Okay! smokemifugotm, my process is simple... And while I'll be modifying it, we will stick to what I've done and think worked best.
First you has your buds (trim, as long as its sugar leaf!) or whatever... And you put it in a dish that can be baked. Pre-heat your oven to 220 degrees Fahrenheit. Cover the dish loosely with foil. Let cook for ~20 minutes. Try not to go over time..
When your done, if making budder, melt the butter! I do a makeshift double broiler with a pan filled with water and a pot ontop of some small pebbles/rocks.. The idea is to break contact with the pot, only letting the boiling water heat it... This takes the longest I think. I do not add water to the butter in this method.
If you are careful and attentive, you can also put your pot directly on the burner... Add water, or maybe some oil (oil will effect the consistency of your product obviously... So if you like solid butter sticks dont do it???)...These will help you not burn the butter, but you can go hotter, cooking in the goodness faster... If you add water to it, dont be shy about adding a good amount... After your done cooking let it cool and pour into a freezable container (strain if using trim or don't want roughage)..Put in the freezer!. The budder will solidify over the water before the water freezes.. Take out of the freezer, jab two little holes and drain the water out... Now you has budder and can get baked with baking.
Oh, and for infusing cream, I do the same decarboxylation process before hand... I cook directly on stove, add more "watery" 2% milk or a little water to keep it from burning, but usually cook directly on the burner.. Cause I'm impatient. With cream/ milk you stir a lot or it gets weird. Most of the water evaporates out though..I like the cream better than budder... But cream doesn't have the shelf life... I mix cream with coffee, mixing in a good spoonful of Nesquick because it has soy lecithin which inhibits blah blah enzyme... Makes it kick in a little quicker (supposedly, prolly should get it by itself... but I like chocolate).
Heres some info on decarb'ing..
ScienceDirect.com - International Immunopharmacology - Unheated Cannabis sativa extracts and its major compound THC-acid have potential immuno-modulating properties not mediated by CB1 and CB2 receptor coupled pathways
Decarboxylation - Wikipedia
However! I do not decarb all of what goes into tincture... The reason being, the unaltered shtuff may not get you "high" but they have medical value... Then again, active THC is medical... And I think a lot of us associate the high with the oncoming of medical benefits. I know I do, its a comforting feeling.
Peace out everyone.
Well, hope I was helpful! Happy cooking!