The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide: Brownies & Cookies

The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide: Brownies & Cookies

Cannabis brownies and cookies are a warm, familiar way to enjoy THC — comforting flavors, easy preparation, and simple serving sizes. When you make your own infused butter or oil, you control flavor, strength, and consistency.

Using the tCheck Potency Tester lets you measure your potency before baking — no guessing, no wasted batches, no surprises.

Tools You’ll Need

  • Baking sheet
  • Parchment paper
  • Heavy-duty aluminum foil
  • Oven (or d edicated decarb device)
  • Two (2) heat safe mason jars with lids
  • Cheesecloth or fine mesh strainer
  • tCheck Potency Tester
  • Syringe, dropper, or pipette
  • Mixing bowls & silicone spatula
  • Baking pan (brownies) or cookie sheet (cookies)

Ingredients

  • Cannabis flower (or concentrate)
  • Butter or oil (MCT, coconut, or traditional butter)
  • Lecithin (optional - improves texture)
  • Brownie or cookie mix, or scratch recipe ingredients

Time Overview

Stage

Time

Decarb

30–40 minutes

Oil/Butter Infusion

2–3 hours

Potency Testing (tCheck)

~2 minutes

Mix & Bake

10–40 minutes (varies by recipe)

 

Step 1 — Decarb (Activate THC)

Raw cannabis contains THCa, which must be heated to convert into active THC. This step is critical — it activates the cannabinoids so your brownies or cookies actually work.  

1. Preheat oven to 240°F (115°C).

2. Break cannabis into small, even pieces (do not grind — too fine = scorched flavor).

3. Place pieces onto a sheet of aluminum foil, then fold the foil into a tightly sealed pouch (this retains terpenes and reduces odor).

4. Place pouch on a parchment-lined baking sheet.

5. Bake 45–60 minutes.

6. Let cool before opening the pouch.

Finished look: lightly toasted, not browned or burnt.

Step 2 — Make Infused Butter or Oil

  1. Preheat oven to 175°F (or your lowest oven setting).
  2. In a mason jar, add decarbed cannabis + butter/carrier oil (coconut, MCT, butter or EVOO). Make sure to add enough oil to fully cover the cannabis
  3. Loosely seal the lid and place the jar in the oven.
  4. Infuse for 2-3 hours, stirring occasionally.
  5. Cool slightly, then strain through cheesecloth into the other mason jar.
  6. Label with:
    1. Strain name
    2. Date
    3. Oil/butter type
    4. Potency (after testing - reference step 3)

Step 3 — Measure Potency With tCheck

tCheck gives you the real potency number of your infused butter/oil in mg/mL: milligrams of THC in each milliliter of oil. Calculate units to mg per teaspoon or mg per tablespoon to make cooking + dosing very simple and control the desired potency of your brownies or gummies.  

  1. Place a small sample of your infused butter/oil into the testing tray.
  2. Inset the tray into tCheck
  3. Run the potency test (~2 minutes).
  4. Record the number displayed on your mason jar label - this is your infusion strength
    1. mg/mL
    2. mg/Tbsp
    3. mg/tsp (=Tbsp x3)

The example on the right shows: 12.3 mg/mL = 12 mg THC per 1 mL of oil, or 182.3mg/Tbsp.

Step 4 — Calculate Dose Per Brownie or Cookie

Now that you know how many mg of THC are in each Tbsp, let’s determine how much to put in your recipe if you want 10mg per brownie/cookie: 

Your recipe calls for 1 cup (1 cup = 16 Tbsp) of oil and it makes 2 dozen brownies/cookies

  1. 16 Tbsp x 182.4mg/Tbsp = 2,936mg of total THC
  2. 2,918mg / 24 brownies/cookies = 122 mg per brownie/cookie

Use the tCheck Calculator to blend your infused oil with plain oil to hit your desired 10mg dose.

The example on the right shows: blend 10.24 Tbsp infused oil with 14.72 Tbsp of uninfused oil, and complete your recipe.

Example:Potency: 140 mg/TBSP

  • Recipe uses 4 TBSP infused butter
  • Makes 16 pieces

140 × 4 = 560 mg total THC
560 ÷ 16 = 35 mg per brownie/cookie

If this is too strong: Use the tCheck Calculator to blend infused + uninfused butter to hit your target strength.

Step 5 — Bake

Last step in completing your recipes:

Brownies

  • Mix batter, bake per recipe.
  • Cool fully before slicing to keep dosing accurate.

Cookies

  • Mix dough, portion evenly, bake until edges are lightly golden.
  • Cool on rack to set texture.

Flavor + Recipe Variations

This guide teaches the core brownie/cookie process. You can customize flavor, texture, and holiday style later.

Browse some of our favorite flavor variations + full recipes here: https://tcheck.me/blogs/cannabis-tips

Final Notes

  • Start with 5–10 mg per piece if new to edibles.
  • Effects peak in 60-120 minutes - avoid redosing early.
  • Store in an airtight container in a cool, dark place.

Measure. Mix. Master your edible experience.

THC Tester

 

Reading next

The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide: Holiday Drink
The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide: Gummies