First, clean and sterilize the jars, rings, and lids.

Immerse them in hot water for 5 minutes.

Removing them carefully with a jar lifter. Tip: It is much easier to run them through the dishwasher (if you have one) on the heated dry cycle and remove them, touching them as little as possible.

While your quart jars are boiling, cut off the blossom end of each cucumber to prevent softening of pickles from the enzyme the blossom can produce. This is important for crunchy pickles. After all, no one likes soggy pickles. 

Next,  quarter them.

Then add garlic, dill, salt, and red pepper flakes to the bottom of the jar.

Fill the jar full but not so tight that it is a struggle to remove with cucumber spears.

Combine vinegar - red and white, or you can use one or the other if you prefer. This is just the combination I like, and water.

Pour the liquid over the pickles and spices, leaving ½” headspace for canning.

Wipe rims of jars.

Wipe off the lids of the canning jars with a clean towel, place the lid, and ring back on.

If you are making a small refrigerator batch of pickles, you can stop here and store them in the refrigerator.

Give them a couple of days to absorb the flavors before you start eating them.  The longer they sit, the tastier they are!

If you want to can your homemade pickles, fill a large pot with water and immerse your jars, be sure that the water covers them by at least 1”.

Remove and set jars to the side.

Bring water to a boil and place jars back in water.

Boil for 15 minutes, remove jars and leave undisturbed for 12-24 hours.

Check the seal. If properly sealed, the center will not move at all. If some of your jars did not seal properly, you can still enjoy them in the refrigerator for up to a month.