Country Donuts in Crystal Lake expecting to sell about 36K paczki

The weeks surrounding Fat Tuesday often are a trying time for Country Donuts, 181 W. Virginia St., co-owner Scott Offord said.

This year, staff began working around the clock Tuesday night to fill thousands of preorders of paczki.

The filled doughnuts originated in Poland when people were looking to rid their pantries of food items that could not be consumed during Lent.

If orders remain as steady as they have in the past couple of years, Offord said he is expecting to sell 3,000 dozen paczki this year.

“Hopefully, we don’t have to call 911 or anything because it can get a little stressful,” Offord said.

Offord said his paczki operation began in 1997, when he met a Polish baker at a trade show who shared his recipe for the proper dough. The baker suggested to Offord that paczki would sell better in the U.S. if they were richer.

With this advice, Offord said he “Americanized” his production of the dessert by using buttercream and fruit or custard fillings, providing a sweeter and richer flavor.

“It’s an indulgence,” Offord said.

Paczki sales continued to grow, peaking in 2017, when Country Donuts sold about 3,500 dozen. During the week before and the week of Fat Tuesday, Offord said his gross sales are about 50 percent higher.

In addition to Country Donuts’ own production, Offord said his business also prepares about 650 dozen paczki shells that other area bakeries can decorate and sell.

These shells are made in advance and frozen so production won’t conflict with operations around Fat Tuesday.

With the thousands of paczki that are preordered each year, Offord said he has had trouble stocking paczki for walk-in orders.

Last year, Offord said, he had to take rain-check orders for about 200 dozen paczki.

“On [Fat] Tuesday, we couldn’t even answer the phone because of how hectic it was,” Offord said.

This becomes increasingly difficult for Country Donuts, which tries to bake on a day-by-day, on-demand basis, which ensures the freshest products, Offord said.

Country Donuts’ paczki are available from Thursday to Tuesday, and they come in three varieties: buttercream and custard, buttercream and black raspberry and buttercream and strawberry.