My kids love ginger chews, mints, and other sweet lozenges but they almost always contain either cane sugar or sugar alcohols. I like making my own cough drops/candies when possible to make sure my kids are getting only the purest ingredients. I made several flavours of these candies using Young Living Essential oils which are the purest essential oils on the market!
These candies are hard, delicious and completely refined-sugar free! They are perfect for a sore throat, if you’re congested or if you just want natural candy!
The first batch was made with lemon and lime essential oils. The 2nd batch was made with eucalyptus and peppermint and the third was made with thieves essential oil (Clove, Lemon, Cinnamon, Eucalyptus and Rosemary essential oils ).
A few things to note is that these candies will get very sticky and hard the longer they sit which is why its so important to store them in a single layer on parchment paper. I like to get a glass container and lay the bottom with parchment then lay the candies in a single layer and top it with another sheet of parchment and then another layer of candy (repeat as needed). The 2nd is that I found 20 drops to the right amount of essential oil to have enough flavour without it being overpowering. If I used 2 oils in one batch, I would use 10 drops of each. If I use 3 oils, I would do about 6 drops each, etc. Lastly, you will need some sort of silicone candy mould if you want the lozenges to be a certain shape, otherwise you can use parchment paper and make little round drops.
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup organic raw honey
- 2 tbs fresh lemon juice (or water)
- 15-20 drops of essential oils of your choice (taste and adjust as needed)
- 2 tbs arrowroot starch for coating the candies
Directions:
- Using a wooden spoon, mix together honey and lemon juice (or water) in a medium sized, deep saucepan with heavy sides and bottom. Heat to boiling over medium-low heat, stirring very often to prevent burning. You will want to remove the pan from the heat periodically and let sit for a minute to allow the foam to subside and then return it back to the heat. Reduce heat further if you feel honey will burn.
- Using a candy thermometer, heat mixture to 300-310F/148-154C degrees, until it reaches the hard crack stage (If you don’t have a thermometer, test the mixture by dropping some of it in a cold bowl of water and if it hardens, it’s ready).
- One the mixture reaches the hard crack stage, remove it from heat, stir in the essential oils of choice and allow to cool for a couple for minutes until it thickens slightly.
- Pour the mixture into small candy molds or drop by teaspoons onto parchment paper or a silicon mat. Allow to cool until the drops are hard and firm.
- Once they are fully cooled, dust with arrowroot powder to prevent them from sticking together. Store on parchment paper in a sealed container in a cool and dry place. ENJOY!