Opal'S Pickles - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1 gal. sour pickles (not dill)
5 lb. sugar
1 bottle Tabasco (2 oz.)
8 bay leaves
5 cloves garlic (peeled & whole)
1 small pkg. pickling spices (optional)

Preparation

Drain and wash sour pickles; slice pickles and set aside.
Put the pickles in the gallon jar or another large container (such as a crock jar or even a large plastic container) and pour the sugar over the sliced pickles.
Gently mix; let pickles sit for about an hour stirring every 15 minutes; it will begin to liquify. After an hour, pour the remaining ingredients over the pickles; stir mixture and cover.
Leave at room temperature for 48 hours, stirring once or twice a day for two days.
When the sugar has dissolved put pickles in smaller jars and keep refrigerated.