Fall

Mario Batali's Double-Chocolate Pot Brownies

January 27, 2016
4
18 Ratings
Photo by Julia Gartland
  • Prep time 10 minutes
  • Cook time 22 minutes
  • Makes 9 good-size brownies
Author Notes

In honor of those Broncos, their crazy mile-high city, and their weed-friendly state, I’m offering a rocky mountain high option. (I’m actually making regular brownies but if you happen to be in Colorado or any other marijuana-friendly state, go for the add-in marked "Optional" below.)

Note: All of the expected disclaimers apply. Make sure you purchase from a trusted dispensary. And if you do "indulge," make sure you’re not driving and that you’re hanging with cool people. Basically, don’t do anything stupid. —Mario Batali

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 1/2 cup butter, cut into 4 equal pieces
  • 4 grams high quality marijuana, cleaned and ground (optional)
  • 1/2 cup Dutch-process unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 8 ounces milk-chocolate chips
  • 1 teaspoon real vanilla extract
  • 2 extra-large eggs
  • 3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
  • Confectioners' sugar, for dusting
Directions
  1. Preheat the oven to 325° F. Grease an 8-by 8-inch baking pan.
  2. In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, melt the butter, the marijuana (if using), and cocoa powder, stirring continuously until the butter is just melted. Use a rubber spatula to transfer the cocoa mixture to a large mixing bowl.
  3. Let the cocoa mixture cool for 2 minutes. Add the sugar, chocolate chips, and vanilla and stir with a wooden spoon until combined. Add the eggs 1 at a time, stirring so that each is well combined. Add the flour and stir until just combined. Do not over-mix.
  4. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and bake on the center tack for 22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with tiny crumbs.
  5. Dust with confectioners’ sugar, cut into 9 squares, and serve. Or, store for up to 2 days in a tightly-sealed plastic container.

See what other Food52ers are saying.

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Mario Batali counts 25 restaurants, 11 cookbooks, numerous television shows and the 50,000-square-foot Eataly marketplace among his ever-expanding empire of deliciousness. His latest book is "America Farm to Table: Simple, Delicious Recipes Celebrating Local Farmers" (Grand Central Life & Style, 2014).

94 Reviews

dbaked September 9, 2020
Just wanna say I made this recipe this week and got extremely high from them, so... Results may vary.

Some things to consider:
- THC content of the bud you're using. I halved this recipe with 2g of a bud that was 21.5% THC.
- How fresh the bud is and how well-ground it is. I ground mine in a mortar and pestle.
- I am 99.99% sure this has nothing to do with getting high, but I added a few pinches of kosher salt to the raw batter and it made the brownies taste even better.

IDK, I'm a weed newbie, but these did the job for me. To anyone for whom it did not, keep experimenting!
 
Chef C. May 18, 2020
The problem is that the cannibas has not been decarboxylated. Read more here: https://www.leafly.com/news/cannabis-101/3-different-ways-to-decarboxylate
 
Ryan L. May 17, 2020
this doesn’t work?? made it exactly as written and it did not get me or any of my friends high at all. what a waste...
 
Yonder13 June 4, 2020
Yea...this is not how you do it. Would suggest researching from other more credible sources
 
Ryan L. May 17, 2020
this doesn’t work?? made it exactly as written and it did not get me or any of my friends high at all. what a waste...
 
Cilfone15 May 18, 2020
Bud must be decarboxalized
 
Cilfone15 May 11, 2020
Think cooking time could have been longer other than that great recipe. Decarboxilyzed my Jack Herer at 220 for 30 min, Steeped into butter for 6 hrs never to a full boil :)
 
Alice L. May 1, 2020
I used 7gm cbd. These tasted great. I added some organic coconut flakes & coconut extract. Stops my bone-on-bone knee pain & is dessert.
 
Maad May 9, 2020
How did it turn out for you Alice? And how long does it take to kick in?
 
Alice L. May 9, 2020
Delicious recipe. 7-9 grams of CBD is the amount I like. I am way overdue for steroid knee injections (covid192020) but cbd brownies are helping with knee pain. Be careful not to overbake. I sprinkle confectioners sugar on them when cooled. I try to use 'good' chocolate. (I like Belgian). I don't add sugar...may use a little stevia.

My friends are clammoring for my brownies. One said the brownie calmed him down.

Strains I've used. I don't usually mix.

-lifter
-cobbler
-pineymt (supposedly to help induce sleep).

👍
 
Barbara D. February 6, 2020
Dude you have to decarboxylate the pot first.
 
Alice L. May 9, 2020
I decarboxylate it. But then, lighty sautée in butter awhile. I do NOT taste any herb!
 
Shawn-Dana S. December 23, 2020
Yes.
Cannabis starts with the THC as an acid, THCa. It must be heated in order to get that activation process happening. I've been researching decarboxylation for a little over a year, most recent that I've read even suggests to decarb it before smoking it. But you definitely ought to before baking or infusing cannabis.

(By the way, the green taste? That's from the chlorophyll.)
 
N March 10, 2018
I added half a teaspoon of baking powder and a shot of strong espresso to these to add some more volume to the brownies and depth to the flavor: delicious.

I usually infuse my butter for about a half hour to make sure it activates the THC.
 
VictoriaC February 16, 2017
How's the taste of these? I love edibles but can't get around the green taste that you get from Dispensary brownies. Is there any way to cut that taste a bit?
 
Chef C. February 18, 2017
Suppose there are variety of alternatives, like making cannibas butter
 
bird O. March 26, 2020
You should learn to love that taste because you can't get rid of it. Espresso powder and extra vanilla may help a bit.
 
Mike B. November 18, 2016
I love edibles for the sheer fun of it! Just the thought alone of posting this recipe is wonderful. Hats off to the editors for running it, and Chef Batali, I'd love to smoke a few bones and cook a feast with you one of these days. Maybe I'll share my weed carbonara recipe with you.
 
Stephanie H. December 9, 2016
WAIT - Carbonara you say? PLEASE share that one!
 
LouLou October 7, 2016
Wow. You all need to lighten up.....and maybe make this recipe! :)
 
Nicole S. April 30, 2016
Made them without the pot twice. The first time according to the directions and they were good, but not memorable.
The second time, I used a four cup Pyrex measuring cup and melted the butter in the microwave, added cocoa, and proceeded with recipe. Less clean-up and faster.
Also, the first time, I used Ghirardelli milk chocolate chips. The second time I used some really high quality dark milk chocolate that I cut up into chunks. This one was a Vietnamese bat, but you could use the 48% Endangered Species chocolate that is fairly easy to find. It made a huge difference. I only used the 100 gram, or 3 1/2 ounce bar, and it was plenty. More would have been way to sweet, for me.
 
Chef C. April 27, 2016
Joseph Stoner? Really?
 
Joseph S. April 27, 2016
Are you questioning my name or comment chef?
 
Chef C. April 30, 2016
Lo siento, Mr. Stoner, just a random observation. No harm meant
 
Joseph S. April 27, 2016
What a BS recipe. Those brownies will actually suck...way diff process to making real edibles
 
Mike B. November 18, 2016
Actually, they won't suck. He's cooking extracting the thc with the fat (butter). It still activates the bud. I've done em both ways, this way, and by using 24 hour budder. Done in the crock pot. On low. I know what you're referring to, however this method worjs too, and is also pretty strong.
 
anita July 22, 2017
No, this recipe as written does not activate the thc. Mario doesn't know what he's doing.
 
butidontwannasignup November 23, 2017
Do you know how the THC is activated??
 
ONaturelle March 14, 2020
Actually, they in no way shape or form suck! I was gifted two ounces of cannabutter (unknown strain) and wondered what to make. I decided on this recipe, augmenting it with two additional ounces of unanointed butter, and two grams of very finely ground uber potent indica strain. I used dark chocolate chips and a mix of black and red cocoa powders. They do taste green, but the result was phenomenal. Today I made these brownies sans cannibis and used the aforementioned mix of black and red cocoas, 2 ounces of dark chocolate chips and 2 ounces of Lindt 100% cacao bar finely chopped and they were superb. Whatever you do, err on the side of caution with edibles. I would not even consider cutting these in to nine pieces. I cut my canna-batch in to 20 pieces and I had a glued-to-the-La-Z-Boy body stone for nigh on 7 hours.
 
Ann T. February 27, 2016
Greetings, fellow Food52 Fans whom happen to be iffy fans of mm / MJ. Mario B. has left the mm / MJ, OPTIONAL. Therefore, you can always skip it, leave it out, and not put it in your Mario B. brownie recipe. I'm sure your brownies will taste just fine. After all, it has the alcohol from the pure vanilla extract, so you're good to go.
 
Ericka N. February 26, 2016
Lovely recipe and very good for those of us who deal with pain. Those childish trolls who lied on the "over 18" certification need to take your arrogant, unneeded opinions elsewhere. Sad you were given no instruction in good manners.
 
Deb M. February 12, 2016
Maybe we should all sit down and enjoy a brownie and a glass of wine together. It is Friday after all:)
 
Jack N. February 11, 2016
First of all Lynne, you just suck and should remove the stick from your rear end. Secondly, respect to Mario, but I really want some Top Chef type recipes where you actually use the flavor profile like any other ingredient
 
Lynne February 11, 2016
So sorry, don't think this is the place to include MJ. Are you kidding!?!? To date, I've loved, loved, loved this site: your foods/beverages, entertaining, mdse, etc. have all inspired me and share w/many. Afraid you've lost me. NOT the place to include MJ. Stupid move Food52. What are you trying to do?
 
Hazy C. February 13, 2016
You're also of the opinion that Food52 is NOT the place for rum cakes and vodka sauce, right? Or are you just applying a double standard?
 
KR April 23, 2016
How silly would it be if we all commented so aggressively on recipes, that included an ingredient we don't like/agree with. For example, I don't like ham.
"So sorry, don't think this is the place to include HAM. Are you kidding!?!? To date, I've loved x3 this site: your foods/beverages,entertaining, mdse, etc have all inspired me and share w/ many. Afraid you've lost me. NOT the place to include HAM!!!! Stupid move Food52. What are you trying to do?"

See it's silly. If you don't like/agree with something have a reason. Maybe MJ tastes to 'green' when cooked into the brownie like this. So you could say, when making 'pot brownies', it's much better to use cannabuter. You obtain a better texture.
 
Barb S. May 23, 2016
We will not miss you on this site at all.
 
Tim December 8, 2016
I have stage 4 cancer. I HATE to smoke pot, but I will eat it in moderation when my chemo kicks my ass. It allows me to eat after knocking my nausea down. Did you see the part where it said "Optional." While we're here; are there any books you'd like to ban to save us from ourselves?
 
Poopaloop69 September 24, 2019
What an idiot you are Lynne. Loser. Go home.
 
Freddurf February 10, 2016
I enjoy Food52 because 99% of the comments are positive. So I'm surprised at how many rude comments regarding this recipie there are. We're all adults. If MJ isn't your thing, fine. No need to be rude. I wonder how outraged the haters are when they see a recipie with alcohol (the real gateway drug) in it? Do they vow never to return because they were offended by the linguine with a vodka cream sauce? Or grandma's family recipie for marinara sauce with a little red wine? Probably not. Why the double standard?
 
HRH February 11, 2016
Right on, Freddurf!