I just love this dill pickle recipe given to me by my friend Jill.  I like to call them Jill Pickles. 

This is the first time I had ever made pickles, and the beautiful thing about these little dillies is that...
1) it's a really easy pickle recipe. 
2) You can make one jar if you want...or a whole fridge full. 
3) They saved my honor.

I put these together the night before a family get together because I had promised pickles from my garden.  Oops!  As a novice pickle maker, I didn't realize that you were supposed to let the pickles sit for weeks or months for the flavors to soak in. So I went with the Jill Pickle recipe, and she totally came through for me in my moment of need.  The pickles were packed with flavor and got rave reviews the very next day! 

Jill tells me that you can pickle all sorts of things with this recipe, including squash, zucchini, okra and even peppers!  The brine recipe is very versatile...you can add in a couple of t. (per quart) of celery seeds, mustard seeds, or even hot pepper flakes if that floats your boat.  If you like your pickles strictly sour, and not sweet, just leave out the sugar, or cut it down to about 2 T per batch.  As it stands, it's a nice blend of tart, salty, sour and sweet.

Let's get started!
I made one quart jar full of pickles, but you can just as easily make a huge batch by multiplying the recipe.

Dill Pickle Recipe
You'll need:

One clean, sterilized jar and lid (fresh out of the dishwasher works for me.)  One 8-10" dill pickle and a small onion cut into slices or spears...or even diced relish!  Several sprigs of dill or dill flowers, 3-5 cloves of garlic, peeled.

Layer your jar with 3-5 cucumber slices*, a couple of onion slices, a garlic clove, and a sprig of dill.  Repeat the layers, filling the jar.  The goal is to get all the flavors layered in against one another.

Now for the brine:

Blend together 2/3 cup of water, 2/3 cup of vinegar, 2/3 cup of sugar, and a 2 teaspoons of coarse salt (Kosher or sea salt both work well).  Stir to blend, and bring to a boil over medium high heat.

Pour brine over your veggies, filling up to about 1/2 inch from the top.  Put lid on, and flip jar.  Allow to cool, and store in the fridge. 

*If you like crunchy pickles (like Claussen's) then you'll want to chill the cucumbers first in ice water for a few hours.  I stuck them in a bowl of water in the fridge.

So there you have it.  A super simple pickle recipe that has become a family favorite recipe in our house.  Thanks Jill!

Printable pdf for dill pickle recipe, or a printable b&w pdf for this easy pickle recipe.