Dessert Strains: A Guide to the Sweetest and Doughiest Hybrids

Consumers enjoying cannabis in the 21st century regularly indulge in sweet scents and flavors brought on by popular dessert strains. These hybrid wonders often astound consumers with not only a treat to the palate but a typically balanced potency that keeps everybody coming back for more. 

Dessert strains are so plentiful in today’s cannabis market that it’s sometimes hard to know which strains came from where. Veriheal’s Guide to the Sweetest and Doughiest Hybrids is here as your dessert menu while you salivate over the endless number of tempting choices.

Why Are Dessert Strains So Popular? 

The reason why most cannabis strains are such a hit with consumers is that they’re potent enough for a very intoxicating and/or potentially therapeutic experience. Many dessert strains are certainly potent, yet they also often straddle the line of indica and sativa effects for a more balanced high. However, the main reason that dessert strains reign supreme among consumers is that they taste, smell, look, and feel amazing!

How Do They Make Dessert Strains So Similar to the Real Thing?

Consumers can often recognize a dessert strain simply from the name–many are named after the similar flavor and aroma palate they share with their foody counterparts. Others know the surefire sign of a dessert strain another way–the telltale loudness of gassy, sugary funk that envelops an entire room just from opening the jar!

Dessert strains exhibit flavor profiles that range from savory and doughy to sweet and creamy, fruity and mouthwatering, or anything in between! Inexperienced consumers can be caught off guard by the similarities between the real thing and its dessert strain counterpart. The Ice Cream Cake doink you just smoked tastes like your 6th birthday cake thanks to premium hybrid genetics, not artificial flavoring!

Cannabis Breeders Use Hybrid Genetics and A Very Selective Process

Heterosis is a genetic phenomenon that cannabis breeders utilize in which the dominant genes of both strains are exhibited in their offspring. Heterosis boosts hybrid strains with vigorous growth, higher yields, stronger potency, and rich terpene profiles that can amplify their signature dessert aromas and flavors. 

Cannabis breeders are also focusing on terpene profiles that include myrcene, limonene, and caryophyllene to create a range of flavors in each unique cross they develop. Pheno hunting is a selection process for the perfect cannabis plant that exhibits all of the desired traits of a specific strain. This process can include hundreds, if not thousands, of varying phenotypes, allowing breeders, for example, to zero in on a sugary, creamy vanilla profile that fits the Ice Cream Cake name.

GSC Set the Table for Dessert Strains to Take Over the World

Girl Scout Cookies (now simply known as GSC) was the first dessert strain to reach the masses and create the currently oversaturated dessert strain market. The exact origins of this OG Kush x Durban Poison hybrid have been a subject of some debate in many online forums. 

However, it can be determined that this powerhouse hybrid was first bred around 2009-2010 in the Bay Area of California by the group that would eventually become the Cookies Fam collective. This group of now celebrity breeders is responsible for most of the dessert strains we all know and love. 

GSC features numerous phenotypes that display a wide variety of sweet and pungent notes, which include mint, cherry, chocolate, creamy, and more. These phenos, along with the many crosses of GSC, have some varying traits; however, they all still feature the same potential all-day therapeutic versatility. Here are some of the most well-known phenotypes and crosses of GSC:

• Thin Mint GSC: This phenotype of GSC features slightly indica-dominant hybrid effects along with a mintier profile than traditional GSC. Thin Mints are rumored to be the original version of GSC, according to some growers in the know.  
• OG Kush Breath (OGKB): Another phenotype of GSC, OGKB reportedly offers more sativa-like effects alongside the classic body stone, and features much of the same doughy funk. 
• Do-Si-Dos (OGKB x Face Off OG): The genetics of this perennial favorite are a hit in many popular crosses like Peanut Butter Breath for their gassy, nutty notes. The Face Off OG lineage has a tad more sedative potential compared to many other GSC crosses and phenotypes. 
• Animal Cookies (GSC x Fire OG): Animal Cookies is a popular cross with consumers for its versatility in potentially treating pain while lifting moods. Much of this versatility is due to the majority of caryophyllene terpenes it features. 
• Tropicanna Cookies (GSC x Tangie): The Tangie lineage of Tropicanna Cookies not only makes this special dessert strain taste like you just dipped your cookies in orange juice, but it also features some of the more uplifting, sativa-like effects of any GSC cross. 
• GMO Cookies (GSC x Chemdawg): Pairing GSC with one of the original powerhouse cannabis crosses, Chemdawg, creates a unique aroma and flavor profile reminiscent of garlic, meat, and onions–seriously! This cross is surprisingly popular despite its off-beat palate, perhaps due to its reportedly strong effects and ability to develop trichome heads that are perfect for hash and concentrates. 

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Ice Cream, Frozen Treats, and Cakes

Two of the most popular dessert strain varieties that are reminiscent of classic frozen treats and goodies have GSC in their lineage. These strains are amazing on their own, while the numerous phenotypes and crosses they spawn continue to delight and astound consumers as well.  

Sunset Sherbet (GSC x Pink Panties)

Sunset Sherbet, or just Sherbet, is another dessert strain that hits all of the marks in terms of flavor and aroma similarity with its real-world counterpart. This hybrid wonder also originates from the Bay Area with slightly indica-leaning effects. Consumers love the carefree nature this strain provides, along with an irresistibly creamy and somewhat tropical berry aroma. Many phenotypes of Sunset Sherbet contain high levels of caryophyllene and limonene. 

Gelato (Thin Mint GSC x Sunset Sherbet)

The appeal of Sunset Sherbet has led breeders to use it in creating more dessert strains, such as Gelato, and its countless phenotypes and crosses that have been on the scene since around 2017. This hybrid cross of two already sweet and creamy powerhouses is another gem from the Cookies fam.

Dark green buds laced throughout with trademark purple hues and fiery orange pistils feature a bag appeal that just about any type of consumer, new or old, can appreciate. On top of an array of vibrant colors, expect another sensationally gassy and potent profile that knows how to fill a room. Gelato phenotypes are the proud parents of many of today’s large variety of dessert strains. Some Gelato phenotypes are nicknamed for other tasty treats or their phenotype numbers that correspond with famous athletes’ jersey numbers. 

• Gelato #25 (Barry Bonds)
• Gelato #33 (Larry Bird)
• Gelato #41 (Bacio)
• Gelato #42 (Dolce Gelato)
• Gelato #45 (Michael Jordan)
• Gelato #47 (Mochi)

Gelato crosses have now created their own extended menu of dessert strains that include cake and candy-like flavors and aromas, demonstrating just how wildly popular dessert strains are with no signs of slowing down. Cannabis culture’s favorite Gelato crosses include:

• Ice Cream Cake (Gelato #33 x Wedding Cake): It’s not too hard to find many dessert strains that seem just like the treats they’re named after, but Ice Cream Cake (ICC) takes the cake. A creamy vanilla presence is topped off with thick gas that will have you thinking you left the cap off the lawnmower. ICC’s lineage includes Wedding Cake, another powerhouse dessert hybrid. 
• Lemon Cherry Gelato (Sunset Sherbet x GSC) x Lemon Haze: Berry and citrus dominate the appeal of Lemon Cherry Gelato, courtesy of the heavy caryophyllene, limonene, and humulene terpene content. A very potent, slightly indica-dominant lean makes this hybrid an all-day, anytime go-to for consumers. 
• Jet Fuel Gelato (Gelato x Jet Fuel): This high-octane hybrid adds a hefty amount of sour diesel fuel funk to its floral, fruity core. Consumers can expect a range of effects that are more cerebral and energetic, as one of the more sativa-leaning crosses of Gelato out there.
• Biscotti (Gelato #25 x South Florida OG): Indica-dominance reigns supreme with another dessert strain masterpiece that lends its sweet and sugary diesel-like pungency to another cross of popular dessert strains. Biscotti is revered for its reportedly impressive and sedative potency. 
• Gelatti (Gelato x Biscotti): This dessert strain is named for a concoction of Italian ice and frozen custard, a standard summertime treat in some regions of the country. The signature Gelato appearance and effects are on full display with Gelatti, while the terpene profile adds a little bit of menthol to its fruity funkiness. 
• Jealousy (Gelato #41 x Sunset Sherbet): This SoCal-bred hybrid is another legend in the making due to its ability to turn heads with an amplified Gelato funkiness. Jealousy continues to push the limits of what’s possible not only in terms of top-tier loudness, but potencies that can sometimes crack the 30% THC threshold!

Runtz, The Original Z, and Candy Terps

It can be argued that candy strains aren’t the same as dessert strains, perhaps because they have now started their own overflowing menu of choices. However, most consumers would agree that because the palate and lineage often tie back to Gelato and GSC primarily, they’re just another sub-menu of gassy dessert strains.   

READ: Runtz Strain Review: Experience Dreamy Serenity

So Many Runtz, So Little Time to Choose

Runtz is perhaps the most infamous Gelato cross due to a never-ending list of phenotypes and crosses that seem to baffle anyone keeping track. A candy-like nose and flavor unleashes the saliva-producing spectrum of the rainbow that the union of Gelato x The Original Z (formerly Zkittlez) creates. 

Runtz features phenotypes and crosses that run the gamut of sugary candy, fruit, and dessert flavors and aromas, along with a mostly serene and balanced potency across the board. The Original Z (Grape Ape x Grapefruit) is also responsible for creating so many candy-forward strains besides Runtz in the last few years, some of which include Candy Fumez, Zushi, and Rainbow Beltz. Here are a few phenotypes of Runtz that can be obtained from just about any dispensary or plug:

• Runtz OG
• White Runtz
• Black Runtz
• Pink Runtz
• Candy Runtz
• Obama Runtz

Dessert Strains Show No Signs of Letting Up

Strains reminiscent of sodas, pies, and even cereal now flood the market in large numbers, along with variations of many of the hybrids already mentioned. Cannabis breeders from the time before the explosion of hybrid strains appeared in the 2010s have cautioned that excessive crossing of genetics for these hybrids is diluting the gene pool, causing a loss of unique genetic diversity and availability. Fears of losing some classic and landrace strains exist heavily among breeders, cultivators, and old-school consumers.

The desire for sweet, terpy flavor has all but replaced the classic cut and dry appeal of a true indica for sedative potential or a pure sativa for a possible cerebral boost. However, the anytime versatility of a hybrid dessert strain still has an important, mouthwatering place in the toolkit for any medical patient or cannabis consumer.