Hello crafters !

This past week has been somewhat less than fun as I’ve been fighting with this cold that seems to be going around. Luckily I’ve made it out alive and now I’m in the final stages where the sore throat and painful coughing sets in.

I have always hated cough drops. They all taste awful to me and they all have that disgusting menthol taste 🙁 I can literally detect someone sucking on a Halls cough drop from a kilometer away. I finally found some that aren’t terrible at my local grocery store and they are literally just dried honey with orange flavour. Unfortunately they are four dollars for just ten cough drops! I’m far too cheap to purchase those again so I decided to take matters into my own hands. The solution?

DIY Cough Drops! I did a bit of research and snooping around and came up with this recipe which not only works but also tastes tolerable 🙂 Yay! These cough drops use only natural ingredients that you probably already have in your baking cupboard so I would like to say they are almost free to make? And on top of that you don’t have to worry about any sort of chemical or weird ingredient that you can’t pronounce. So let’s get to it!

Ingredients for Your DIY Cough Drops

• 1/2 cup maple syrup (I was lucky enough to score some local sap which I reduced down but use whatever you have!)
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• tbsp lemon juice
• tbsp pure honey (I used the local honey here from Canaan Road Farms, it’s delicious!)
• 1/2 tsp fresh pureed ginger
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon (Or just put a cinnamon stick in there and remove it at the end)

To peel your ginger use the side of a spoon and the skin will easily scrape off 🙂 I pureed mine in my mini blender with a splash of water to help it mix up.

Before you begin set up a baking tray with some parchment and sift a thin layer of cornstarch over it to prevent sticking.

Mix all these ingredients together in a small pot.

Start it off on a high heat to get it boiling. Once it is boiling turn down to low and let it simmer until it is thick enough that it can be scooped into a big lump and mostly holds it shape. It will be like a very loose dough. (About 20 minutes)

Turn off the heat and use a spoon to grab a cough drop sized blob. *caution* the mixture will be hot don’t burn yourself! Roll the blob into a ball and gently press it between your palms to make it slightly flattened.

Place the cough drop onto your powdered parchment and keep rolling! You need to move fairly quickly as the mixture will harden very fast. I kept the pot on the lowest setting on the stove just to give me a bit of extra time.

Let your cough drops cool at room temperature until fully hardened.

When your DIY cough drops are COMPLETELY cooled mix them in some icing sugar to give them a non-stick exterior!

This recipe makes about 25 nickel-sized cough drops. If you want to make more I would suggest making separate batches as opposed to just doubling the recipe because you might have trouble rolling out more than 25 before the mixture hardens on you!

Enjoy!

Benefits of These DIY Cough Drops

LEMON: Rich in Vitamin C and boosts immune system. Lemon juice is also antibacterial so it will kill those sore throat germs!

GINGER: Ginger is a natural inflammatory to soothe swollen throats and it also breaks down mucus.

CLOVES: Cloves help clear out a stuffy nose and they are also a natural painkiller!

HONEY: Contains antioxidant, antibacterial and antimicrobial properties. Also boosts your immune system to help fight off that sickness.

Another quick remedy that helped me A LOT while I was feeling terrible is this quick hot bevvy that my sister told me about and it really soothed my throat and kept me hydrated. (Thanks Shannon 🙂 )

Make a mug of hot water and add lemon, fresh ginger slices and honey to taste. Sip on this concoction all day everyday until you’re healed.

Feel better!