Two Ingredient Cough Drops

It's that time of year again.  Cold and Flu season.  There's a little bug going around that seems to plague people for about 12 to 24 hours.  And then there's the cold that last for weeks.  There are all kinds of home remedies to try to ease your symptoms.  Some work better than others and sometimes sleep is all you can do.  


One of my favorite things to sooth my sore throat is to drink tea.  Any cold remedy tea will do but one of my favorites is Gypsy Cold Care by Traditional Medicinals and it can be found at most grocery stores.  Other ones to try are Throat Coat or Peppermint teas.  Maybe you've already had a few cups of tea or you are forced to get up off the couch and go to work, or chase your children around.  You might need some cough drops to work on instead.  Why not turn your favorite tea into a portable cough drop?

I cannot take credit for this recipe. It is adapted from one of my favorite blogs to read and get tips from, Wellness Mama.

Homemade Cough Drops

1 cup strongly brewed tea.  I used Gypsy Cold Care.
1 1/2 cups honey (I use raw and unfiltered local honey)

Combine tea and honey in a sauce pan and heat on medium until it reaches 300 degrees.  "If you don’t have a candy thermometer, this usually takes about 30 minutes and can be tested by dropping a drop of the mixture in to ice water to see if it immediately hardens. It should harden to the point that it breaks if dropped on the counter. You can also tell because the mixture will start to foam and separate. At this point, it is vital to remove it from the heat quickly so it does not burn."

Pour the mixture onto a silicon mat on a cookie sheet or grease a regular cookie sheet with coconut oil.  Working quickly, cut "candy" into manageable bite sized pieces.  I had my husband help with this part as it cools quickly and if you let it harden it will become too hard to cut.  We used a pizza cutter greased with coconut oil.  After cutting each piece, toss it in powdered sugar and let cool completely.  Place in a seal-able jar to enjoy anytime you need one.

Note:  Do not dip them in regular sugar as I did with this batch - when it cools it drys together and makes it impossible to break apart from other pieces!

This simple two ingredient recipe is really pretty easy to make.  Why buy expensive herbal cough drops that have unknown ingredients, colorants, and chemicals in them when you can make your own?  You can even get creative and add some peppermint extract or lemon juice to flavor them to your taste.  What do you think?  Are you ready to try making your own cough drops?