• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Salt in my Coffee logo
  • Homestead Animals
    • Raising ducks for eggs
    • Raising chickens
    • Raising quail
  • Gardening
    • Vegetable Gardening
    • Growing Fruit Trees
  • Recipes
    • Breakfast
    • Bread Recipes
    • Main Dishes
    • Treats and Desserts
  • Homestead Crafts
    • Easy Sewing Projects
    • Holiday crafts
    • Natural dyeing
    • Spinning
    • Blacksmithing
  • About
    • Contact

Home » Treats and Desserts » Horehound Cough Drops with Honey & Grapefruit

Horehound Cough Drops with Honey & Grapefruit

Published Dec 7, 2017 · Last updated Jul 14, 2021 · By Anna · 32 Comments

865 Shares
Pin821
Share30
Yum
Pocket
Buffer14
Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

Up until this last week, my kids had collectively been sick for less than 6 days in their combined 5.5 years of life. Neither of them actually even remembered being sick. The whole concept of illness was nothing more than a whimsical game to them.

And then this week happened.

making horehound cough drops

This article contains affiliate links. Click here to learn more.

We spent several hours in a small house with a sick relative, and we all caught it - badly. The fever. The runny noses. The deep, nasty cough. My poor babies realized that being sick is not a fun game!

I found myself wishing we had some nice cough drops, but not wanting all the sugar and artificial ingredients of so many that are available commercially. And then I remembered - I have a huge supply of horehound that I'd dried from my herb garden this summer. Horehound is a natural expectorant, and makes wonderfully soothing (albeit bitter!) tea and cough drops.

how to make horehound cough drops

After reading every horehound cough drop recipe I could find, I couldn't help but feel that most of them were extremely sugary candy with just a touch of horehound. I felt a little dubious that spiking my body sugar that much was much of a recipe for recovery, and had to wonder if was really necessary to add so much sweetener to make a horehound cough drop palatable. So you know me - I experimented.

horehound cough drops with honey and grapefruit

I found that it was possible to include much more horehound, and much less sugar, and still end up with an extremely enjoyable lozenge. These horehound cough drops are sweetened only with honey, and the grapefruit adds a refreshing (and comforting!) zing that honestly makes me want to keep popping these, even when I don't need them!

Next year, I'll be making up a huge batch before winter even sets in. When making just one batch at a time like this, I wrap them individually in parchment paper, and store in a mason jar. For a year's worth, my plan is to wrap individually and then use my vacuum sealer to seal them in air-tight bags of 20 or 30. I hope you enjoy these healing little treats as much as we do!

horehound lozenges with honey and grapefruit
horehound lozenges with honey and grapefruit

Horehound Cough Drops with Honey & Grapefruit

These soothing cough drops are sweetened only with honey, and harness the healing power of horehound to help send a stubborn cough packing!
5 from 20 votes
Print Pin Rate

Ingredients

  • 1 cup dried organic horehound
  • 2 cups water
  • 1 cup honey
  • 8 drops grapefruit essential oil

Instructions

  • Add horehound and water to a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, and simmer gently for 20 minutes. Liquid should look almost like coffee. 
  • Let liquid cool. Strain off the liquid, squeezing all possible liquid out of the horehound. Return strained liquid to small saucepan, and discard the horehound.
  • Add honey to horehound liquid. Stirring very frequently, simmer gently until it reaches the "hard crack" stage - about 300 degrees on a candy thermometer. My preferred method is to drip a little drop from a spoon into a jar of ice water. When the drip turns into a very hard little ball (like a cough drop!), the mixture is ready.
  • Pour liquid onto a cookie sheet, or into a 13x9 pan - something with a big surface area. You want to the mixture to start cooling quickly so you can work with it!
  • Working from the edges, scoop up teaspoonfuls of the mixture, and roll into balls. Place on parchment-lined cookie sheet, being careful not to let cough drops touch each other.
  • You do have to work fairly quickly to get it all rolled before the end of it firms up too much. But there's plenty of time to enjoy the project, and enlist the help of little hands! It's FUN playing with super sticky "candy!"
  • When the cough drops are COMPLETELY cooled (I like to wait at least an hour), roll them up individually in squares of parchment paper. I just tear parchment paper into very rough squares, but a size about 2"x2" works nicely.
  • Store in an airtight container in a cool, dry location.

Save

Save

865 Shares
Pin821
Share30
Yum
Pocket
Buffer14
« Seed Catalog Scavenger Hunt
How to choose the best anvil for your forge »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Samantha Strock says

    August 31, 2020 at 8:00 am

    Hey! I'm about to make these because my horehound has taken over a part of my garden -- can i use fresh? Or should I stick to the dried stuff I have?

    Thanks! 🙂

    Reply
  2. Paul says

    November 14, 2019 at 12:32 pm

    At what stage do you add grapefruit?

    Reply
  3. Sara says

    October 16, 2019 at 10:57 am

    Maybe I’m missing something, but when do you add the grapefruit oil? Thanks! 🙂 These look amazing!

    Reply
  4. Melinda Knolle says

    August 23, 2019 at 8:16 am

    5 stars
    Hello ! Horehound grows wild and crazy all around here. Most people hate it here,, not me,, nope.. when I married and moved here I was so excited to see it growing wild. I want to use it and when I saw this recipe I knew I need to make these. I will be trying it this weekend, wish me luck ! How long will they last in a jar? Can I make a large batch or several small batches and just keep them on hand for the year? Thank you for sharing you wonderful info.

    Reply
  5. melinda says

    December 13, 2018 at 1:48 pm

    This is wonderful !! Horehound grows wild here and it is EVERYWHERE! I wanted to make cough drops with it and when i found yours I was very happy that you noticed all the sugar in the other ones. I will be trying these very soon to take advantage of these plants that love our home lol.

    Reply
  6. Lindsey Dietz says

    August 06, 2018 at 10:18 am

    5 stars
    What a great tutorial! I love that you use herbs. And those cough drops are almost too cute to use!

    Reply
  7. Katie Walsh Beck says

    August 05, 2018 at 11:07 pm

    5 stars
    What a cool idea - sounds like a great idea to make an all natural remedy.

    Reply
  8. Leslie-Anne says

    August 05, 2018 at 9:39 pm

    5 stars
    I'm seriously impressed with this! I have never ever thought to make my own cough drops but now I really want to! I am not sure where I'd find horehound, but I'm sure I could find it somewhere in my big city! Love this kind of inspiration. Thanks!

    Reply
    • Sandra Kim Thomason says

      July 25, 2021 at 1:25 pm

      Yes, what part of the horehound do you use? Leaves, flowers, roots? All of it? Thanks for any harvesting tips!

      Reply
  9. Tatiana says

    August 05, 2018 at 10:58 am

    5 stars
    I have two kids preschool age and I will use your recipe 100% this upcoming winter season .

    Reply
  10. Carol Little R.H. @studiobotanica says

    August 04, 2018 at 2:30 pm

    5 stars
    I made some with honey last year and there were much appreciated last winter.
    My horehound plant was unhappy though, sadly, this summer.. and my fresh/dried supply is tiny now..
    May need to find a friend with horehound.. thanks for the reminder!
    Here's to our health!!

    Reply
  11. ChihYu says

    August 03, 2018 at 9:43 pm

    5 stars
    Oh wow ! This recipe is so interesting and I love its healing effect, too ! Can't wait to try it !

    Reply
  12. Emily @ Recipes to Nourish says

    August 03, 2018 at 8:33 pm

    5 stars
    Oh these are amazing!!! I've never made cough drops like this before, only raw honey versions. I think this version is awesome! Love that you used grapefruit EO in them too.

    Reply
  13. Liz @ The Lemon Bowl says

    August 03, 2018 at 5:36 pm

    5 stars
    This is so perfect! I love that you've used grapefruit. I don't like the added sugar in store bought drops so this is a great alternative!

    Reply
  14. Yvonne says

    August 03, 2018 at 4:08 pm

    5 stars
    Genius! I never thought of making my own cough drops before.

    Reply
  15. Kathryn says

    August 01, 2018 at 9:50 pm

    5 stars
    Saving this for the upcoming winter. Interesting read, thanks!

    Reply
  16. Renee Kohley says

    August 01, 2018 at 7:31 pm

    5 stars
    These are fantastic! I am going to get these into the pantry for the fall! Thank you!

    Reply
    • Anna says

      August 01, 2018 at 8:34 pm

      YES! Now's the time to make them! My horehound was a little late getting going this year, but I've got a good batch to work with now, so I'd best get on it! 😉 Hope you enjoy!!

      Reply
  17. Kari - Get Inspired Everyday! says

    August 01, 2018 at 2:52 pm

    5 stars
    I can't wait to try these, I'm not a big fan of sugary cough drops either. But these will be just the trick, plus I love grapefruit so that's a bonus!

    Reply
    • Anna says

      August 01, 2018 at 8:35 pm

      The grapefruit is SO refreshing, that hint of it is really my favorite thing about this recipe! Hope you enjoy!

      Reply
  18. Joni Gomes says

    July 31, 2018 at 3:57 pm

    5 stars
    Oh wow what a great DIY recipe! Definitely going to try this.

    Reply
    • Anna says

      August 01, 2018 at 1:31 pm

      Joni, thanks so much for the kind words! Hope you love it as much as my kids do!

      Reply
  19. Megan Stevens says

    July 31, 2018 at 10:28 am

    5 stars
    I'm sorry; it's so hard to have sick kids! I love your recipe and would never have known how to make these. Thank you!

    Reply
    • Anna says

      August 01, 2018 at 8:36 pm

      I know - I always wish I could just be sick for them! It's so hard to see them not feeling well. Hope you enjoy the recipe!

      Reply
  20. Raia Todd says

    July 31, 2018 at 10:19 am

    5 stars
    Those look amazing! Great job! I tried making cough drops last year, but I didn't have any horehound so I just used coconut oil and honey. Haha. My kids basically thought they were candy...

    Reply
    • Anna says

      August 01, 2018 at 1:33 pm

      Haha! Honey makes everything better! These will definitely have a little bit of a bitter edge after something sweeter, but boy that horehound is a wonder-worker!!

      Reply
  21. May says

    July 30, 2018 at 11:44 pm

    5 stars
    So glad to learn about horehound, I need to find some now! Love this recipe. Thanks!

    Reply
  22. Jean says

    July 30, 2018 at 8:47 pm

    5 stars
    Never knew you could make cough drops at home! What a great idea and I bet so much healthier than the store bought stuff.

    Reply
    • Anna says

      August 01, 2018 at 8:37 pm

      I love it that they're so much lower in sugar, and don't have added coloring - which we're fairly sensitive to. Thanks for the kind words!!

      Reply
  23. linda spiker says

    July 30, 2018 at 7:58 pm

    I could have used this two weeks ago! I got a horrible summer cough/cold in Europe!

    Reply
    • Anna says

      August 01, 2018 at 1:34 pm

      Oh no! Summer colds are the worst, and combine that with traveling...that's just awful! Hope you're well on the mend!!

      Reply
  24. Tessa Simpson says

    July 30, 2018 at 6:20 pm

    5 stars
    No idea where to get horehound, but I am totally intrigued!! Looks easy!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

MOST RECENT POSTS

Non-Dairy Homemade Ice Cream Recipes

Growing strawberries and asparagus together

Stunning peach and pink narcissus varieties

How to use TRIANGULAR PLANT SPACING in a garden bed

Footer

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Read our PRIVACY POLICY here.

Copyright © 2022 Salt in my Coffee on the Seasoned Pro Theme