Happy National Candy Day! Do you have one of those recipes that the minute you smell it or taste it, you are suddenly transported back to your childhood? This recipe does it for me! This pickle is tart, sweet, crunchy, and just plain delish! I love to eat these with salty fried catfish or southern fried chicken. I even chop up the pickle slices to use in place of relish in potato, chicken or tuna salads. It is as much a staple in my kitchen as the mayonnaise and butter is!
Ingredients
One large jar dill pickles
3 cups sugar
½ cup white vinegar
heaping tablespoon of pickling spice
cheesecloth, cut into a 3“ x 3” square
Instructions
Drain off pickles into a large bowl, reserving about a half cup of pickle juice (save for later). Slice (if whole) pickles into slices - I prefer thicker slices to thin.
Cover pickle slices with sugar and stir. Pour reserved pickle juice and half cup of vinegar over pickles. Stir thoroughly. Allow pickles to sit at room temperature for several hours, stirring occasionally, until sugar is dissolved.
Place the heaping tablespoon of pickling spice into the center of the cheesecloth square. Tie up corners, or secure with a piece of string.
Drop pickling spice bundle into the pickle jar and return pickles and juices back into the jar as well. Secure lid and place in the refrigerator. Pickles need to “sit” for about four days, turning the jar upside down every so often to mix the juices.
After 4-5 days, pickles are ready to enjoy!
adapted from: http://www.southernplate.com/2011/07/easy-candied-dill-pickles-from-julie-hutson.html
