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4.6 from 147 votes

Paczki (Polish Donuts)

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By: Joanna Cismaru 71 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.

These homemade Paczki are soft, pillowy delectable morsels filled with jam, custard or lemon curd! Paczki are traditional Polish donuts, popular on Fat Tuesday aka Mardi Gras. 

Table of Contents

  • What Are Paczki
  • What’s the Difference Between Paczki and Donuts
  • How to Make Paczki
  • Different Fillings
  • Why Is Everyone Freaking Out About Paczki
  • Looking for More Donut Recipes? Try These:
  • Recipe: Paczki (Polish Donuts)
    • Video
    • Ingredients
    • Instructions 
    • Notes
    • Nutrition Information
  • Did You Make This?
a bunch of Paczki on parchment paper

What Are Paczki

These Paczki are the absolute best. I simply love them. I’ve been making them and eating them for years. They are popular around Mardi Gras which simply means Fat Tuesday. Fat Tuesday is the day before Ash Wednesday which is a day of preparation for the penitential season of Lent.

Paczki are Polish deep-fried donuts that are filled with some sweet filling such as jam, custard, lemon curd or chocolate. They are usually covered with powdered sugar, icing, glaze or dried orange zest. They are simply and utterly delicious.

What’s the Difference Between Paczki and Donuts

Paczki are made of a very rich, sweet yeasty dough which consists of eggs, butter and milk. Regular donuts are not usually as rich. While donuts usually have a hole in the middle, Paczki don’t and instead are filled with jam or other goodies.

process shots for making paczki

How to Make Paczki

My recipe for making Paczki couldn’t get any easier and it really is fool proof. To make the dough there are two simple steps. Mix the wet ingredients together, then add this to the flour and mix.

Make sure your milk is lukewarm. I usually pop it in the microwave for about a minute. You don’t want the milk too hot because this will kill the yeast, so make sure it’s just warm to the touch. While you could knead this by hand, if you have a stand mixer, add the flour and the milk/egg mixture to the bowl of your mixer and using the dough hook mix until the dough comes clean from the sides of the bowl.

The dough should be very malleable and soft. Place it in an oiled bowl then cover it with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel and let it rise until doubled in size. I usually place my bowl in a warm oven, this will speed up the rising process.

On a floured surface start rolling the dough until it’s about 1/4 to 1/2 inch (1 cm) in thickness. This dough should make about a 16 donuts.

Using a glass, or if you want a cookie cutter, start cutting out rounds from the dough. Repeat this with remaining dough until there’s no dough left. Place the donuts on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and let them rise until doubled in size.

Fry them in hot oil until they’re golden brown on both sides. Watch them carefully because they fry quickly. Place them in a bowl lined with paper towels and allow them to cool until you can easily handle them.

All that’s left to do is to fill a piping bag with your favorite filling, fill them then sprinkle or roll them through some powdered sugar.

paczki in a basket

Different Fillings

That’s the great thing about Paczki. You can fill them with anything! I love filling mine with various jams such as seedless raspberry or strawberry. I’ve even filled them with Saskatoon berry jam, which is to die for. Other favorite fillings of mine include lemon and lime curds, custards, chocolate cream or Nutella.

However, the sky’s the limit though, when it comes to Paczki. Did you know they make Pina Colada and Mocha Paczki, just to name a few! How about a chocolate Paczki!

a paczki with a bite taken out of it

Why Is Everyone Freaking Out About Paczki

Because they’re just that good! When I worked in Detroit, there wasn’t a Fat Tuesday that went by without someone bringing in a box of Paczki for everyone to enjoy! They’re so popular that Fat Tuesday is even sometimes referred to as Paczki Day!

And what’s not to celebrate. We’re talking delectable fried treats filled with prune, jelly, lemon or lime curds, strawberry, raspberry, custards, chocolate, or Nutella! If you’ve never tries these before, I strongly urge you to give them a try.

a basket of paczki

Looking for More Donut Recipes? Try These:

  • Brioche Buns
  • Mandazi, African Donuts
  • Beignets
  • The Porky Monkey Donut
  • Cherry Jam Filled Donuts
  • Krispy Kreme Donuts

Before You Begin! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.

side view close up shot of paczki with a bite taken out of it
4.56 from 147 votes

Paczki (Polish Donuts)

Prep 15 minutes minutes
Cook 20 minutes minutes
Total 35 minutes minutes
16
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These homemade Paczki are soft, pillowy delectable morsels filled with jam, custard or lemon curd! Paczki are traditional Polish donuts, popular on Fat Tuesday aka Mardi Gras. 
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Ingredients

  • 2 eggs
  • ½ cup milk (lukewarm)
  • 2 tablespoon butter (unsalted, melted)
  • 2 tablespoon sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon instant yeast
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • vegetable oil (for frying)
  • fruit preserves (for filling, such as raspberry or strawberry jam, custard, lemon curd)
  • powdered sugar (for coating)

Before You Begin! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.

Instructions 

  • Mix wet ingredients: In a medium size bowl combine the eggs, milk, butter, sugar, salt and vanilla extract. Add the yeast and mix well.
  • Make dough: Add the flour to the bowl of your mixer, then pour in the milk/egg mixture. Using the dough hook, mix well until well incorporated. You will know that the dough is done when it comes clean from the sides of the bowl. The dough will be a soft dough.
  • Prepare dough and let rise: Turn over the dough onto a floured surface and knead for a couple minutes, then place the dough in a bowl that’s sprayed with cooking spray. I also like to spray the dough with some cooking spray so that it doesn’t dry out. Cover with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel and let rise for a couple hours. The dough should double in size.
  • Roll dough and cut rounds: Roll out the dough on a floured surface so that’s it’s about 1/4 inch in thickness. Cut out rounds using a glass or a cookie cutter. Repeat with the remaining dough. Place the donuts on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and let them rise again for about 30 minutes until doubled in size.
  • Fry donuts: Add about 3 inches of oil to a deep frying pan, I used a Dutch Oven. Before frying the donuts make sure the oil is hot, it needs to be 350℉. Fry the donuts, about 5 or 6 at a time until golden brown on both sides. Make sure you turn them on both sides to fry them evenly. 
  • Cool: Transfer the donuts to a large bowl lined with paper towels to drain some of the excess oil. Allow them to cool until you are able to handle them. 
  • Fill: Using a piping bag and a filing tip, pipe your favorite filling into the sides of the paczki. 
  • Roll the donuts in powdered or granulated sugar then serve.

Notes

  1. These paczki are best the same day they are made. If having leftovers, store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.
  2. If using active dry yeast, please make sure you activate it first by dissolving it in a bit of warm water. If it does not begin to froth up, do not continue with the recipe. Subtract the quantity of water used from the milk.
  3. Always check the expiration date on your yeast and make sure it hasn’t expired. All your yeast products whether it’s in a jar or a package should be stamped with a “Best if Used by” date. Always make sure you check this date, even when you purchase the yeast, who knows it could have been on the shelf past its expiry date.
  4. To keep your yeast fresh and longer lasting, unopened yeast packages or jars should be stored in a cool or dry place such as your cupboard. However, you can also store your yeast in the fridge or freezer. If you do store it in the freezer and need to use yeast for your baking, make sure you take out the amount you need and let it sit at room temperature for at least half hour before using.
  5. Once your yeast package or jar has been opened, you must refrigerate the yeast or freeze it in an airtight container.
  6. One thing to remember about your yeast, is that it is a living organism and over time it will lose activity, even if you’ve never opened the jar or package. So if you don’t bake often, buy the smaller yeast packages rather than a big jar of yeast.

Nutrition Information

Serving: 1donutCalories: 145kcal (7%)Carbohydrates: 20g (7%)Protein: 2g (4%)Fat: 5g (8%)Saturated Fat: 4g (25%)Cholesterol: 25mg (8%)Sodium: 50mg (2%)Potassium: 42mg (1%)Sugar: 7g (8%)Vitamin A: 85IU (2%)Vitamin C: 0.6mg (1%)Calcium: 15mg (2%)Iron: 0.9mg (5%)
© Author Joanna Cismaru

Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.

side view close up shot of paczki with a bite taken out of it

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Joanna Cismaru

Joanna Cismaru

I’m Joanna (Jo for short) and this is my blog where I share with you my culinary adventures. Through Jo Cooks, I invite you to join me in my kitchen as we explore delicious recipes from around the globe, celebrate the joy of cooking, and make every meal a memorable one. Happy cooking!

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71 Comments
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Shane
Shane
Posted: 5 days ago

I followed the recipe exactly. It came out like a cake batter. Way too much fluid for the amount of flour.

0
Reply
Joanna Cismaru
Joanna Cismaru
Author
Reply to  Shane
Posted: 5 days ago

Sorry to hear the dough was too wet. Next time, try adding flour gradually until you reach the desired consistency. Appreciate your feedback!

0
Reply
Mary
Mary
Posted: 1 month ago

My dough is proofing now, but I dont know how they will come out.. I measured everything exactly as I always do in baking. Using 2 cups of flour. Made the so called dough like a cake batter. It wasnt like a dough, so I added another cup of flour. The dough did come out soft like it should.. So what happened.. I always measure exactly and triple check it…

1
Reply
Joanna Cismaru
Joanna Cismaru
Author
Reply to  Mary
Posted: 1 month ago

Sorry to hear you experienced that with the dough! Baking can be tricky sometimes. Various factors like flour type, humidity, and altitude can affect dough consistency. Sometimes additional adjustments, like your extra cup of flour, are needed to get it just right. I hope your paczki still turned out delicious! 🍩

0
Reply
Veronika
Veronika
Posted: 9 months ago

I will add information – these packi are known in the Czech Rep. as “koblihy” and you can eat them all year long. So popular they are. On Fat Tuesday it is the right reason to go for it. We think that first “pączek”, “kobliha”, “krapf” … was dated back in the 17th century in former Austrian-Hungarian monarchy.

1
Reply
Joanna
Joanna
Posted: 9 months ago

Hi I’m from Poland and I just wanted to let you know that traditionally we celebrate Fat Thursday not Tuesday. It’s the last Thursday before Easter Fast.

1
Reply
Norma
Norma
Posted: 9 months ago

5 stars
I made these today and I love them! Best paczki I have ever had. And to top it off, I filled them with my homemade strawberry jelly that didn’t set up completely and it was great! Thank you for sharing this recipe!

0
Reply
Joanna Cismaru
Joanna Cismaru
Author
Reply to  Norma
Posted: 9 months ago

My pleasure, so glad you liked it!

1
Reply
Tom
Tom
Posted: 1 year ago

5 stars
This recipe is PHENOMENAL!! Made homemade lemon curd for filling and everyone agrees they taste awesome. I made this for dessert with Haluski. They provided my mum with a taste of home!

3
Reply
Grammacat
Grammacat
Posted: 1 year ago

5 stars
Nice easy tasty donut recipe! I’ve tried several donut recipes, but none were this good. One was from a mix from a big shot baking company that tasted like cupcakes. Other recipes said to use biscuit dough. NOT donuts! I will keep this recipe and make again. I did put chocolate mint filling in some. Others will have red raspberry jam.

2
Reply
Joanna Cismaru
Joanna Cismaru
Author
Reply to  Grammacat
Posted: 1 year ago

So glad you enjoyed them! Love the mint chocolate filling idea!

0
Reply
Cat B
Cat B
Posted: 2 years ago

So here I am a year late making these again and so far so good! I’ve cut them and they’re sitting to rise (it’s been 30 minutes) and they’re just not rising as much… should I let them sit longer to see if they rise more? Thanks!

1
Reply
Jo Cooks Team
Jo Cooks Team
Reply to  Cat B
Posted: 2 years ago

make sure they’re rising in a warm environment, if they aren’t rising properly it could have to do with your yeast! I would wait a little bit and see how it goes, they may still work out they might just be a bit more dense.

0
Reply
Dinna
Dinna
Posted: 2 years ago

Timing of dough rising ? what is the total time of recipe ? It states 35minutes? But recipe states let the dough rise a couple hours and second rise is 30 minutes. I’m confused???

1
Reply
Jo Cooks Team
Jo Cooks Team
Reply to  Dinna
Posted: 2 years ago

The recipe card doesn’t include rising time. It will ultimately depend how long it takes the dough to double in size. Total time, including rising would be about 2 1/2 – 3 hours.

0
Reply
Bobbie Kreiling
Bobbie Kreiling
Posted: 2 years ago

I want to try this recipe but…. I have a stand mixer but no dough hook. What can I use instead?

0
Reply
Jo Cooks Team
Jo Cooks Team
Reply to  Bobbie Kreiling
Posted: 2 years ago

You can knead the dough by hand!

0
Reply
Stacey
Stacey
Posted: 2 years ago

I’m gluten and dairy free because of annoying allergies, but my husband isn’t. Lucky guy! 😉 Anyway, he bought me a ridiculously expensive bread machine. I’m going to attempt the dough in there up to rolling out. 🤞 Hopefully, it will go as planned. Thanks for the recipe! I’ll let you know how it goes.

0
Reply
Ginny
Ginny
Posted: 3 years ago

How many minutes were required to fry the paczki?

0
Reply
Joanna Cismaru
Joanna Cismaru
Author
Reply to  Ginny
Posted: 3 years ago

They take about 2 to 3 minutes to fry, turning over once.

0
Reply
Lauren
Lauren
Posted: 3 years ago

Have you tried to bake these instead of frying?

0
Reply
Jo Cooks Team
Jo Cooks Team
Reply to  Lauren
Posted: 3 years ago

We haven’t! You can give it a try.

0
Reply
Maria Scruggs
Maria Scruggs
Posted: 3 years ago

I only have salted butter on hand. Could I sub the salted butter for the unsalted butter and salt ingredients?

0
Reply
Joanna Cismaru
Joanna Cismaru
Author
Reply to  Maria Scruggs
Posted: 3 years ago

Absolutely, just use a bit less salt in the dough, or just skip it completely.

0
Reply
Connie
Connie
Posted: 3 years ago

This is a great recipe! I made a double batch and filled them with mango, raspberry rhubarb and chocolate Nutella filling. We served them on the driveway for neighbours to come by and visit us while physical distancing. They loved them!

1
Reply
Jo Cooks Team
Jo Cooks Team
Reply to  Connie
Posted: 3 years ago

Yum that sounds so good! What a nice thing to do for your neighbours.

0
Reply

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I’m Joanna (Jo for short) and this is the place where I share my passion for easy and delicious recipes. From comforting classics to global flavors, I believe that cooking should be fun, approachable, and most importantly, rewarding. Join me on this culinary journey and let’s get cooking!

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