Trying paczki.......WHAT?????

If you have followed my blog for long, you know I want to know "what the locals eat".  We moved to the Pittsburgh area in July and I have been on the hunt for new things since.  So far, I've had pierogies, chip/chop ham, haluski and some truly inspiring pizza.  The local bakery was advertising paczki.  Huh????  How do you even pronounce that?  I've been meaning to stop into Bethel Bakery for quite some time.  When I saw that they were advertising "paczki", I knew I'd have to stop putting it off and give them a visit.

As I walked in, I saw an advertisement for these pastries and (thankfully!) a guide to pronunciation:  poonch-key.  They are essentially a filled doughnut, but so much more than that.  Get out of your mind, the glazed doughnuts from any chain you've been to.  These are different.

These four inch orbs have dough that is a bit denser than what you'll find at Dunkin Donuts...and not covered in glaze but sugar.  They had four different flavors; raspberry, Bavarian cream, buttercream and lemon.  I intended to get three, but ended on getting all four flavors.  The ladies at Bethel Bakery treated me awesomely as I decided what I wanted to order....I got a bit distracted while I looked around the shop at their cupcakes.

I rushed home with my purchase and couldn't wait to dig in.  It was about 30 minutes until lunchtime so I decided to find out what made the paczki so special before I consumed the thing.  I found out that these are a Polish treat only made a few weeks before Fat Tuesday.  Traditionally, they were made in the days before Lent to get all of the lard, sugar and fruit out of the house for the season of fasting.  So, these little pockets of heaven will be gone on February 22nd here in Bethel Park.  Alas!

After lunch, I sat down with my paczki of the Bavarian cream variety.  At the first bite, I realized that there was A LOT of cream in this thing...and that is a good thing.  The dough was denser than any cream-filled doughnut I've had and the cream was fabulous.  It was a little messy to eat, but I could maneuver around it so I got an equal bite of doughnut and cream.

I was so sad when I took my last bite.  I wanted another one so badly.  Matt ate the buttercream one.  The lemon and raspberry ones waited until the kids got home from school.  Brandon and Robbie shared the lemon one, the filling was awesome.  It had a true lemon flavor...like a good lemonade.  Em's was equally delicious.  Two thumbs up for this Polish treat!  (I'm headed back soon for some more!!!!!)