Delightful Pastries Gets Ready for Paczki Day. Have you ordered your Paczki?

If there ever was a question as to whom rules the queendom of Paczki making in Chicago, these photos will help solve the query. The mother-daughter team of Stasia Hawryszczuk  and Dobra Bielinski, partners of Chicago’s Delightful Pastries with brother Robert Hawryszczuk, and his wife Nico Hua rule the roost. The team, with a handsome able-bodied staff of helpers, is cranking out delicious homemade Pasczki to the tune of 1000s per day to meet pre-order demands of 36,000 plump and delicious filled authentic Polish Paczki. If you think Paczki are the same as doughnuts, think again. The traditional Paczki is “all about the dough. It’s denser; it’s a yeast dough that doesn’t collapse when you bite in,” said Dobra.  “One of the reasons ours are so good is that we don’t use any additives; everything is from scratch – flour, sugar, water, eggs are the base.:  Paczki day is an annual tradition celebrated in Poland tomorrow (on the 27^th of February) but here in America, it’s celebrated on March 4, Fat Tuesday.” Whether you’re a purist, choosing traditional varieties such as Fresh Strawberry & Whipped Cream, Custard Topped with Chocolate Fudge, Apricot Jelly, Raspberry Jelly, Rose Petal Jelly, Plum Butter, or want a gourmet flavor such as Cannoli Paczki or Passion Fruit Jelly, there’s a Delightful Paczki for every taste. However, it’s Delightful Pastries “drunken” Paczki that has had helped Delightful make its mark nationally, with three booze-filled choices:  Jameson Whiskey with Chocolate Custard, Vodka and Custard with Madagascar Vanilla, and Lemon Curd with Moonshine. All three Chicago area Delightful Pastries locations (Jefferson Park on Lawrence; Old Town on Wells and the West Loop at the Chicago French Market) will be fully stocked. Prices range from $2 to $3.25 apiece. Come hungry. It’s impossible to just eat one. Like Delightful Pastries on Facebook and Follow on Twitter @DelightPastries. Visit http://www.delightfulpastrries.com for more information. You can order Paczki at the Lawrence Ave. bakery at: 773-545-7215.

Dobra Bielinski discussing how to make Paczki