Sweet Dill Pickle Recipe

Many of you have asked for my Sweet and Spicy Dill Pickle Recipe. I'm so sorry in the delay of posting. I actually had this in my draft folder and never hit "publish". Then the Frugal Gardener reminded me of it. This is the BEST pickle recipe I've ever had. Seriously good stuff! I like it so much, I use it for dilly beans too.
PS -> if you do like spicy food, do add the spicy peppers, it adds such a kick. And if you don't have habaneros, use jalapenos or your spicy pepper of choice.

PPS -> If you do this as refrigerator pickles, I never have the patience to wait the 10 days, I usually pop open the jar by day 3. It's still so good!!

I do an adaptation of the recipe that is found here.
http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/spicy-refrigerator-dill-pickles/Detail.aspx


Sweet Dill Pickles Recipe

Ingredients
8 - 3 to 4 inch long pickling cucumbers like kirbys
2 cups water
1 3/4 cups white vinegar
6 sprigs of chopped fresh dill weed
1/2 cup white sugar
8 cloves garlic, chopped (it has a strong garlic taste, you can add less if you don't like garlic, like sometimes I add only 5 cloves)
1 1/2 tablespoons coarse Diamond kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons mustard seed
1 tsp black peppercorns
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste
3 additional sprigs fresh dill weed for jars
(optional) - for extra kick, I added 1/2 of a habanero pepper - it makes it a bit spicy, omit if you don't like spice.
(optional) - 1 medium sliced onion

Directions
1. Sterilize your jars and lids by boiling in hot water for 10 minutes.
2. Remove jars from hot water bath. Be careful, HOT.
3. Prep cucumber. Slice cucumbers into chips for sandwiches, or cut as spears or leave whole. I like to put my pickles in sandwiches so I slice them into 1/4 inch chips.
4.In a large bowl, combine the all the ingredients. Stir, and let stand at room temperature for 2 hours, until the sugar and salt dissolve.
5. Remove the cucumbers to three 1 1/2 pint wide mouth jars, placing cucumbers into each jar. Ladle in the liquid from the bowl to cover. Leave 1/2 inch headspace at top of jar. Place a sprig of fresh dill into each jar, and seal with lids. Refrigerate for 10 days before eating. Use within 1 month.

Alternatively, you can also do this as a hot water bath, in which you can put the jars back in the pot of water. Make sure the jars are immersed in water and boil for 12-15 minutes. Remove jars and let cool. It should vacuum seal. Should last up to 1 year.