Grandma Lavonne'S Christmas Pickles - cooking recipe

Ingredients

14 -16 medium sized cucumbers
water
1 1/2 teaspoons alum
1 quart vinegar
8 cups sugar
2 tablespoons pickling spices
food coloring, green
food coloring, red
2 sticks cinnamon (for red pickles only)

Preparation

Day 1: Wash cucumbers and place in a crock.
Cover with boiling water 2 times a day for 2 days.
Day 3: Rinse in warm water. Cut into 1/2 inch chunks and cover with boiling water. Add alum.
Day 4: Drain, rinse and cover with boiling syrup: Vinegar, sugar, spices food coloring (If using red, add cinnamon sticks).
Cover with this syrup for four days. Reboil two times a day.
Day 8: Pack chunks into canning jars, cover with boiling syrup and seal. Pickles are ready to eat now. Extra syrup may be saved and added to another batch.