Fat Tuesday is coming up on March 1st and I wanted to try my hand at making Paczkis, except I didn't want to fry them. Truth be told I don't like deep frying. That set me on the hunt for a baked version. A Paczki is a Polish Jelly Donut - sorta. These along with King Cakes are staples for Fat Tuesday aka Mardi Gras starts the day before Ash Wednesday aka Shrove Tuesday. (still with me?)
So, as I was saying I really wanted a Paczki and wanted to try my hand at creating a baked version. Along with not being good at deep-frying, I wanted to some slightly healthier.
A Paczki differs from a traditional jelly donut being made from a rich, sweet yeasty dough of eggs, butter, and milk, more like a brioche donut that's filled with fruit jam or cream
I reviewed several recipes:
They were similar/same and I dived into the recipe from The Spruce Eats. One thing I changed was leaving out the brandy or rum. The dough reminded me of the cinnamon roll dough in texture. The mixing is easy, then there is the wait. There are three (3) rises. I love seeing the dough double.
The result was a 24 light and airy, yummy Paczkis. I decided to add cherry preserves and powdered sugar instead of melted butter and granulated sugar. I started snacking before I finished, soooo good.
The one thing that could have made it better is if I had a Bismarck tip to more easily fill the little puffs of yummy goodness but beyond that a great recipe to add to my repertoire.
Update 6/1/2022 - I purchased a Bismarck tip and will update on the next batch.
Update 2/20/2024 - removed broken link to A Coalcracker in the Kitchen
