Get ready for the cold and flu season with your own herbal remedies. Make up a batch of homemade honey lemon cough drops, so for that nagging cough or sore throat that is sure to come this winter. With all natural ingredients these cough drops can actually help you start feeling better.

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Quick Get a Cough Drop!

One spring I developed a horrible cough. It was so bad that I couldn’t walk if I was coughing. My class of second graders would run and grab my water off my desk and cough drops out of my coat pocket when I started having a coughing fit. I would cough and somebody would yell, “Quick get a cough drop! Where’s her cup?” Those kiddos were so sweet. Oftentimes, one of the kids would even take over reading the book or leading the phonics flashcards when I got to coughing. The nurse heard me from down the hall and brought me water and a cough drop. Despite a horrible cough, I didn’t feel bad. Everybody thought it was too funny that my class was trained for coughing fits.

Ironically I just finished my first week of school this year and came down with a sore throat and a cough. What perfect timing for a blog post about cough drops.

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About the Ingredients in the Homemade Honey Lemon Cough Drops

Honey helps to coat the throat and acts as a sweetener. Some will make claims about the honey providing other benefits, but because it is boiled and no longer raw those points are no longer valid. Now a teaspoon of raw honey is a whole other story.

Lemon juice can help provide some pain relief and break up mucus. This makes it great for sore throats and wet coughs.

Powdered sugar is used to keep the drops from sticking together. This is only necessary for storage purposes.

Echinacea is known to support the immune system. Using echinacea in the cough drops will help get rid of whatever is irritating your throat.

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Ginger has anti-inflammatory properties which can help to soothe the pain. It has been shown to have anti-microbial properties as well, which should help fight off whatever germs are lingering back there.

Peppermint is cooling because it contains menthol. This will numb the throat, resulting in less pain and irritation and reduce the urge to cough. Plus it helps with congestion.

Elderberry is known for its immune support. If you’re sick you might as well support your immune system in fighting it off.

Cinnamon is full of antioxidants and it has antiviral, antifungal, and antibacterial properties. This combination of benefits are all good when you’re sick.

Clove has anti-inflammatory properties which will help to ease the pain of a sore throat.

Homemade Honey Lemon Cough Drops Recipe

Ingredients

¼ cup honey

¼ cup lemon juice

Powdered sugar

Instructions

First place ¼ cup of honey and ¼ cup of lemon juice in a saucepan. Bring the honey to a boil. You want to reach the hard crack stage, which is about 300 degrees. Stir it often to prevent burning. You will know it’s ready if you drop a bit into a bowl of cold water and it instantly hardens. As the mixture foams up, lift up the pot and allow the foam to settle.
Next drop small spoonfuls onto parchment paper or into a silicone mold. Allow them to cool completely.
Then dust them with powdered sugar to prevent them from sticking together. Another option would be to wrap them in parchment paper. Either way, store them in an airtight container.

Homemade Cough Drop Variations

Echinacea

In order to add herbs to the homemade honey lemon cough drops, you’ll need to first brew a strong tea. Boil ½ cup of water and pour it over some dried echinacea. Allow it to steep for at least 15 minutes. Strain off the herb, then pour the tea into the pan with the honey.

Ginger

To add fresh ginger, peel and slice a ginger root. 5 slices should be good. Put them in the pot with the honey and bring to a boil. Remove the ginger before creating the drops. This will leave you with the added bonus of candied ginger which is also good for a sore throat.

Peppermint

If you wish to add essential oils, make sure you are using food grade oils that you are comfortable ingesting. After boiling the honey add 10 drops of peppermint oil and give it a quick stir. Heat causes oils to break down, which is they aren’t added until the end.

Elderberry

Instead of lemon juice you could add ¼ cup of elderberry syrup. This will offer your immune system some support while you’re sick.

Cinnamon & Clove

If you wish to use spices, try placing them in the honey the night before. This gives them more time to soak in. This is most easily done with cinnamon sticks and whole cloves because they are easier to pick out before making the drops. If you use ground herbs, just know that your cough drops will be grittier. Place everything in the pot with the honey and boil as normal. Once it reaches 300 degrees remove the cinnamon sticks and cloves, so that you can create the drops.

Download Your FREE Herbal Remedy E-Book

Homemade Honey Lemon Cough Drops

Ingredients

¼ cup honey
¼ cup lemon juice
Powdered sugar

Instructions

First place ¼ cup of honey and ¼ cup of lemon juice in a saucepan. Bring the honey to a boil. You want to reach the hard crack stage, which is about 300 degrees. Stir it often to prevent burning. You will know it’s ready, if you drop a bit into a bowl of cold water and it instantly hardens. As the mixture foams up, lift it and allow the foam to settle.
Next drop small spoonfuls onto parchment paper or into a silicone mold. Allow them to cool completely.
Then dust them with powdered sugar to prevent them from sticking together. Another option would be to wrap them in parchment paper. Either way, store them in an airtight container.