From Pączki to King Cake: All about Fat Tuesday foods

Here’s what you should know about Ash Wednesday, Lent season

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Parts of the country may be buried under a blanket of snow and ice but once travel is safe again, there’s a whole world of sweet treats for you to enjoy. 

Pączki? King Cake? Many places are still serving up some of the delicious pre-Lenten treats. 

Here’s your guide to the specialty baked goods you could see at your local grocery stores and bakeries: 

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Pączki

These are the filled doughnuts of your pre-Lenten dreams. Filled with cream or jelly or fruit, they don’t seem that much different than a regular filled doughnut, but they are – richer and better, according to our experts.

© Carol Deptolla/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel ‘Tis the season, just about. The Wisconsin Bakers Association’s Paczki Party returns to the Polish Center in Franklin on Feb. 9.

The Polish pastry, depending on the size, can have as many as 400 calories and more than 20 grams of fat.

Don’t want to look clueless when you order one? It’s pronounced poonch-key.

More: Find a fish fry near you in Cincinnati, NKY

King cake

It’s a Fat Tuesday New Orleans tradition, but bakeries across the country have been filling orders for the sweet, yeasty bread for a couple of weeks already. You can also likely find this treat at your local bakery or supermarket.

Traditionally, each green, purple and gold sprinkled cake has a tiny baby figurine (usually plastic) inside. The person that gets the slice with the baby gets to be queen or king for the day (and lick the serving plate). 

Pancakes

In past years, IHOP has given away free pancakes the day before Ash Wednesday, calling it National Pancake Day. 

Pancakes need no explanation but they are sweeter when they are free.

While IHOP’s typical National Pancake Day events are canceled, you can still snag a free breakfast.

To get the freebie this year, you need to be part of the MyHOP email club by March 31. New and existing members will get an “IOU” for a free short stack to be redeemed throughout the month of April. Sign up at www.ihop.com/en/myhop.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: From Pączki to King Cake: All about Fat Tuesday foods