Recipe: Elder, Mint & Thyme Cough Lollies

Winter is coming on fast down here in Oz, and with that comes coughs and colds. I strongly believe in beating coughs and colds the natural way and I have recently added these delicious Thyme and Elder Cough Lollies to my natural medicine cabinet.

Elder, Mint & Thyme and Elder Cough Lollies

1/2 cup dried elder flowers
1 cup fresh peppermint leaves
1/2 cup fresh thyme leaves
2.5 cm (1") pce of fresh ginger, sliced thinly
3 cups rapadura or succanat (unrefined sugar - if you don't have any, use brown sugar instead)
1 tsp cream of tartar
icing (confectioner's) sugar

1. Line and grease a medium baking tray with butter
2. In a medium sized heatproof glass bowl, pour 3 cups boiling water over herbs and ginger. Press down on the herbs with a spoon to bruise them and then allow mixture to sit for 1 hour.
3. Strain through a cheesecloth lined strainer, gathering up the cheesecloth at the end and squeezing to extract as much liquid as possible. Keep the herb tea and throw away the herb remnants (great for a worm farm or Bokashi bucket!)
4. Measure out 2 1/2 cups of the herb tea into a medium saucepan and add the sugar and cream of tartar, stirring occasionally over a medium low heat until the sugar is dissolved. Use a wet pastry brush to brush down any sugar crystals on the sides of the pan.
5. Turn up the heat once all the sugar is dissolved, and bring to a good boil. Boil until it reaches 175 C on a candy thermometer (or soft ball stage) - about 20 minutes.
6. Remove from heat, let cool slightly and then pour into prepared pan. Tilt pan to spread toffee evenly. Allow to cool at room temp. When it is nearly set, score the top into squares, about 60.
7. When completely cool, break into squares and dust with icing sugar. Wrap each cough lolly in some cellophane or baking paper and store in an airtight container for 3 months.

For other natural cold remedies, check out:

My Homemade Decongestant Balm

My Sore Throat Tea

Disclaimer: these recipes are for adults only, and are not intended to take the place of medical advice. Use and follow at your own risk

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