A 2-ingredient, natural sore throat remedy that’s easy to make and helpful to have on hand. Fun to give away too!Save

 

In the past few months, I have read several times about the antibacterial, antiviral, and anti-fungal properties of honey and cinnamon.  I am certainly not a doctor, but when I saw the idea from my friend, Justine, at Full Belly Sisters for a honey lollipop that was supposed to soothe a sore throat, I figured it was worth a try.  If nothing else, it would taste good!

Because of what I read, I added cinnamon to the lollipops. After making them, I let the kids and their friends sample the home remedy—they got good reviews in the taste department–then put the rest away for when the next cold struck. 

When my older son got the knock-out-drag-down flu recently, we put them to the test. He reported that the honey concoction soothed his sore throat and asked for them several times over the next few days.  Whether it was truly an effective natural medicine or a placebo effect, we were both pleased with the results.

For a child who is at least two years old, these would be a good alternative to a cough drop, which may pose a choking hazard. Conversely, you could make these as a cough drop, simply omitting the stick, for an adult or older child. 

If you end up with more lollipops than you need to sooth a sore throat, they will keep indefinitely stored in a cool, dry place and may also be used as a sweetener/stirrer in a cup of hot tea. I highly recommend making them in advance and having them on hand for the next time a soar throat strikes…and please let me know what you think!

A 2-ingredient, natural sore throat remedy that's easy to make and helpful to have on hand. Fun to give away, too!Save

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Honey Lollipops — a Natural Sore Throat Remedy

My yield was 13 lollipops, although this may vary somewhat depending on how large you make them. An inexpensive candy thermometer, available in most grocery and kitchen stores, makes these especially easy to prepare.
Prep Time 1 minute
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 26 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1/3 cup honey
  • ¼ teaspoon cinnamon, optional
  • Lollipop sticks (available at craft stores)

Instructions

  1. Lay the lollipop sticks on a parchment paper-covered baking sheet.
  2. Pour the honey into a small saucepan and boil over medium-low to medium heat for about 10 minutes or until the temperature on your candy thermometer reads 300 degrees F. The honey will bubble up. Adjust the heat so that the honey continues to bubble but does not boil over, stirring occasionally. (If you do not have a thermometer, you may test the honey for doneness by dropping a drip or two into a bowl of very cold water. If the honey hardens into a ball, it is ready. If it remains soft to the touch, return to a boil.)
  3. Once the honey has reached 300 degrees F., remove the pan from the burner. Stir the honey and allow it to cool for a minute or two in the pan. Add the cinnamon, if using, and stir to thoroughly incorporate.
  4. Slowly pour the still-hot mixture over one end of the lollipop sticks. When the honey is very hot, it will spread out and form an uneven circle. Your first few lollipops might be thin and misshapen. As the honey cools, it becomes easier to pour an even circle. If desired, you may even out the first few lollipops by pouring a little more honey over them at the end. The thinner lollipops may be a little sharp around the edges once the honey hardened, so I would recommend making them thicker. Additionally, if your honey cools to the point that it becomes hard to pour, simply return to low heat for a minute or so to thin.
  5. Once completely cooled, wrap in clear, plastic treat bags and secure with a twist-tie or simply store in an air-tight container, separating the lollipops with a piece of wax or parchment paper.

Notes

  • Note to parents with kids who have braces: As the lollipops are sucked on, the honey softens and, like taffy, would most likely not be orthodontist approved. If your child likes tea, he or she could instead use the lollipop as a sweet stirrer in the tea.
A 2-ingredient, natural sore throat remedy that's easy to make and helpful to have on hand. Fun to give away, too!Save

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98 responses to “Honey Lollipops — a Natural Sore Throat Remedy”

  1. Eryn Albert Avatar
    Eryn Albert

    Hi. I did exactly what the recipe said, and I set a timer for 8 minutes just to be safe, and I came back 5 minutes later and the whole house almost caught on fire and there was thick smoke covering everywhere, every room in the house was black and the honey turned to ash. Has this ever happened to anyone else?? It was extremely scary, as well as dangerous for me and everyone else who was in the house. As far as I can see the reviews look pretty good tho.

    1. Hi Eryn, I think the best suggestion I can offer is not to walk away when you’re actively cooking. As the instructions mention, the honey can bubble up and you need to be there to adjust the heat. My guess is that the honey boiled over and caught fire. That would have been very scary to return to. If you try again and watch the pot, my guess is you’ll have a much better outcome!

  2. Mwebembezi isaac Avatar
    Mwebembezi isaac

    what is the boiling degrees that will not denature honey chemicals
    i would like to make them for public as well as business. so help me and advice me how to make them . i have fear that when you boil honey , you may denature some chemicals inhoney.
    thank you

    1. Boiling honey will weaken its beneficial enzymes but it will still have soothing properties because it coats the throat. If you are planning on selling this or any other food product, you will probably want to take a class on food safety to be fully aware of the current safety requirements, regulations, etc.

  3. I’m a beekeeper and just wanted you to know that once honey is heated it loses all its health benefits. Once its heated it’s just basically sugar.

    1. Thanks for your comment, Lee. Raw honey does offer more medicinal properties, but many doctors (including my own) recommend honey for its soothing properties, even when not consumed raw, as it coats the throat. I also mention the relevance of the placebo effect in the write-up. A spoonful of raw honey would be wonderful, too!

  4. These look great! Can’t wait to try making them.
    Thanks for the share! <3 🙂

    1. My pleasure, Indu!

  5. Misty Lee Hummel Avatar
    Misty Lee Hummel

    I have made honey cough drops for years. I love adding lemon essential oil to my honey right after I take it off the heat for a nice honey lemon cough drop. I also have added thieves oil to the honey which adds a medicinal value to the cough drop!

    1. Thanks for your comment, Misty. I love your addition of essential oils!

    2. Make sure your oils are food grade, for health safety reasons.

      1. Very good point, Penny.

  6. Love this idea! We are planning a wedding and I would love to make these for the favors. Can you suggest a way to make the color (honey) a little lighter? I was going to put a dried flower in the lollipop but need it almost clear. What are your thoughts?

    1. Hi Cheryl, I love this for a wedding idea! The only way I can think of to make them lighter would be to heat the honey to less than 300℉. The problem with that is that the lollipops wouldn’t be too soft. Perhaps starting with the lightest color honey possible would be the best way…but they still might not be clear enough for what you want. If you try, I’d love to know how you make out!

    2. You’ll want to find a very light colored honey. Or else you may need to add sugar/corn syrup, which, while great for stabilizing the candy (supposedly) and lightening the color, does not have a healthy reputation.

  7. Priscilla B Avatar
    Priscilla B

    Hi!
    I just made these for myself and my husband. I’m at the end of some awful summer time funk that turned into bronchitis, and my sweetie has just come down with the funk.
    I SO needed these 2 weeks ago!

    I didn’t have cinnamon solo so I used the pumpkin pie spice blend (cinnamon, nutmeg, clove and ginger) and they’re spectacular.

    I’m blessed enough to have a plastic hard candy mold that looks like little honeycombs so they pop out in perfectly shaped drops.
    Thanks! I’m going to make more and keep on hand.

    God bless!

    1. I’m sorry you’ve been sick, Priscilla, but I’m glad you found these and they worked so well. Thank you for the thoughtful comment, and I hope you and your husband feel better soon!

  8. How do you keep from burning the honey at 300 degrees? Every attempt I’ve done hasn’t worked, suckers twisted and smell burnt. Any tips?

    1. Hi Loni, My guess is that your thermometer may not be measuring accurately. Here’s a link to an easy way to check it: https://www.thespruceeats.com/candy-temperature-chart-3057575
      If you have further questions, let me know, but hopefully this will help!

  9. very nice recipe

    1. Glad you like!

  10. Hello

    When I make my honey candy it seems hard but when I put in in the plastic bag it sticks to the side. Any ideas please on what might help.

    1. Hi Debbie, Some of the natural stickiness does remain and but will be less apparent when the honey is cold. I sometimes store these in the refrigerator for that reason. Also, some wrappers work better than others, so if you’ve been using plastic bags, you could try wrapping them in parchment or wax paper instead. I hope this helps!

  11. I am going to try this recipe! But I might try adding some lemon to it!

    1. Sounds wonderful, Denise. I’d love to know what you think!

  12. Elena Sandbo Avatar
    Elena Sandbo

    Tried these twice, first time I didn’t measure the honey and wasn’t prepared for how much it boiled up then got scared of overflowing the pot and stopped. It wouldn’t get over 250°, needless to they didn’t harden so I left them in the freezer and used them for tea at work. I was looking for an more eco-friendly way to add honey to my tea. In the end I was sort of happy with the result but unhappy with the small plastic bag waste I was then producing with each one. My second time around, used a larger pot and measured half a cup of honey and… Success! They were a lovely deep golden color and the smell was significantly different as they neared 300°, fyi. Wrapped them with the parchment paper I made them on after they firmed up. They are perfect! I’m so happy, thank you so much!

    1. I’m so glad you gave them a second try, Elena. As you found out, reaching that 300 degree threshold is key. Thanks so much for sharing your feedback, and enjoy those lollipops!

  13. hope bogard Avatar
    hope bogard

    If you take 1 tablespoon of honey a day you probably could avoid the flu and other respiratory diseases ; I have.

    1. Great suggestion, Hope. There is so much evidence supporting the use of honey these days. Thanks for mentioning!

  14. I have tried different recipes all week, and yours by far was the best to make, thank you

    1. So glad to read this, Julie!

  15. Nice and easy recipe . I would like to know if there is a natural substitute to making a sugar free lollipop. I have seen a lot of people recommend stevia and agave nectar which I believe is still not 100% percent organic. Do you have any suggestions that might be helpful ?

    1. Hi Shayan, That’s a great question, but in this recipe honey provides the bulk of the lollipop and offers the soothing qualities. Since it’s a powder, stevia wouldn’t have the right consistency. Agave nectar might work, but the amount of natural sugar in each pop would be pretty close. I hope that helps!

    2. Dena Newman Avatar
      Dena Newman

      How about xylitol. It’s natural and safe. I bake with it and have made puddings with it.

  16. Thanks so much for the recipe it was great

    1. So glad, Hala!

  17. Well I’m going to give it a try.. Couple sore throats 2 year old girl & her mom age 23. I’ll keep u posted on how it works……

    1. I hope they help and everyone is feeling better soon!

  18. Boiling honey above 95 degrees destroys it natural properties.

    1. I wouldn’t bother to use raw organic honey for this recipe for that reason. The soothing properties, however, when using regular honey are still helpful!

  19. Mine aren’t hardening. What am I doing wrong?

    1. Hi Melanke,
      Did you use a thermometer and cook until the temperature reached 300 degrees F.?

      1. Hi Ann, I cooked till 250 but felt like it was longer than 20mins so I stopped. Could that have been my issue?

        1. I think that’s it, Melanke. Maybe your burner heat just didn’t get the temperature up in that amount of time. You could try increasing the heat slightly the next time. The process of candy making is rather persnickety and really does rely on temperature. If you try again, let me know how you make out!

  20. […] the trip, as I would bring them to the pool/beach every day.  Honourable mention goes to these honey lollipops that I made  for her to suck on during take off & landing to help with her ears (I just knew […]