A Peppermint Chocolate Crackle Cookies Recipe For The Times

Oryan Levi's greatest joy is bringing people together over delicious gluten-free food. If you live in LA, you might've seen one of her gluten-free birthday cakes that go by the name Nish Noosh ('little snack' in Hebrew) or one of her SMOCKS — an apron designed for all kinds of creators. Oryan is known for her ability to roll a joint while making pasta sauce and for making a mean batch of infused holiday cookies. 

In this recipe, she shares how to make a perfect batch of Peppermint Chocolate Crackle Cookies and infused butter to go in them.

Photo Credit: LUBA HRISTOVA

I’ve always loved Christmas Day in LA. The sun is out, the streets are clear, and parking is free. 

The first time I hosted what I call “orphan Christmas” (not sold on the name, tbh), it was kind of a last-minute thing. I had met some friends during my first year in LA, most of whom were too broke or too mad at their mom to go home for the holidays. I’d already celebrated Hannukah the week before and saw this as the perfect opportunity to open my house up to all my friends who were looking for a little Christmas spirit, courtesy of their favorite Jewish friend. I told my friends to roll out of bed on the 25th and come right over in their PJs. 

In my cozy little studio apartment, we sat on the floor and watched trashy TV, crafted and cooked every food we were craving, and smoked joints rolled with blueberry papers. We played card games and played 90s music. Friends brought friends. It was a weird happy mashup of a crowd who all had nowhere to be. It became an annual tradition. Last year's involved a Shrek rewatch and these cookies.

 

Step 1: How To Make Cannabis Infused Butter

It’s possible to infuse all kinds of fats, but I find that butter is both the easiest to make and the fat that tastes the best when you bake with it. I like to make this smaller amount whenever I’m going to immediately bake it into a batch of cookies, but you can also double or even triple the recipe to make a batch of infused butter you can use in the future (just keep it in the freezer!). 

This is also a great time to use up any bits of flower you’d rather not smoke. I like to collect all the stems, seeds, and leaves throughout the year and toss them into a big pot when I’m ready to make holiday edibles. 

How strong will the butter be? Ah, that is the question. The strength of your infused butter will depend on a lot of things: the strength of the flower, how long you decarb, how long you steep, the temperature, the type of butter - a lot of factors. You can always test a spoon of the butter on its own to see your own reaction, but I like to just test the final cookie I’m making. Usually I’ll start with half a cookie and time how long until I feel it kick in. I typically find that homemade edibles take at least an hour to hit, but they last longer. 

This recipe makes about 100g of infused butter: 

1. Decarb the bud: put about 1/4 oz of flower on a baking tray and bake for 40 minutes at 200 degrees. This step is necessary to activate the THC in the flower, and also slightly dry it out. Don’t skip this step, or else your infusion might not work! Also be sure not to turn your oven up too high, as this can destroy the THC. 

2. Allow the flower to cool, then pass it through a grinder. Not to fine - you want a consistency like you’re about to roll a joint. 

3. In a pot with a lid, melt 2 sticks of butter with 1 cup of water. Adding water keeps the butter from burning and browning as we cook it for a long time. Over time, the water in the sticks of butter will also separate, which is why we end up with only about 1 stick of infused butter.  

4. Add the ground flower to the melted butter and water and stir. Cover the pot. 

5. Put the pot on the stove at the lowest heat and allow it to steep for at least 4 hours, though I like to let it go all day. Typically the longer it steeps, the stronger the infusion. Make sure the heat is very low and that the liquid isn’t bubbling. You can also use a slow cooker on the lowest setting.  

6. Line a mason jar or bowl with a coffee filter, then pour the steeped butter through the filter. Both the water and butter will pass through, but you may need to pour it in batches and stir gently with a spoon. 

7. Refrigerate the jar so that the water and butter separate - about an hour. Use a knife to cut out the puck of infused butter and pour out all the (gross)  water.

8. If not using right away, dry off the butter and store it in a container in the freezer. Sometimes I like to re-melt it and pour it into an ice cube mold so I have little doses ready to cook with. 

Peppermint Magic Crackle Cookies 

Makes about 20 cookies  

100g infused butter (entire recipe above. If using not infused butter, use only 1/2 stick) 

350g dark or semi sweet chocolate 

1 tsp peppermint extract

3 eggs 

1/2 cup sugar 

1 cup almond flour 

3/4 cups flour (I use Bob's Red Mill 1:1 gluten free blend) 

1 tsp baking powder 

For rolling: 

1/2 cup granulated sugar 

1/2 cup powdered sugar 

Crushed candy canes (optional) 

1. Add the infused butter and chocolate to a glass bowl and set it over a pot of simmering water to allow it to melt. Add peppermint extract to the chocolate and stir so it's all melted and combined. You can also do this in a microwave. 

2. Whip the eggs and sugar furiously so they become pale and slightly fluffy 

3. Add the egg mixture into the melted chocolate, then gently fold it in. 

4. Separately combine all the dry ingredients, then fold them into the chocolate base 

5. Cover with plastic wrap and let the cookie dough chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours or until it's firm. 

6. Scoop out little balls of cookie dough, then roll them in granulated sugar, then powdered sugar. Top with crushed candy canes and lightly press them in 

7. Bake FOR NO MORE THAN 8 MINUTES in a 375-degree oven. They may seem soft coming out of the oven, but they'll firm up and stay fudgy and delicious. You can give the pan a little smack against the counter when you take it out of the oven to create even more cracks on each cookie 

8. Cookies will last in the freezer for a few months! 

Pro Tips

• If your infused butter turned out particularly green, you may find that your cookies get a green hue on the outside, or that the powdered sugar seems to absorb into the cookie. You can improve their look but rolling the baked cookies in even more powdered sugar 

• Make it mocha: Outside of the holiday season, I like to swap peppermint extract for Bailey’s or a shot of espresso to really bring out the chocolate mocha flavors