Must confess... I had never heard of Paczki (pronounced "ponch-kees" until we moved to Traverse City. Here: they are a BIG deal. I stood in line at our local bakery for 20 minutes waiting in line for these beauties. In many Polish communities across the Midwest, Paczki are served on Fat Tuesday (the day before Ash Wednesday). The traditional reason for making paczki was to use up all the lard, sugar and eggs in the house before Lent. Paczki are deep-fried dough that is filled with jams, custards and creams and covered with powdered sugar or an icing glaze.