Simple Homemade Cough Drops: Lemon, Ginger, & Honey

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I have suffered this week with an awful sore throat, hoarseness, and stuffiness. This cold called for more than just my usual honey lemon tea remedy so I whipped up a batch of homemade cough drops!

These diy cough drops include lemon (great source of Vitamin C & an antibacterial), ginger (antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, pain reducer), cinnamon (antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial), and honey (antioxidant, anti-bacterial, soothes sore throat better than some medications).

Simple + Natural Homemade Cough Drops

*You will need a candy thermometer to make homemade cough drops.

Ingredients

2 cups water
1 lemon- cut in slices
2 tsp ginger or 2″ sliced ginger root
1/2 stick of cinnamon
1 cup local raw honey

Sliced ginger root, cinnamon sticks, and raw honey on a cutting board

Step 1:

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or with 1/2″ of powdered sugar.

Step 2:

Slice the lemon into round slices and place it in a medium sauce pan with the water, ginger, and the cinnamon stick.

Step 3:

Bring it to a boil and then let it simmer for about 25 minutes.

Step 4:

Strain the lemon, ginger, and cinnamon pieces out of the liquid.

Step 5:

Pour the infused water back into the same sauce pan and add one cup of locally sourced raw honey.

Raw honey being poured into a steel pan with ginger infused water

>>Pair these Homemade Cough Drops with a Homemade Sore Throat Tea!<<

Step 6:

Stir well and place a candy thermometer in the pan.

Step 7:

Heat on medium high, stirring constantly, until the syrup reaches 275 degrees F. This is just past the hard ball candy stage. This will take about 30 minutes.

Boiling and candying the cough syrup | Pan with boiling syrup, a wooden spoon, and a candy thermometer

Step 8:

Remove the pan from heat and let the bubbles settle for a few seconds.

Step 9:

Use a spoon to drop dots of the syrup onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or powdered sugar OR into silicone molds. Do this quickly because it will harden fast.

homemade cough drops on a baking sheet coated with powdered sugar

homemade cough drops in purple and blue bear and dinosaur molds. Ginger root in the background.

Step 10:

Let the homemade cough drops solidify for about 5 minutes

Homemade cough drops in the shape of bears and dinosaurs on a pan with powdered sugar

Step 11:

Place one on your tongue and let the throat soothing begin!

Powdered sugar coated homemade cough drops in a clear jar | ginger and cinnamon in background

These diy cough drops do come out with a little bit of a spicy kick. If you don’t want the spiciness, then I suggest cutting the ginger to 1 1/2 tsp and the cinnamon to 1/4 stick. You can also coat these drops with powdered sugar so they won’t stick together during storage. I hope these work as well for you as they did for me!

>>Check out 12 additional natural sore throat remedies here!<<