Whether it be the dead of winter or the high life of summer, colds and allergies seem to pop up out of nowhere and “catch” us completely off guard. Hand-in-hand with these seasonal terrors come the dreaded cough and there are two ways you can fight colds comrade-in-arms with either over the counter cough drops - or ones that you can make yourself at home.

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[edit] Ingredients

1 cup sugar
1/3 cup light corn syrup
1 1/2 cup water
herbal tea bag
loose herbs
vegetable/food coloring (optional)
powdered sugar

[edit] Steps

Add about 2-3 tsp. of herbs (or use a teabag) to 1 1/2 cups boiling water, let steep until cool
Mix sugar, corn syrup and steeped water and cook over low heat stirring until sugar is dissolved and mixture boils.
Continue boiling without stirring until the mixture begins to crystallize.
Reduce heat and wash away crystals from side of your pan with a damp cloth.
Remove from the heat after a few minutes and add food coloring, if desired.
Drop some of the mixture from the tip of a spoon onto a greased surface or into prepared hard candy molds.
Allow to harden and cool completely before removing.
Roll the candies in powdered sugar and wrap in plastic wrap or waxed paper for storage.

[edit] Tips

The only secret to a successful drop is to use a tasty and simple combination of herbs "steeped" in the water before adding it to the sugar-syrup.
Some herbs that are found in many of the other natural cough drops you find on the market that you may want to try alone or in combination are; Coltsfoot, Korean Licorice Mint (easy to grow; seeds are available from Seeds of Change), thyme, slippery elm, horehound, comfrey leaf, hyssop, marsh mallow and common mullein, to name a few. Many of these herbs are perennial so you will have them for your own personal “medicine cabinet” year after year. Use the leaves only of these herbs either singly or in combination.
For gift giving, why not add a personal touch by pressing some of the fresh herbs between waxed paper and use to decorate or wrap your gift box. Add a nice tag listing the herbs that you used for a professional look.