| Written By Recipe Coordinator |
Paczki are Polish donuts that are traditionally served and enjoyed on Fat Tuesday, otherwise known throughout the world as Mardi Gras. “Gras” is French for fat and ‘Mardi” is French for Tuesday. In Poland, these delectable desserts can also be enjoyed on Fat Thursday, New Year’s celebrations and even on birthdays. Pączki have been known in Poland at least since the Middle Ages. The original creation was inspired by French pastry chefs who came to Poland to ply their craft and to earn a living. The main reason for making pączki was to use up all the lard, sugar, eggs and fruit in the house, because they were forbidden to be consumed during the Lenten fasting season.
The most famous and traditional Polish paczki is filled with home made rosebud marmalade and finished with delicate flavored icing. Paczki are a delightful treat and a great way to kick off your Lenten celebrations. You can be creative and use all types of filling. The brandy serves to make sure the grease from the cooking oil does not saturate the dough. Fry the dough until they are a light brown color. Children in Poland always looked forward to having a paczki every year.They were a treat beyond compare. You can now make your own Lenten pastry treat with this incredible recipe by Judy Walker. Happy Mardi Gras and Niech Was Bóg błogosławi!
Paczki
6 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 ounce active dry yeast (2 1/4-ounce envelopes)
1/4 cup warm water
1/3 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
4-1/2 cups flour
1/3 cup brandy
1 cup scalded whipping cream
1-1/2 cups pastry filling, such as Solo brand
Peanut oil for deep frying
Glaze
2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon brandy
1/4 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1. With an electric or stand mixer fitted with a flat paddle, beat eggs and salt at high speed until the mixture is thick and piles softly, about 7 minutes.
2. In a separate bowl, combine yeast and warm water. In a second mixing bowl, beat butter until creamy, then add sugar gradually and beat until fluffy. Slowly beat in yeast mixture.
3. Beat 1 cup flour into butter mixture, followed by brandy and 1/2 cup whipping cream. Beat in another 1 cup flour, followed by remaining cream, then another 1 cup flour. Add the egg mixture, alternating with remaining flour (if dough becomes too thick for the paddle, switch to a dough hook). Beat for 2 minutes or until dough blisters. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set in a warm place.
4. When the dough has doubled in size, 1 to 2 1/2 hours, punch it down, cover the bowl and allow the dough to double in size again, 1 to 2 1/2 hours.
5. Punch down the dough, then roll out on a floured surface to 3/4 inch thick, adding as much as 1/2 cup of flour if dough is sticky. With a 3-inch round cookie cutter or glass, cut out rounds.
6. Place 1 tablespoon pastry filling in the center of half of the dough circles. Brush the edges of the filled circles with water and top with the remaining rounds. With fingers, press on edges to seal very well. Place the paczki on a floured surface and let the dough rise for about 20 minutes.
7. Heat 3 inches of oil in a large, deep skillet or electric deep fryer to 350 degrees. Deep fry the paczki until they are golden brown, 1 to 3 minutes per side (if the filling is spread evenly inside the pastry, the paczki will flip themselves over in the oil). Remove to paper towels, let cool, then brush with glaze or dust with powdered sugar.
To make glaze:
1. Combine cream, vanilla and brandy in a medium saucepan over low heat.
2.Whisk in sugar slowly until combined, then mix in lemon juice.
Recipe courtesy of Judy Walker and The New Orleans Times-Picayune.Recipe originally published 2/24/11.
Photo courtesy of polana.com.
Share this
Mister Wong
Webnews
Icio
Oneview
Yigg
Newsider
Seekxl
Newskick
FAV!T
Kledy
Social Bookmarking
BoniTrust
Power-Oldie
Bookmarks.cc
Favoriten
Linksilo
Readster
Linkarena
Digg
Del.icio.us
Reddit
Jumptags
Upchuckr
Simpy
StumbleUpon
Slashdot
Netscape
Furl
Yahoo
Blogmarks
Diigo
Technorati
Newsvine
Blinkbits
Ma.Gnolia
Smarking
Netvouz
Folkd
Spurl
Googlize this
Blinklist
Facebook
Wikio
Meneame
Diggita
Kipapa.cc
Notizieflash
OKnotizie
Segnalo
Ziczac
Print
E-mail
Comments
german
www.skilch.com
Claire
www.imarksweb.net
Marks Web