I'd been looking for a recipe that were similar to the pickles made by my dad's Aunt Olga and these came very close. The first batch I made came out very well and were a hit with everuone who remembered those pickles from our childhood. I'll make one change to the recipe this time around; I'll skip the cinnamon stick as the pickling spices already have it as an ingredient and I found that the first batch, while awesome, could use a bit less.
Don't be put off by the number of steps; they're basically quick and painless.