Best Ever Sweet Pickles

Name: Best Ever Sweet Pickles
Prep time: 60 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 1 h 10 min
Yield: 4 pints.
Ingredients: 9 cups sliced pickling cucumbers; 1 large sweet onion, halved and thinly sliced; 1/4 cup canning salt; 1 cup sugar; 1 cup water; 1 cup white vinegar; 1/2 cup cider vinegar; 2 tablespoons mustard seed; 1 teaspoon celery seed; 1/2 teaspoon whole peppercorns; 4 bay leaves; 12 garlic cloves, crushed

I pack away homegrown cucumbers every summer. This recipe is based on the pickled veggies in Brown Eggs and Jam Jars by Aimee Wimbush-Bourque, but I’ve made it less mustardy and more garlicky to fit my family’s tastes. This method keeps them incredibly, refreshingly crunchy. —Ellie Martin Cliffe, Taste of Home Digital Deputy Editor

Ingredients

9 cups sliced pickling cucumbers
1 large sweet onion, halved and thinly sliced
1/4 cup canning salt
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup cider vinegar
2 tablespoons mustard seed
1 teaspoon celery seed
1/2 teaspoon whole peppercorns
4 bay leaves
12 garlic cloves, crushed

Directions

In a large nonreactive bowl, combine cucumbers, onion and salt. Cover with crushed ice and mix well. Let stand 3 hours. Drain; rinse and drain thoroughly.
In a Dutch oven, combine sugar, water, vinegars, mustard seed, celery seed and peppercorns. Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar. Add cucumber mixture; return to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, 4-5 minutes or until heated through.
Carefully ladle hot mixture into 4 hot wide-mouth 1-pint jars, leaving 1/2-in. headspace. Add 3 garlic cloves and 1 bay leaf to each jar. Remove air bubbles and, if necessary, adjust headspace by adding hot pickling liquid. Wipe rims. Center lids on jars; screw on bands until fingertip tight.
Place jars into canner with simmering water, ensuring that they are completely covered with water. Bring to a boil; process for 10 minutes. Remove jars and cool.

Nutrition Facts

1/4 cup: 35 calories, 0 fat (0 saturated fat), 0 cholesterol, 175mg sodium, 8g carbohydrate (7g sugars, 0 fiber), 0 protein.

Reviews

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Average Rating:

Reneta
Sep 9, 2020
Love this recipe! I do double the recipe for the pickling liquid to have enough on hand when ladling into canning jars.
Caroline
Aug 3, 2020
I added green pepper and cauliflower buds as well. I found that I needed to make 1-1/2 times the liquid to accommodate the extras. They are fantastic and I have friends begging for more..
GerAmerFoodie
May 8, 2020
I skip the processing part and also make it in half-batches. Keeps in the fridge for months! So tasty!
warhook
Jun 28, 2019
Contrary to the comments below, these were excellent! I like a bit more garlic so I used more!
shelleyd
Jun 25, 2019
Can you skip the processing and just refrigerate these? 4 pints (keep one and give 3 as gifts) would go quickly. As you can tell, I am not a canner!
eileen344
Jun 25, 2019
These are not "sweet" pickles. They are "bread and butter" pickles. Sweet pickles do not have all the extra ingredients nor are they sliced.
Nanette
Jun 22, 2019
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