It’s sweater-weather season baby, which means it’s apple cider season! Follow my recipe for homemade apple cider with infused honey or maple syrup (vegan) —it’s perfect for Thanksgiving gatherings or any holiday festivities.

Making Your Own Cannabis-Infused Sweeteners

Making your own cannahoney at home can be a long process, taking up to 8 hours to fully infuse the cannabinoids into the honey. To simplify this process, you can try some of these products: Potli Honey, Kikoko Honeyshots, Red Belly Honey, Shoogies, MyHi stir sticks, and Purejuana powders.

Infused Honey Recipe

Dosing: ~30mg THC total

Ingredients:

0.2g (200mg) Pre-Ground Cannabis (We recommend Baker’s Pre-Ground Pouches in Peach Ozz, Apple Fritter, or Orange Apricot)

1/3 cup honey or maple syrup (vegan)

1 small 8oz. mason jar

Instructions:

1. To reduce the strong cannabis smell during decarb, place coarsely crumbled flower in a mason jar and seal with a metal lid. To increase potency, use more flower to honey ratio.
2. Place the mason jar on a baking sheet in the oven and bake at 240°F for 60 minutes.
3. Using oven mitts, shake the mason jar every 20 minutes to evenly heat all the flower.
4. After 60 minutes when the THC has activated, remove it from the oven and set aside to cool.
5. Pour honey or maple syrup into the glass mason jar with the activated flower.
6. Fill a crockpot with water and submerge the mason jar into the water.
7. Set the crockpot on low and let the honey and water heat for 6-8 hours.
8. After 8 hours, remove from heat and let the mason jar of infused honey cool to room temp.
9. Strain the honey and flower bits through a cheesecloth or fine-mesh sieve into a clean glass jar.

Best Cannabis-Infused Apple Cider Recipe

Serves 6 / Dosing: ~5mg per serving

Ingredients:

5–6 medium apples (assorted), sliced into small chunks

1 orange, peeled and sliced into large chunks

2 cinnamon sticks

1/2 tablespoon whole cloves

1 whole allspice

1 whole nutmeg

1-inch fresh ginger root

1 sprig rosemary

8 cups water

1/3 cup infused honey or maple syrup (30mg THC)

Instructions:

1. In an Instant Pot, slow cooker, or large pot on the stove, combine apple chunks, orange, spices, and water.
2. Bring the mixture to a boil and reduce heat to medium-low and continue to simmer for 2 hours, until the apples are soft.
3. Remove from heat and use a masher or wooden spoon to smash the apples and oranges to release their liquid and flavor into the cider.
4. Cover and simmer for another hour.
5. Remove from heat and allow to cool uncovered for 15 minutes.
6. Use a strainer and/or cheesecloth to squeeze out as much liquid as possible from the solids into a separate large bowl or container.
7. Set aside the apple pulp, which can be used to make homemade dog treats.
8. Stir in the infused honey or maple syrup.

Serve warm with orange and apple slices, cinnamon sticks or rosemary sprigs. To store, cool to room temp and refrigerate for up to 5 days.

Extra apple cider can be boiled down into a syrup to make infused apple cider caramels.

Dosing Infused Drinks for Parties

It’s always a good idea to keep any infused food and drinks at a low dose — around 5mg per serving or less — or provide self-dosing options for guests so they can control their experience.

Party Tip: Make an infusion bar! Set out jars of infused honey, packets of infused sweeteners, or bottles of tincture next to a pitcher of unsweetened apple cider. Then, guests can add as much or as little to their drink for their ideal dose. You can also place bowls of sliced apples, cinnamon sticks, and rosemary for guests to garnish and customize their own drinks.

What’s the Difference Between Fresh Apple Cider, Apple Juice, and Apple Cider Vinegar?

Apple juice is generally filtered and pasteurized and is translucent. It typically has some added sugars or spices, so be sure to check the label.

Apple cider is raw, unfiltered, unpasteurized apple juice that is highly perishable. It will look cloudy and have sediment at the bottom. Some companies, like Martinelli’s, say that there is no difference between their apple juice and apple cider — they just change up the name for marketing purposes, according to their company FAQ.

Apple cider vinegar is a fermented apple cider made by adding yeast to turn the apple’s natural sugars into alcohol, and further ferments it into acetic acid which gives vinegar its signature sour taste and smell. Commonly used for vinaigrettes, marinades, and cooking it is also consumed as a drinking tonic for its purported health benefits.

Recipe by Christina Wong

Christina spent over a decade in the food & restaurant industry working with well-known chefs and restaurants in Los Angeles. A creator, baker, and creative consultant, her work won a Clio Cannabis Award in 2020. She bakes infused culinary cannabis creations at Baking With Chickens, and hosts a culinary cannabis cooking show “BAKED With Chickens” on YouTube.