Don’t buy store cough drops, make your own! These all-natural homemade Honey Lemon Ginger Cough Drops have only 3 ingredients and take less than 30 minutes to make.
Best cough drops when you are feeling under the weather
This Honey Lemon Ginger Cough Drops recipe post comes to you courtesy of The Flu of 2015, Part Deux.
Yes, this morning, I woke up like this…with a fever, sore throat, post nasal drip, and body aches, AGAIN! I haven’t been sick in over 12 years and now this Winter season, actually just this month of January, I’ve been sick twice! Oh the joy.
Juno, The Blizzard of 2015, was in full blown competition today with my newfound flu. On a positive note, I had a darn good excuse for not going away today. On a not-so-positive note, I needed some throat and couch drops to soothe my throat. Google to the rescue!!
The Internet proceeded to find me a wonderful natural cough drop recipe to make at home from the website Thank Your Body. This was my first time visiting this website and I loved all the recipes and tips for all-natural alternatives to everything imaginable (food, hair stuff, skin stuff, etc). I’m really glad I found this site and will no doubt be visiting it again soon.
Since this was my first time making cough drops, I didn’t make any changes to the original recipe at all. Next time I make them (which may be soon, like in a couple of days), I might add some orange juice or black cherry juice concentrate, in addition to the fresh lemon juice.
I was also thinking of stirring into the mixture, after it’s fully cooked, some lemon or orange zest and more of the fresh grated ginger. We’ll see how those changes go and I’ll update this recipe if it’s a success.
How to make candy…or cough drops
Making homemade cough drops is just like making candy. All the water needs to be cooked out of the mixture, so let it come to a boil. Once it foams up the sides of the pan, remove from the heat briefly to allow the foam to subside, then place back on the heat to boil again while stirring. Repeat until the temperature of mixture reaches 300F/149C degrees.
I used a regular teaspoon to drop circles of the mixture onto a silicon baking mat and set it aside to cool for about 30 minutes.
Pretty little jewels of honey drops. They look like they have flecks of gold in them! I didn’t want to dust them with the powdered sugar because they are so pretty.
Like this recipe? How about trying my Elderberry Cough Drops recipe too!
Next time you are feeling a little under the weather, make these easy homemade Honey Lemon Ginger Cough Drops instead of buying pre-made ones. Check out the original recipe and additional information on how to make your own natural products at Thank Your Body!
- 1/2 cup honey
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
Using a wooden spoon, mix together honey, lemon juice, and fresh ginger in a medium sized, deep saucepan with heavy sides and bottom. Heat to boiling over medium-low heat, stirring often to prevent burning.
Using a candy thermometer, heat mixture to 300-310F/148-154C degrees, until it reaches the hard crack stage (If no thermometer, test the mixture by dropping some of it in a cold bowl of water and if it hardens, it’s ready).
**Watch the pan closely, as the mixture will foam up the sides of pan. Take the pan off the heat briefly to allow foam to subside, then place pan back on heat to continue cooking. May have to turn heat down to low to prevent honey from burning.
- One mixture reaches the hard crack stage, remove from heat, and allow to cool for a couple for minutes until thickens slightly.
- Pour mixture into small candy molds or drop by teaspoons onto parchment paper or a silicon mat. Allow to cool until drops are hard and firm.
Once drops are fully cooled, dust with powdered sugar, cornstarch, arrowroot powder, ground cinnamon, etc, to prevent drops from sticking together. Store in a tightly covered container in a cool, dry place.
Recipe Video
- Use a wooden spoon for stirring the mixture because metal spoons absorb heat.
- Use a saucepan with heavy sides and bottom, so it will conduct heat evenly. Also, use a large enough pan that will allow the mixture to expand while boiling and not spill over the sides.
- Make the cough drops on a cold, dry day. Rainy or humid weather will cause the mixture to be grainy and may not set up properly.
- To test if mixture has reached correct temperature, drop a little of the mixture in a small bowl of cold water and it should immediately harden and become solid.
- Once drops are fully cooled, dust with powdered sugar, cornstarch, arrowroot powder, ground cinnamon, etc, to prevent drops from sticking together.
- Store in a tightly covered container in a cool, dry place for up to 4 weeks.
- To prevent drops from sticking together during longer storage: wrap the drops individually in pieces of parchment or wax paper.
- Original recipe by Erica Hale at www.thankyourbody.com
How often do you use these drops per hour/day
Hi Gwen, they may be used as often as you need them. They are made with all-natural ingredients so there’s no harm in eating as many as you want, except for maybe a stomach ache from all the honey (aka sugar)
How does one keep the candy from sticking to paper? I used waxed paper, as I had it on hand, is parchment paper specifically better than waxed?
Sounds like the heat from the mixture might have melted the wax in the paper, causing it to lose it’s non-stick ability. Parchment paper has a silicone coating and doesn’t melt when heated, so it’s best to use it or a silicone mat to cool the cough drops.
Just wondering if you made those few changes to the recipe and if so how it turned out, the orange juice sounded good?
Hi Kelly, Happy New Year!! I haven’t made them with OJ yet, but need to soon! I’ll definitely update the post when I do
How long do these stay good in fridge or room temp?
Hi Ashley, they should stay for at least 3-4 weeks in the refrigerator. You may have to dust them with a little more coating powder, so they don’t stick.
When cooling them, can u put them jn the freezer? Or should i let them sit out on the counter?
Hi Ashley, They cool pretty quickly on the counter, but I don’t see why you couldn’t put them in the freezer to speed the process up.
Hey there, if you don’t have a candy thermometer how long do you think it would take to cook?
Hi Jamie, It should take take about 20 minutes and you can test it by dropping some of the mixture into a cup of ice water. If it hardens immediately, then it’s ready! Hope you enjoy the recipe and let me know what you think of it.
I felt a cold coming on and can’t do store bought cough drops so I tried yours. I subbed pineapple juice for lemon juice. These worked out great! Thank you!
What a great idea to use pineapple juice for the drops, Megan! Thank you so much for the taking the time to review and so happy you liked them. Can’t wait to make a batch this week with the pineapple!
These are easy to make, but they stick your teeth like crazy. What can you add to make them harder? Thanks.
Hi Lisa! If they are still sticky, it’s possible not all the water evaporated during the cooking process. Drop a little of the mixture into some cold water, if it hardens immediately, then it’s ready. Another possibility could be the humidity. I’ve made hard candy before when it was humid and it turned super sticky, even though I cooked it to the hard crack stage. Hope this helps!
Just added ground cinnamon so hopefully they taste good
What a great idea Nicky! Cinnamon is very beneficial in fighting colds, so hope they turn out! Please let me know if they do and I’ll update the recipe.
What type of honey did you use?
Hi Shannon, I used a local raw honey because it’s what I always have in the pantry. Feel free to use your favorite honey for the drops!
I don’t use sugar (gave up sugar and substitutes except honey) for dusting, but dusted with cinnamon. Came out great.
That’s so awesome dusting the drops with cinnamon worked! Great idea Patricia and thanks for letting me know. I’ll update the recipe too with your suggestion.
Gah. That’s awful that you’re sick. I’ve read about lots of flu on blogs lately. Maybe I’ll just never leave the house until spring! These coughdrops are a great idea!
It’s that time of year Mimi!
Your timing couldn’t be better Karrie! I feel a tickle in my throat right now! I love when things are homemade.
Rut-roh! Time for some homemade cough drops Katherine!
I think half the residents in our town have a cough right now. Timely post.
Everyone has a cold here too!
The cough drops worked so well!
Thanks Callie and glad you like them!
Love that you can make your own cough drops! The ingredients are great and the prep seems easy, so these are happening. Thank you, Karrie!!
Thanks Nicoletta! They are so easy to make and you may never buy store bought again!
Hi I’ve tried to make them two time and they will not get hard I let one batch sit over night on the counter top and one batch in the refrigerator and they didn’t get hard
I don’t have a candy thermometer
Maybe didn’t cook them long enough or is it possible that I cooked them to long?
Hi Pasty, they should harden at room temp, so it sounds like the moisture wasn’t cooked all the way out of the mixture or it’s possible there’s too much humidity in the kitchen to prevent them from hardening. Did you try to drop some of the mixture in a cup of cold water to test it? You could try to reheat the cough drops in a pan over very low heat and get it to temp BUT it’s kind of tricky because you have to make sure the mixture doesn’t burn.
Just made these today with (and for) my four-year-old nephew. It was super easy and we had so much fun! I was worried he wouldn’t like the ginger, so I subbed half a tsp of cinnamon and half a tsp unsweetened cocoa (another natural cough suppressant). He loves them and they soothed his cough right away! Thanks for the recipe and the cooking tips!
You are welcome Anna and thank you so much for taking the time to comment on the drops! Love your idea on subbing out the ginger with cinnamon and unsweetened cocoa and I’ll have to try that next time I make them!
Hi,
I made the cough drops but they are extremely chewy! Anything I can do now on the ready drops to make them hard?
Hello Namita, They should fully harden at room temp, so it sounds like the moisture wasn’t cooked all the way out of the mixture or it’s possible there’s too much humidity in the kitchen to prevent them from hardening. You could try to reheat the cough drops in a pan over very low heat and get it to temp BUT it’s kind of tricky because you have to make sure the mixture doesn’t burn.
Hello. Oh my goodness I haven’t made hard candy in thirty years. Now I have a cold and fiund your recipe to make ciugh drops. It it very simple and easy. Unfortunately I didn’t have a candy thermometer. Just a good pan, lots of store bought honey, quute a few lemins, fresh ginger and a wooden spoon aling with a 13 year old xat, and a onebyear old dog. Who both wanted to go outside. Unfortunately I was making cough drops which I slightly burned. I could only take a few spoonfuls out of the pan. The mixture wouldn’t come out of the pan. What a mess I made. But I was able to suck in a few. Blackened honey with ginger and lemon. Not a fun day. But thank you for this recipe.
OMG Mary, I know it was not a fun day for you, but I just had a giggle a little while reading your comment because I have 2 dogs who HAVE TO go outside every single time I start cooking something. I swear they do it on purpose! Hope you are feeling better now and are able to make these drops again without any animal interference (LOL!) Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review too.
How much propolis can I add to this mixture? Thank you
Hello! I’ve never added propolis to this recipe, so unsure how of how the mixture would respond to it. Plus, I’m not sure how it reacts to being heated. I have propolis at home, but usually just take it by the spoonful at room temperature.
Could these be stored in the freezer to use in the future? Like if I needed some for later?
Yes they can, but you may want to individually wrap them in pieces of parchment or wax paper so they don’t stick together.
Definitely will be making these, but I am curious why they would only be good for up to 4 weeks. Hard candy is usually good for a long time. If they were kept in the freezer they should be okay indefinitely, do you think?
Thanks Carol and yes, they should last indefinitely in the freezer.
Are these supposed to be sweet? Mine turned out very bitter. Could I possibly have burnt the honey even though I kept it on low/medium heat and stirred it constantly?
Yes, they are supposed to be sweet Katherine. It is possible to still scorch the honey if it cooks too fast while trying to reach the 300F degree mark. Do your stovetop elements run at a higher temp? I have a gas stove and it runs hot, so I always have to cook mine on the lowest setting possible to avoid burning.
These were so easy to make and lemon ginger are great remedies for cough. Thanks for posting this recipe!
You are welcome and glad you liked it!
My cough drops are still sticky and I’ve read your responses to several comments above regarding high humidity or not reaching 300. Do you think if I put them in the freezer they’ll harden to the desired level?
Yes Michelle, you can definitely put the drops in the freezer to firm up, but they still may not harden completely if undercooked.