Have you checked out all the recipes at NCHFP? That is always the best source, that or the Ball Books or The Joy of Pickling. As a general rule pickling recipes are fairly flexible in the ingredients you can add but it depends on the amount of vinegar used. For example, most B&B pickle recipes call for straight vinegar undiluted by water. So yes you can add garlic if you wish - within reason. Most recipes call for 3-4 cloves diced. If working with a pickle recipe that diluted the vinegar with water (1:1 is lowest approved) then you have to stick with the ingredients called for and no additions. But you don't have that problems with straight vinegar recipes. As for adding the pepper - same general rule applies. However dried hot pepper flakes is always recommended over fresh peppers. Dried additives are always safer to add to a recipe than are fresh ingredients as dried don't alter the pH or density. There are some limits on fridge storage of brines as molds and fungus can develop over time. So be sure you reheat the brine to boiling each time you make a fresh batch and don't plan to store it for more than a couple of weeks. To avoid wasting the brine simply cut the recipe for it in half or quarters when making it. There is no need to make a full batch of brine for only a couple of half pints or pints of pickles. OK? Dave

Barbara, This one might be close, but it doesn't have onions in it. Other than that, it seems like it might be what you're looking for. It is from the book "The Joy of Pickling", and the author calls it "Bread and Butter Pickles, My Way" About 3 1/2 lbs. 3" to 5" pickling cucumbers 1/4 cup pickling salt 4 teaspoons whole yellow mustard seeds 1 teaspoon whole celery seeds 1 teaspoon hot pepper flakes 2 cups cider vinegar 2 cups water 1/2 cup sugar 1 teaspoon ground tumeric 1. Slice the cucumbers 3/16" thick, discarding both ends. You should have 2 quarts of sliced cucumbers. In a large bowl, toss the cucumber slices with the salt. Top the cucumbers with ice cubes from two ice trays. Let the cucumbers stand at room temperature for 3 to 4 hours. 2. Drain the cucumbers well. Toss them with the mustard seeds, celery seeds, and hot pepper flakes. Pack the cucumbers into 4 pint mason jars. 3. In a saucepan, bring the vinegar, water, sugar and tumeric to a boil. Pour the hot liquid over the cucumber slices, leaving 1/2" headspace. Close the jars with the 3-piece lids. In a boiling water bath, process the jars for 10 minutes. Now, here's the one that most closely matches the recipe you're looking for. It also is from "The Joy of Pickling" and is called "Old Fashioned Bread and Butters". It also is the recipe that, when eaten, reminds me almost exactly of my grandmother's bread and butter pickles. 6 lbs. 4 to 5" pickling cucumbers 2 lbs. small onions, sliced into thin rounds 1/2 cup pickling salt 4 1/2 cups cider vinegar 3 cups sugar 2 teaspoons ground tumeric 2 teaspoons whole celery seeds 2 tablespoons whole yellow mustard seeds 1. Slice the cucumbers crosswise 3/16" thick, discarding both ends. In a large bowl, toss the cucumbers and onions with the salt. Empty 2 trays of ice cubes over the vegetables and let them stand at room temperature for 3 to 4 hours. 2. Drain the vegetables. In a large nonreactive pot, bring the remaining ingredients to a boil. Add the vegetables and slowly return the contents to a boil. Add the vegetables and slowly return the contents to a boil. With a slotted spoon, transfer the vegetables to pint mason jars, leaving 1/2" headspace. Divide the liquid evenly among the jars. Close the jars with the two-piece caps. In a boiling-water bath, process the jars for 10 minutes. 3. Store the cooled jars in a cool, dry, dark place for at least one month before eating the pickles. After opening a jar, store it in the refrigerator. If neither one of these is "it", let me know and I'll look in some of my other cookbooks. Dawn

The evidence presented at the link Grainlady provided many years ago is convincing. To wit: "Bread and Butter" is a name given to the pickles by Mrs. Fanning's Pickles, when applying for a trademark. The story, true or not, given by the pickle company is that Mrs. Fanning made them from the cucumbers too small to sell and traded them to the grocer for bread and butter. This sounds potentially apocryphal, though the evidence is clear that the Fannings were the first to sell them, and that they were different from other sweet pickles; also that the recipe had been in the Fanning family for a couple of generations, so while they may have been unusual, they were probably not unique. The contemporary descriptions call them "sweet and sour". Something we'll never find evidence for is the likelihood that "sweet and sour" wasn't trademarkable for pickles, being just a descriptor in common use, so "bread and butter" having a similar assonance, and rhythm (even though different syllables), was put down on the form instead. If so, it would be clever, because bread and butter are a basic part of any old shopping list, so bread and butter pickles implies you should have pickles in your shopping basket as a matter of course. I can definitely see the marketing value of the name. I don't like sweet and sour pickles! Never have! I once accidentally bought a jar of Bubbie's and opened them before realizing. I call them "sugar pickles". They're not sour, just sweet. I like them as an alternative to a cookie. They go extremely well with chestnuts. :)

While not from Grandma, these are two that I enjoy making and everyone enjoys eating. Posted by: Linda_Lou on the Harvest Forum Sweet Pickle Chunks Pour boiling water over 24 pickling cukes for 4 days  each day. On 5th day, drain. Cut cukes in chunks and add this syrup after bringing to a boil. 8 cups sugar 4 cups cider vinegar 5% acidity 3 1/2 tsp. pickling and canning salt 2 Tbsp. pickling spices, tied in a bag Drain and heat syrup each day for 2 more days. On 4th day, pack pickles into jars, seal with lid. Process in water bath canner for 10 minutes. The hollow ones are just how the cucumbers were. You can tell if they are hollow by putting them in water. If they float, they are hollow. They still taste fine. Add pickle crisp if desired. Sweet Stickles 5 lbs. large and whitened overgrown regular slicing cucumbers ½ c pickling lime 3 3/4 cup sugar 2¼ t celery seed 3 c white vinegar 2¼ t canning salt Peel and seed cucumbers. Cut into 2"- 3" sticks. Mix lime with 2 quarts of water, add the cucumber sticks and soak overnight. Rinse and drain 3 times in cold water. Soak in fresh cold water 3  4 hours. Drain. Combine remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Add cucumber sticks and let stand overnight. Simmer, covered, 30 minutes until cucumbers and clear. Stir frequently. Pack into hot jars, seal and process for 10 minutes in a boiling water bath. Makes 4 pints Linda