In a medium size saucepan, bring 2 cups of water to a boil.
Place between 1 tablespoon and ¼ cup (for a really potent cough drop) of each herb into a medium size bowl. I put the herbs in a muslin bag to make straining easier.
Pour the boiling water over herbs and let steep for 20 minutes.
Strain out the herbs and use half of the infused water for the next part of the recipe. Refrigerate and save the rest for another batch or mix with equal parts raw honey for a simple cough syrup.
To make the cough drops:
Pour 1 cup of the herb infused water into a medium saucepan.
Add the honey and heat over medium-high heat until it reaches 300°F. If you don’t have a candy thermometer, this usually takes about 30 minutes and can be tested by dropping a drop of the mixture into ice water to see if it immediately hardens. It should harden to the point that the drop breaks if dropped on the counter. You can also tell because the mixture will start to foam and separate. At this point, it is important to remove it from the heat quickly so it does not burn.
Pour the mixture into candy molds, or pour onto a large baking sheet that has been greased with coconut oil or that has a silicon baking mat on it.
If you are not using molds, you will need to form the mixture into cough drops by hand. Let it cool until it is cool enough to touch without being burned and immediately and quickly form it into lozenges with your hands (you might need help to do this quickly enough).
Put the finished cough drops/lozenges on a silicon mat or piece of parchment paper to cool.
When completely cool, I toss the cough drops in a mixture of powdered slippery elm and stevia to prevent them from getting sticky in humidity.
Use as needed for coughing, congestion or sore throat.
Notes
Any herbs can be used. I picked the combination above to help sooth coughing, congestion and sore throat while boosting the immune system. I’ve only had these last about a week in my house because my kids eat them that quickly, so I don’t know their shelf life past a week.