Fat Tuesday may be five days away, but this year there's no reason for paczki lovers to wait that long for their annual treat.
"Pooch-key", "Punch-key", or "Poonch-key" are all correct ways to say paczki, says Sweetwater's Donut Mill. The term itself, is translated as "little package."
Sweetwater's has been making the traditional pastries for more than 15 years and this year decided to get the party rolling Feb. 28, five days before the beginning of Mardi Gras.
Last year the three Sweetwater's locations in Battle Creek and in Kalamazoo produced more than 15,000 paczkis for the holiday. The popularity of the pastries encouraged the donut makers to increase the amount of time they would be available.
Vanilla Creme, Chocolate Creme, Bavarian, Cherry, Blueberry, Lemon, Strawberry, Apple, or Raspberry are the flavors to choose from.
Production begins Feb. 28 and paczkis will be available then through March 4.
You can call in your order now and request to pick it up any day from Feb. 28 to March 4. Individual paczkis will also be available for walk in customers but daily quantity is limited so Sweetwater's encourages you to call before stopping in.
The holiday pastries can be ordered at all three stores: Battle Creek, 269-979-1944; Kalamazoo's Sprinkle Road, 269-388-4613; and Kalamazoo's Stadium Drive, 269-372-3636.
When the paczkis are gone there still will be the 55 different kinds of donuts, as one publication recently put it "from the standard crullers, twists, fritters, and longjohns to over-the-top peanut butter creme-frosted doughnuts with milk chocolate filling."
Source: Sweetwater's Donut Mill
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