Dan Martin / news@whmi.com


“Pączki Day” is fast approaching.

Fat Tuesday, Shrove Tuesday, or “Pączki Day,” is February 13th this year. As the annual pre-lenten Polish tradition is observed, special deep fried super-donuts are eaten, usually filled with custard, cream, or fruit...such as plum jam, raspberry, blueberry, or apple.

Pączki are made from especially rich dough containing eggs, fats, sugar, yeast and sometimes milk. Whether you eat a few pączki, or just a single pączek, the taste is unmistakable.

Customers often line up at bakeries on "fat Tuesday," …particularly in Hamtramck…waiting to get a pączek, although the donut-like delights are available at many locations around the area.

From traditional prune-filled, to apricot and even rose, pączki are a delicious treat, but not if you're watching your waistline.