Southern Koolickles

These are really as Southern as Apple Pie, 'Rural Southern' that is.

When someone serves you a big piece of Apple Pie, well you just naturally dive right in. But when a Koolickle is placed in front of you, that first bite takes just a little more nerve on your part.

You are so surprised when you bite into one of these babies and have that cherry taste pops in your mouth.

My Koolickles

and

Recipe

Koolickles

1 – 46 ounce jar whole dill pickles (I use Kosher pickles)

1 cup sugar

2 cups water

2 packets cherry Kool-Aid , unsweetened

Drain and discard the juice from the pickle jar. Remove the pickles from the jar and cut each one in half lengthwise. Return the pickles to the jar and set aside.

In a large measuring cup, combine the sugar, water and Kool-Aid. Mix until the sugar has completely dissolved. Pour enough of the liquid into the pickle jar to cover the pickles. Discard any excess.

Cover the jar and let sit out on the counter for 48 hours at least, then place them in the fridge. The longer you can wait before you eat one, the better. They only improve with time.

They taste better at room temperature, so after being in the fridge, place them out on your counter top and nibble on them from there.

Makes one 46-ounce jar of pickles.

Please wait as long as you can before eating these, at least 4 weeks. The longer you can wait, the better these are. If you sample them too soon you will not get the true flavor that is a Koolickle. It just takes time for them to get really cherry tasting, so be patient, the wait is worth it. After mine have sat out for the first 48 hours, I put them in the fridge for 2 or 3 weeks. Then I remove them from the fridge and let them sit out on my counter and we nibble on them from there. If lucky, my jar will last us about two weeks, but usually they are gone before then. As soon as I place my jar out on the counter for us to start eating them, I make another batch to get started curing in the fridge.

**** Don't forget, these taste better at room temperature.

When making mine, I reserve half the pickle juice since we find the pickles are just better this way and we really love that mouth puckering thing that goes on when the reserved pickle juice is used. So I place my pickles back in the jar, add that saved juice back to the jar, then add the sugar and stir thoroughly to combine. Then I add enough water to fill the jar, making sure the pickles are completely covered

I always make two batches these. One batch is made using the recipe above. The second batch follows the same recipe and to it I toss in a garlic clove and a pod of hot pepper that has one slit made lengthwise in it.

These are also made using lime jello.

My Koolickles

The longer you can wait before eating them the more red they get and the better they taste.

Gotta give these a try !