half fresh butter to get the aeration, etc., and then add the other half as cannabutter. I don't know if that would work, but it might be worth a try for regularizing your baking.