Pączki (Jam-Filled Doughnuts)
Biting into freshly prepared, pillowy soft pączki is among the joys of life well worth indulging in. Pączki (pronounced ponch-key) are Polish doughnuts typically filled with plum or wild rose jam and dusted with powdered sugar or drizzled with glaze, and sometimes topped with candied orange peel. In Poland, they are a traditional food eaten on Tłusty Czwartek (Fat Thursday) — the Thursday before Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent. Pączki are less sweet but richer than typical doughnuts. They are also a deeper brown in color with a light ring around the middle. It takes time, patience and a little practice to prepare pączki at home. If you have a stand mixer with a dough hook, it will do most of the dough work for you. It is important to watch the oil temperature when frying pączki to ensure they cook through on the inside without turning too dark on the outside. Traditionally, spirytus, a high-proof alcohol with a neutral taste, is used in the dough so the pączki don’t absorb too
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