Sweet pickling 'solution'

I've been offered '.... a load of small onions' that I'd like to pickle but none of us likes the blow-your-head-off ones my Mum used to produce. Does anyone have a recipe for sweet pickled onions they'd be willing to share?

 

I found this version:

Ingredients:

• 3 quarts (3 liters) white wine vinegar
• A handful of coarse sea salt
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 sticks of cinnamon
• A head of garlic, broken up and the cloves peeled
• 1 teaspoon peppercorns
• Some fine ground, untreated salt
• Olive oil

Preparation: Set a pot of water to boil with the handful of coarse salt, and cook the onions for about 10 minutes. In the meantime, bring 2 quarts of the vinegar to a boil with the bay leaves, cinnamon, and peppercorns. Drain the onions well and transfer them to the boiling vinegar for about 2 minutes. Drain them again, letting them drip dry, and put them into the jars, adding a few cloves of garlic to each. Pour the final quart of vinegar over the onions, let it cool some, pour a quarter inch layer of olive oil over the vinegar, seal the jars up, and store them in a cool dark place for 2 months before using them.

 

I'm very grateful to both of you - thank you