Bread and Butter Pickles

I tried something new! Some friends gave us a couple of bags of cucumbers so, I started looking and recipes and decided on Bread and Butter Pickles!! I hadn’t made pickles since I was at home (about 40 years ago…LOL) and they were MUCH easier than I remember! Although, my mom usually made dills or mustard pickles or crock pickles (I still might try some of those!!).

3-4 pounds of pickling cucumbers – the fresher the better
1/3 cup of pickling salt
1 – 1/2 pounds of thinly sliced white or yellow onions
1 – 1/2 cups of apple cider vinegar
1 – 3/4 cups pickling vinegar
1 cups of sugar

Spices:
1 heaping tablespoon of mustard seeds
1 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon of celery seed
1 inch of cinnamon stick
1/2 teaspoon of allspice
8 whole cloves and a pinch of ground cloves
3/4 of a teaspoon of ground tumeric

Slice the pickles into rounds and place in a bowl. Add pickling salt and onion and stir well. Cover with a layer of ice cubes and place in the fridge for 4 hours. Rinse and drain (2 times) and discard the ice.
Place all the vinegars, sugar and spices (not salt) in a pot and bring it to a boil. Add the cucumber mixture and bring it to a boil (not too long, you don’t want the pickles cooked). Use a slotted spoon to pack the pickles into hot jars. (I wash my jars on a quick cycle in the dishwasher – but, you can boil them). I boil the lids and rims for 5 minutes. Pour in the syrup and leave a 1/2 inch from the rim. Wipe the rims and tighten the lids. Process in boiling water for 15 minutes. I got 8 jars.