I was inspired to make these cough drops by my terrible cold and this post from Wellness Mama. Not everything I do for Hipsteaders is a winner. This project wasn’t a failure, but I’m pretty sure the next time I’m sick, I’ll just buy the herbal cough drops from the store. It’s a lot of work to complete, especially when you aren’t feeling so hot. Or maybe you can just think ahead and whip up some before you get sick.

I made a couple of adjustments to the original recipe. I’ll share what I did with you, but check out Wellness Mama’s recipe too.

Rather than order individual herbs, I picked up a variety box of cold season teas by Traditional Medicinals from Whole Foods. I steeped two tea bags of each of the four varieties in two cups of nearly boiling water for twenty minutes.

I squeezed out the tea bags. I mixed one cup of this strong tea with one cup of honey and 1/4 cup of fresh lemon juice to make a cough syrup. Yum!

I mixed the other cup of tea with one cup of honey and 1/2 cup of sugar and gradually brought it to 300 degrees over medium high heat, stirring when needed to prevent burning. If I decide to make this recipe again, I will try using a cup of sugar and 1/2 cup of honey. Sugar is easier to work with when you’re making hard candy–in my experience, honey is much more likely to burn on the way to the hard crack stage. On the other hand, honey is very soothing for sore throats, so if you can make it work, go for it!

When the syrup reached 300 degrees, I poured it out on a baking sheet lined with a silicone mat to cool off enough to handle.

I rolled the mixture into small spheres and then flattened them slightly into lozenge shapes and allowed them to cool completely.

If there’s a next time, I’ll use these neat molds I purchased at JoAnn’s. Or perhaps I’ll just make my own Jolly Rancher candies instead!

You can wrap the finished drops in wax paper or foil squares for storage.

Happy flu season!

XOXO

Jo