Pączki

This classic recipe for Polish Pączki (POHNCH-kee), or doughnuts, is a pre-Lenten indulgence. Fat Tuesday, also known as Shrove Tuesday, Mardi Gras, and Pączki Day in the United States, is the day before Lent begins. However, Fat Thursday (the final Thursday before Lent) signals the end of Carnival season, and this is when fried dishes like Pączki are consumed with gusto in Poland, where it is known as Tłusty Czwartek.

To avoid food waste, making them was a way to use up supplies like butter, sugar, eggs, fruit, and fat before the dietary restrictions of Lent began.

These fried yeast dough circles are generally filled with rosehip, prune, apricot, strawberry, raspberry, or sweet cheese filling. Some people make these puffy dough balls without a filling and roll them in granulated sugar, which is as tasty. Whatever method you use, remember that Pączki is sweeter and richer than conventional doughnuts.