In honor of San Francisco’s delightfully naughty 420 culture, we present these, um, “green” cookies for your enjoyment. Of course, there is a little “something special” in this recipe that we simply cannot suggest a source for, so we’ll defer to your cleverness to sort that out.

We appreciate that writing about baking pot cookies may be too personally revealing, even shocking, to some. But those who know and love us best will not be surprised by the following recipe. These cookies get much of their nutty character from the herb at issue. That will come as a surprise to some, but in this recipe, we’ve used the “spent” herb from a vaporizer which leaves us with a brown but not burnt byproduct that we cheerfully save for this recipe.

The toasted weed is less potent than the green stuff, but it contains enough of the good stuff to do the trick. So even though it’s a little late to whip up a batch of these cookies to celebrate 420, it’s not too late to start saving your toasted herb for next year’s celebration.

Cheers!
And pass the bong…

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Brown Sugar Pot Cookies
adapted from Cook’s Illustrated
yield 36-48 cookies

These cookies have been made using both an all butter recipe, as well as a mix of butter and coconut oil; light or brown sugars; and half all purpose flour along with other non traditional flours (barley, graham, whole wheat, etc.). They’re very adaptable.

14 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 ounce “spent” 420
2 cups (14 ounces) packed brown sugar (light or dark)
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups plus 2 tablespoons (10 2/3 ounces) all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 egg and 1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon very good vanilla

In a small slow cooker, steep the butter and “spent” weed about 4-6 hours (we usually do this overnight and just unplug after a few hours of sleep). Strain through a mesh strainer lined with cheesecloth and gently squeeze.

Add the melted butter to a mixing bowl along with the brown sugar and salt, mix until all the lumps are out, 2-3 minutes, stopping the mixer and scraping down the bowl when needed.

In a mixing bowl, add the all-purpose flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Briefly whisk together and set aside.

When all the lumps are out of the brown sugar, lower the mixer speed and add the egg, egg yolk and vanilla. Scrape the bowl again.

With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the flour 1/4 to a 1/2 cup at a time. Mix until well incorporated, scraping the bowl as needed. Scrape off the beater and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before proceeding.

When the dough is firm, use a small sized ice-cream scoop to form balls of dough, about .75 ounce. Place scooped dough onto a parchment lined baking sheet as you work. Gently roll each of the cookie dough scoops between your hands to form smooth, round dough balls. Cover the cookies with plastic wrap and place the sheet in the freezer for at least 10 minutes or until dough balls are completely firm. The cookie balls can be stored in a plastic bag in the freezer for 6 months or more.

To get baked: Preheat oven to 325 degrees (we’re keen on the Breville Toaster Oven for baking just a couple at a time). On a parchment lined baking sheet, place frozen cookie balls in a single layer, leaving about an inch between each ball. Bake for about 10-12 minutes, or until just crisp on the edge and soft in the center.