Polish doughnuts filled with chocolate custard.

Pączki are deep-fried pieces of dough shaped into flattened spheres and filled with confiture or other sweet filling. Pączki are usually covered with powdered sugar, icing, glaze or bits of dried orange zest. A small amount of grain alcohol (traditionally, Spiritus) is added to the dough before cooking.

Although they look like German berliners, North American bismarcks or jelly doughnuts, pączki are made from especially rich dough containing eggs, fats, sugar, yeast and sometimes milk. They feature a variety of fruit and creme fillings and can be glazed, or covered with granulated or powdered sugar.

About Delightful Pastries

Delightful Pastries made Chicagoist’s lists of the best doughnuts in Chicago on the strength of their paczki but their exceptional baking goes beyond Polish doughnuts. They also make outstanding breads, danishes, cookies, cakes and other sweets. Try a slice of their marble pound cake with a cup of piping hot black coffee. Delightful Pastries also offers baking classes so you can improve your skills at home. — Chuck Sudo

“The name hits the nail on the head” at this European-style bakery set in Jefferson Park, Old Town and the Loop’s French Market where a “lovely staff” serves up “beautiful”, “melt-in-your-mouth” pastries, cakes, cookies and more; “amazing breakfast sandwiches” and savory lunch bites supplement the sweets. – Zagat

Pastry & Bakery Shop… established in 1998

Delightful Pastries is a family-owned and operated bakery has been serving delicious home-style European pastries, cakes and baked goodies to our faithful Chicago clientele for more than 10 years. They prepare baked goods and scrumptious pastries with attention to detail using the finest local ingredients according to European baking traditions handed down from generation to generation.

History

In 1998, Dobra Bielinski and Stasia Hawryszczuk opened the first Delightful Pastries bakery in Jefferson Park on Lawrence with a goal to make authentic European pastries, using as many local ingredients as possible. This mother-daughter team believed that natural ingredients should speak for themselves and shine through without being covered up with sugar.

Delightful Pastries added an additional location in 2009, at the Chicago French Market, 131 N. Clinton St.

Dobra’s brother Robert, also a chef, had been involved in the background since inception but became a managing partner with his partner Nico Hua, a business executive, taking over operation of the French Market location.

Today they are still making all of their products in-house by using the finest and freshest ingredients. They do not add chemicals or preservatives to any of their products. Also, as requested by their clientele, a majority of the pastries are made low-sugar. YOU taste the butter difference.