red hot! cinnamon heart quick pickles

I’ve always been a fan of Valentine’s Day. I don’t care that it’s some made up holiday geared to sell cards, roses and chocolates. I’m a fan of hearts, sprinkles, cupcakes, the colour pink….and I especially can’t wait until those tiny cinnamon hearts to appear in corner drug stores. If crack was a candy, those tiny red spicy hearts would be it. But besides snacking on them by the handful, I wanted to find out what else I could do with these holiday candies. And I stumbled upon pickles. The unfortunate thing is all the recipes I found required actual pickling and canning and a whole lot of waiting around. I wanted instant results, so I decided to come up with my own brand of quick pickles.

I know, I know, for most of you, mixing up candy and condiments probably won’t float yer boat. But for those of you who love their sweet with sour, this is the shizznit. It’s sweet, it’s spicy and the pickle packs a whole lot of zing. And I certainly wouldn’t hold it against you if you drank the leftover red brine out of the jar in a moment of midnight weakness. Nope, not at all.

The recipe is pretty flexible when it comes to measurements….just make sure you have enough liquid to cover up your pickles and you’ll do fine. I think next time I make these I’ll increase the candy portion for an even sweeter bite.

40 comments to “red hot! cinnamon heart quick pickles”

  1. 1
    VeggieGirl   February 11, 2009 at 4:59 pm

    What a fun recipe!!

  2. 2
    Justine   February 11, 2009 at 5:04 pm

    weird in a I might just have to try it sort of way

  3. 3
    AimΓ©e   February 11, 2009 at 6:05 pm

    Super cool. I love it!

  4. 4
    celine   February 11, 2009 at 6:48 pm

    I hope it all went well on your trip!
    loving the colorful pictures and the nifty recipe, especially since sweet and sour stuff really does it for me.

  5. 5
    la ninja   February 12, 2009 at 1:34 am

    these are fab, as they should also work for broken hearts, right?

    so we can all enjoy them: those in love and/or with a sweet tooth but also those embittered by it (literal and figuratively)…

    everybody’s a winner, hooray! πŸ˜‰

  6. 6
    Culinary Wannabe   February 12, 2009 at 3:42 am

    No way – this is so awesome!!

  7. 7
    Little Ol' Liz   February 12, 2009 at 6:12 am

    Wait – dill pickle brine? Is that the juice from the jarred pickles, or the dry pickling spices?

    Sorry — feeling a little dense this AM. But sure love the idea!

  8. 8
    Little Ol' Liz   February 12, 2009 at 6:12 am

    Wait – dill pickle brine? Is that the juice from the jarred pickles, or the dry pickling spices?

    Sorry — feeling a little dense this AM. But sure love the idea!

  9. 9
    Little Ol' Liz   February 12, 2009 at 6:12 am

    Wait – dill pickle brine? Is that the juice from the jarred pickles, or the dry pickling spices?

    Sorry — feeling a little dense this AM. But sure love the idea!

  10. 10
    Little Ol' Liz   February 12, 2009 at 6:12 am

    Wait – dill pickle brine? Is that the juice from the jarred pickles, or the dry pickling spices?

    Sorry — feeling a little dense this AM. But sure love the idea!

  11. 11
    Little Ol' Liz   February 12, 2009 at 6:12 am

    Wait – dill pickle brine? Is that the juice from the jarred pickles, or the dry pickling spices?

    Sorry — feeling a little dense this AM. But sure love the idea!

  12. 12
    Little Ol' Liz   February 12, 2009 at 6:12 am

    Wait – dill pickle brine? Is that the juice from the jarred pickles, or the dry pickling spices?

    Sorry — feeling a little dense this AM. But sure love the idea!

  13. 13
    Little Ol' Liz   February 12, 2009 at 6:12 am

    Wait – dill pickle brine? Is that the juice from the jarred pickles, or the dry pickling spices?

    Sorry — feeling a little dense this AM. But sure love the idea!

  14. 14
    Little Ol' Liz   February 12, 2009 at 6:12 am

    Wait – dill pickle brine? Is that the juice from the jarred pickles, or the dry pickling spices?

    Sorry — feeling a little dense this AM. But sure love the idea!

  15. 15
    Little Ol' Liz   February 12, 2009 at 6:12 am

    Wait – dill pickle brine? Is that the juice from the jarred pickles, or the dry pickling spices?

    Sorry — feeling a little dense this AM. But sure love the idea!

  16. 16
    Little Ol' Liz   February 12, 2009 at 6:12 am

    Wait – dill pickle brine? Is that the juice from the jarred pickles, or the dry pickling spices?

    Sorry — feeling a little dense this AM. But sure love the idea!

  17. 17
    Little Ol' Liz   February 12, 2009 at 6:12 am

    Wait – dill pickle brine? Is that the juice from the jarred pickles, or the dry pickling spices?

    Sorry — feeling a little dense this AM. But sure love the idea!

  18. 18
    Little Ol' Liz   February 12, 2009 at 6:12 am

    Wait – dill pickle brine? Is that the juice from the jarred pickles, or the dry pickling spices?

    Sorry — feeling a little dense this AM. But sure love the idea!

  19. 19
    Hayley   February 12, 2009 at 6:26 am

    I have always loved the sweetness of bread and butter pickles, so I know I would enjoy these. So creative!

  20. 20
    Hayley   February 12, 2009 at 7:02 am

    I also have a technical question for you. I don’t know if you’ll have the answer, but I thought I’d give it a try with you being a web designer. I have three columns in my website, but the third one is pushed below the first two in certain browsers. I was wondering if there were any codes or something to make my site fluid or adaptable to different browsers? Thanks for any help!

  21. 21
    Bijoux   February 12, 2009 at 8:10 am

    I enjoy the kick of cinnamon hearts and I have an addiction to bread and butter pickles and I do like the colour red so maybe…I should get my hands on those hearts and dump them in a jar of gherkins I have in the fridge…mmmm!

  22. 22
    Dawn   February 12, 2009 at 8:28 am

    No kidding! I was wondering what that was. How very clever chicklet! I am so loving these. Great photo too!

  23. 23
    Jennie   February 12, 2009 at 12:56 am

    Whoa dude, that is rad.

    Have you ever heard of Kool Aid pickles? They are all the rage in the southern US.

    Check it out: http://tinyurl.com/3xnmok

    There are heaps of recipes out there.

  24. 24
    kickpleat   February 12, 2009 at 9:43 am

    haha, thanks veggie girl! i don't think you could eat these without smiling πŸ™‚

    justine, i think you should!

    thanks aimee!

    thank you celine, it was good to visit home. this definitely packs the right amount of sweet & sour!

    jennie, i have heard of kool aid pickles but i figure these are tastier πŸ™‚

    la ninja, definitely will help a broken heart…time helps too πŸ™‚

    thanks culinary!

    little ol' liz, nope, just the juice from the pickle jar! i said it was easy πŸ™‚

    thanks haley…and i emailed you about your web problem!

    don't just dump them in the jar…you've got to melt them a bit first, bijoux! i hope you'll like them.

    thanks dawn, it's amazing what a pickle frenzy can get you into!

  25. 25
    Cakespy   February 12, 2009 at 9:56 am

    Well that is a new one for me!! Intriguing…I’d be willing to give it a try!

  26. 26
    Miss Kate   February 12, 2009 at 10:24 am

    Tasty!

    Have you ever used red-hots to make cinnamon applesauce? My babysitter used to make it all the time!

  27. 27
    Kelly   February 12, 2009 at 1:08 pm

    GROSS!!!

    Sorry, just had to let that out. Not a fan of sweet pickles.

  28. 28
    Rootbeer Racinette   February 12, 2009 at 5:50 pm

    wow, this looks insane! Yet so intriguing!

    I love your blog. You’ve inspired me to start my own… http://cookwithfire.blogspot.com/
    …if you’re ever interested!

  29. 29
    mari   February 12, 2009 at 12:41 pm

    Love the picture of the red hots…but for pickling? I’m skeptical. Now that I’ve got those candies on my brain, I remember watching a cooking show where a chef broiled a squab covered with red hot cinnamon candies. I’m always amazed at how creative people get in the kitchen. Have a happy V-day!

  30. 30
    kickpleat   February 12, 2009 at 10:05 pm

    it does seem a bit strange, but it’s tasty! trust me, cakespy.

    miss kate, never tried it in apple sauce….sounds good, definitely!

    okay, a squab, mari, does sound waaaay to strange! i don’t think i’d try that out.

    haha, kelly. i know, it’s not everyone’s cup of tea!

    thanks flame thrower! good luck with your blog πŸ™‚

  31. 31
    CookiePie   February 13, 2009 at 8:21 am

    This is so creative, I love it!!

  32. 32
    hindberi   February 14, 2009 at 1:59 pm

    Perhaps not my thing, but that is one of the most creative things I’ve ever seen! I am impressed.

  33. 33
    A L   February 15, 2009 at 11:50 am

    1)I really like your blog. It’s cute and perfect for someone like me who doesn’t have a lot of time to cook or a lot of fancy ingredients.

    2) the Cinnamon heart pickles thing looks kinda gross. πŸ™‚

  34. 34
    Sara   February 15, 2009 at 10:43 pm

    seriously? i honestly don’t know what else to say….

  35. 35
    kickpleat   February 17, 2009 at 8:54 am

    thanks cookiepie & hindberi!

    agasel, no worries, you can enjoy all the other recipes that aren't so gross πŸ™‚

    yup, seriously πŸ˜‰

  36. 36
    eatme_delicious   February 24, 2009 at 6:08 pm

    Wow those are very intriguing pickles!! I never would’ve thought of this.

  37. 37
    Janice   March 3, 2009 at 11:35 am

    you are seriously cracked up girl and therefore i believe we must be family separted at birth! this is one of those “whodda thunkit?” recipes that i will try fo sho! i’d be happy to share some of my own vegan recipes with you as well. but not today. today is errand day. *sigh*

    janice

  38. 38
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  39. 39
    BrΓΆst   May 4, 2009 at 6:52 am

    yes..very weird. But I guess it has to be tried..

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