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You are here: Home / Live Healthy / Bath and Body / Homemade Cough Drops

Homemade Cough Drops

February 5, 2015 By Elise 96 Comments This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy for more info.

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I’ve been seriously enjoying making my own home remedies. It’s amazing how much you can do with a few simple ingredients, and after I made my first batch of homemade cough syrup, I knew that I had to follow it up with homemade cough drops. I’m a huge believer in the power of cough drops on those nights when I can’t sleep for coughing so much. Bleh.

Homemade Cough Drops

Probably the biggest drawback with making home remedies however, is that it can get expensive really fast.

I tend to fight that tendency by using the most common ingredients I can.

Would it be better to use coltsfoot and elderberry flowers? Theoretically, yes. But most of us don’t have those things sitting around in our pantries, nor can we pick them up at a local grocery store. And ordering specialty herbs gets expensive fast.

Here’s the herbs I’ve included, and why:

Peppermint

Aside from the fact that peppermint tea tastes awesome, it’s a common cold and flu remedy. Studies have shown that it kills bacteria and viruses. It also has a numbing effect. It also dulls the pain of an aching body. The menthol in peppermint effectively thins mucus and breaks up phlegm. It provides relief from coughs and congestion. You will find menthol as a common ingredient in decongestants. (source) 

Chamomile

Chamomile contains immune boosting, and antibacterial properties. (source)

Cinnamon

Cinnamon contains anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, anti-viral, and anti-fungal properties.

Ginger

Ginger has been shown to be a powerful natural pain killer, and contains anit-inflammatory properties. (source)

homemade cough drops

Did you notice anything about that list? All of those herbs have powerful healing properties, and every single one of them is available at almost any grocery store, and are inexpensive to boot. Who says high quality herbal remedies have to be expensive?

There are many different ways you can make your hard syrup into cough drops, you could even make them into lollipops with lollipop sticks and molds.

How To Not Make A Mess

One common way is to let the syrup cool until it’s just barely cool enough to handle, and then roll them into lozenges with your hands.

I found doing that to be awfully sticky though, and decided to do things the easy way and drop the hot syrup onto parchment paper.

Maybe they’re not as pretty, but I ended up with zero mess, and yes, the cough drops pop right off the parchment paper. Nothing sticks to that stuff. 🙂

IMG_2680

Homemade cough drops

  • 1 Tablespoon (or one teabag) peppermint tea leaves
  • 1 Tablespoon/teabag chamomile tea
  • ½ teaspoon cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon ginger
  • ¾ cup boiling water
  • ¾ cup honey
  • Optional: Essential Oils such as peppermint, or Thieves (Great for boosting the immune system!) 
  1. Steep peppermint, chamomile, cinnamon, and ginger in boiling water for 10 minutes or more.
  2. Strain off water, and pour into a small saucepan.
  3. Add honey.
  4. Heat over medium heat until mixture begins to boil.
  5. Clip candy thermometer to the side of your pan.
  6. Continue boiling until mixture reaches 300º.
  7. Watch carefully, it is really easy to burn when it gets this hot!
  8. Let mixture cool for 5-10 minutes, until it starts to get syrupy.
  9. At this point you can add a few drops of healing/antibacterial essential oils (this is totally optional!)
  10. Drop by small spoonfuls onto parchment paper and let cool.
  11. Dust with slippery elm bark, or at the very least, cornstarch, potato starch, or tapioca starch to absorb condensation and prevent them from sticking together in storage.
  12. Store in an airtight container.

Use as needed to sooth sore, itchy throats, and coughing.

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DIY Hand Sanitizer Spray with essential oils. I love this spray! It's a safe, non-toxic way to protect my kids from germs when we go out.DIY Hand Sanitizer

 

Recipes everyone can make!

Nourish your body with ingredients you already have in your kitchen!

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Filed Under: Bath and Body, DIY

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  1. lawrence j seliger says

    December 14, 2018 at 4:41 pm

    Mine did not turn out to be hard. let it get to 300 degrees. Maybe thermometer is off. Or is it a soft crack cough drop? I did use raw honey as I have my own bee’s.

    Reply
    • Elise says

      December 20, 2018 at 12:09 pm

      I don’t think raw honey should make a difference. If you reached 300º you should definitely have hard drops.

      Reply
  2. Lorraine says

    December 31, 2018 at 4:41 pm

    How do you bring 3/4 cup of water to 300°?

    Reply
    • Elise says

      January 4, 2019 at 8:00 pm

      You add the honey to it.

      Reply
  3. Debbie says

    January 13, 2019 at 2:43 pm

    Hi,
    Can I incorporate eldeberry juice into this recipe?

    Reply
  4. Madeleine says

    April 3, 2019 at 11:18 am

    I’m so glad I found this! I’ve been using real food to keep my immune system healthy but every once in a while the body gets something foreign such as bronchitis from a co-worker who refused to stay home. I don’t like over the counter cough drops that can be loaded with sugar. And the natural ones are super expensive. This recipe is EXACTLY what I was looking for. Thank you!

    Reply
  5. Jimmy says

    April 28, 2019 at 1:21 am

    Lovely recipes. However, boiling raw (unpasteurized) honey will destroy any anti-microbial properties it contains.

    Regards,
    Jimmy Hamilton
    JBJ Beekeeping
    Carrickalinga, South Australia

    Reply
  6. Eagan says

    November 14, 2019 at 7:59 pm

    How long do they last for?

    Reply
    • Crunchy_pepper says

      November 30, 2019 at 1:36 pm

      Also wondering about this

      Reply
  7. Thaleia from Something 2 Offer says

    November 23, 2019 at 4:16 pm

    I’ve been boiling my mixture for 20 minutes and it’s not to 300! I’m going to turn it off before the mixture boils away or over the side of the pot.

    Reply
    • Roberta Taylor says

      November 28, 2019 at 9:05 am

      Thank you so much for this. I will make some for my grandson (5) who gets so many colds at school; therefore constant coughing.

      Reply
    • Sara says

      February 24, 2020 at 7:27 pm

      When boiling sugar, it can take quite a long time to reach 300 degrees. I always use the low setting when making candy/cough drops and it can take up to 45 minutes or longer depending on the weather outside. If it’s boiling to the point you think it is going to overflow the pot, then your temp is too hot or too small of a pot. I’d try again……

      Reply
  8. Laura says

    January 2, 2020 at 5:34 pm

    When do they expire?

    Reply
  9. Marybeth says

    January 3, 2020 at 12:36 pm

    I tried this twice and they did not get hard. I checked my thermometer to make sure it was on target (water boils at 212) and it was. I wasted 1.5 cups of beautiful organic honey.

    Reply
  10. Glenda says

    February 17, 2020 at 10:30 am

    My mother always cured us with homemade medicine. I have grown up in NM and she would pick herbs and grow some too. That is how I grew up. My daughter is highly allergic to soy, corn, pumpkin family and much more, so we have had to get a little more aware as to what she can ingest, or land up in the ER each time. Thank you for your site, I am sure it is going to help us.

    Reply
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