Homemade Cough Drops!

Long time no see! But alas, I am back!
And so is summer.
That means I am sure to be getting some summer colds.
This unfortunate fact makes these DIY cough drops so special and such a great find!

The original recipe came from HERE

For my cough drops I used green tea for the liquid base, honey for the sweetener, and peppermint essential oil for the medicinal properties.

The website where I found the original recipe had this information:

Some great herbs (and their uses) for lozenges are:
Horehound - (be careful - this stuff is strong!) pain reliever, stimulates digestion
Echinacea - best before full onset of cold, anti-bacterial + blood cleanser
Peppermint - expectorant, decongestant and mild pain reliever
Eucalyptus - relieves congestion
Camphor - relieves congestion
Ginger - pain relieving, antiseptic and antioxidant
Goldenseal - antiseptic and immune stimulant
Licorice - anti-viral, chest and throat soother
Sage - good for sore throats
Fennugreek - expectorant
Juniper - relieves congestion
Yarrow - reduces fevers and inflammation

All you actually need for this recipe is sugar (sweetener) and tea. The herbs are helpful, but if you use tea that has herbs in it to help with your cold, they aren't necessary.

To make the cough drops:

1 part liquid : 1 part sugar

You can use a combination of sweeteners, but each combo will have different cooking times for this reason I bought a candy thermometer. It helped so much!

Add your sugar to your tea and heat over med-high.
Stir until sugar is completely dissolved.
Bring to a boil and DO NOT STIR AGAIN. (Since I used all honey, I stirred continuously)
Wash away crystals from the side of your pan with a damp brush or cloth.
Once candy reaches 300oF (150oC), remove from heat.
Add colors and flavorings (opt) and stir.

Pour your finished mixture into your prepared molds.
Allow to set until firm.

The website where I got the recipe from suggested to make your own molds using powders sugar. I tried that, it didn't work for me. I would rather buy some molds to use.

Disclaimer: since I used only honey to sweeten these drops they tasted predominately of honey with a menthol aftertaste (from the peppermint EO).

Next time I want to use other herbs as well as the peppermint. And I may cut the honey in half and just cave and use some sugar (ugh)

Now I'm all ready for summer colds and winter colds!

I love that they are all natural and I know exactly what's in them! :)