Short answer: no. Think of the paczek as the jelly doughnut’s lavish cousin. While a good jelly doughnut is light and airy, a paczek is denser and more brioche-lik, thanks to more eggs in the dough.

Paczki Day, also known as Fat Tuesday, is being celebrated across Chicago March 4, 2025. Here are 25 bakeries to find the Polish treat.

Pączki – the Polish word for package – is a special parcel indeed. On March 4, the last day to be a gorging hedonist before 40 abstemious days of Lent, denizens will make a mad dash for these filled doughnuts (pronounced “punch-kee”). Bakeries from National Bakery to Grebe’s to Cranky Al’s will offer their versions of the deep-fried treat.

The fried treats were born out of a melding of European Carnival and Catholic cultures that were brought to Milwaukee by Polish immigrants.

Celebrate Fat Tuesday with Murphy's massive batch of paczki, featuring classic and new flavors for the Thumb area.

In Metro Detroit, the focus is on Polish paczki, and bakeries from all backgrounds roll out the lard and sugar for fruit- and custard-filled confections. Polish bakeries are well-stocked, of course, but even the area's many Italian bakeries get in on the fun with the now-popular and expected cannoli paczki.

Fat Tuesday is a staple of every culinary calendar, but you may have a harder time getting your hands on a tasty paczki this year. (Feb. 28, 2025)

Bakeries across Metro Detroit are getting ready for a rush of paczki shoppers next week looking for a Fat Tuesday treat. Why it matters: Fat Tuesday is the day before Lent — 40 days of pre-Easter prayer and reflection when Christians traditionally forgo indulgences like sweets.