Culture

Tomorrow We Fast, Today We Eat
Leo Ezop’s Paczki Recipe
Courtesy of Fr. Dwight Ezop's grandpa Leo

It's important to note that the paczki that we get in the grocery store aren’t quite like the ones this recipe makes. Grocery store paczki are more like a jelly donut, while these are a deep-fried yeast donut filled with raisins and covered with cinnamon and sugar.

Polish Paczki
(Makes approximately 12 to 14 paczki.)

Ingredients:
1 yeast cake, dissolved in 1/2 cup of warm water
1 cup of warm milk
2 eggs, beaten
1/3 cup of granulated sugar
a pinch of salt
2 to 3 teaspoons of shortening or vegetable oil
all-purpose flour as needed
1/2 cup raisins
oil for deep frying
cinnamon and sugar for coating after paczki are fried

In a large mixing bowl:
Combine the beaten eggs, sugar and salt. Add the yeast mixture and warm milk. Add all-purpose flour until the mixture just runs off a spoon. Add the shortening or oil and the raisins. Stir until mixture is smooth, but do not over-mix. Cover the mixture and put bowl in a warm place until dough raises.

-or-

Place covered bowl in 110-120° oven. When dough raises, run a spoon through the dough to remove the air. Let the dough raise a second time. When the dough has raised a second time, it’s time to deep fry the paczki. Using a large metal mixing spoon, drop about 3/4 of a spoon into hot oil in deep fryer. Fry until golden brown (they may need to be carefully rolled around a bit to cook evenly). Promptly remove the paczki and roll them in a mixture of cinnamon and sugar. Enjoy! They don’t keep for very long, so it’s best to eat them as soon as possible!

Originally Published: February 2001