Polish Farmer's Cheese Donuts Oponki Recipe - Polish Foodies (2024)

Light and airy donuts made with farmer’s cheese, the traditional Polish oponki are popular for Fat Thursday! Easy to make in just 10 minutes, they’re perfect for a quick snack!

What Are Oponki?

You can’t have Tłusty Czwartek in Poland without seeing some form of donuts. Apart from the traditional paczki which are donuts filled with custard or jam, we also make the regional pączki like Silesian donuts or oponki.

Oponki are made with a dough of farmer’s cheese or twarog, these ring-shaped donuts look like American donuts, but are light and fluffly inside. They are also called oponki serowe sometimes because they are made with cheese.

Did you know that in the early 1900s you could buy donuts at street corners on Fat Thursday? The sellers with their wicker baskets would wait at the Kercelak Market near the current day Okopowa Street. They didn’t have food stalls, just baskets full of fresh donuts to sell!

The first cookbook that has a recipe for donuts is from England in the 1803. But even before that, paczki donuts have been eaten since the Middle Ages, and some versions were made with pork scratchings.

German donuts from the 15th century were made with meat. Arabian donuts from Medieval times were coated with sugar. Before that, the Greeks and Romans made donuts and coated them with honey.

Donuts have been around in many cultures for centuries; so when these cheese donuts were invented is anybody’s guess!

Polish Farmer’s Cheese Donuts: How To Make Oponki?

Oponki donuts are a lot easier and quicker to make than paczki. You simply mix all the ingredients to form a smooth dough.

At the same time, start heating some oil in a large pot.

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Roll the oponki dough to about one cm thickness. Use glasses or cookie cutters to cut holes in the dough. Reroll the dough from the centers to make more oponki.

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Once the oil is hot, fry the cheese donuts on both sides for a few minutes. Remove the oponki with a sieve and allow to drain on paper-towel-lined plates.

Sprinkle the tasty oponki with icing sugar and serve!

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Tips For Making Polish Cheese Donuts Tastier!

  • Collect the centers of the donuts to the side and reroll them later to make more oponki.
  • Use this recipe to make your own farmer’s cheese!
  • Add a little vodka or vinegar to the dough so that less oil is absorbed.
  • If the dough is too wet and sticks to your hands, add a bit more flour.
  • Add spinach if you want healthier oponki!
  • Make sure the frying pan is deep enough for the donuts to float and not touch the bottom.
  • If you don’t want to use round cookie cutters, use shot glasses to make the center holes!
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Polish Oponki Recipe: FAQs

How To Pronounce Oponki?

Oponki is pronounced o-pawn-kee.

What Does Oponki Mean?

Oponki literally translates to ‘little tires’.

Can I Add Flavor To Oponki?

Traditionally, oponki are made simply with sprinkled sugar. But you can add flavor if you want to. You can add lemon zest, orange zest, or vanilla extract to the Dough.

Or you can add any of the following toppings:

  • Glazed sugar
  • Chocolate glaze
  • Sprinkles
  • Honey
  • Lemon curd
  • Raspberry sauce

What Other Dishes Are Served On Fat Thursday?

Other dishes served on Fat Thursday include the angel wing cookies, rosette cookies,andpaczki donuts.

How To Serve Oponki?

These cheese donuts can be served hot or cold. It’s up to you!

How To Store Oponki?

Store the donuts in an airtight container on the countertop for 4 to 5 days. You can reheat the donuts before serving. Wait till just before serving to add the sugar!

Polish Cheese Donuts Oponki Recipe

Yield: 30

Polish Cheese Donuts Oponki Recipe

Polish Farmer's Cheese Donuts Oponki Recipe - Polish Foodies (10)

Light and airy donuts made with farmer's cheese, the traditional Polish oponki are popular for Fat Thursday! Easy to make in just 10 minutes, they're perfect for a quick snack any time of the year!

Prep Time 7 minutes

Cook Time 8 minutes

Total Time 15 minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 cups of all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup of farmer's cheese
  • 2 ½ tbsp of sugar
  • 4 ½ tbsp of butter
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp of baking powder
  • 4-6 cups of oil to fry
  • icing sugar to sprinkle on the oponki

Instructions

  1. Mix all the ingredients for the dough together until you get a smooth consistency.
  2. In the meantime, start heating up the oil in a wok or a wide pot.
  3. When the dough is ready, roll it out to ½ inch (1 cm) thickness. Polish Farmer's Cheese Donuts Oponki Recipe - Polish Foodies (11)
  4. Use a round cookie cutter or a big glass to cut the circles from the dough. Polish Farmer's Cheese Donuts Oponki Recipe - Polish Foodies (12)
  5. Use a shot glass to cut the small holes in the middle of each circle. Polish Farmer's Cheese Donuts Oponki Recipe - Polish Foodies (13)
  6. Check if your oil is hot enough by throwing a small piece of dough into it. If it rises straight up to the surface, it's ready to fry.
  7. Gently throw the oponki into the oil.
  8. Fry them for 1-2 minutes on each side.
  9. After frying, place the oponki on a plate lined with paper towels.
  10. Sprinkle the oponki with icing sugar. Serve warm or cold!

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Did you like this Polish cheese donuts oponki recipe? Let us know in the comments below!

4 Responses

  1. This certainly brings back memories. My father made donuts on Fridays….not every Friday, but many times during the year. This must be the recipe he used, because they were not like standard donuts. Thanks for the recipe. I am going to try it soon.

    Reply

    1. Thanks for your comment, Barbara. I am glad it brought back memories 🙂

      Reply

  2. Hallo
    Das ist kein polnisches Rezept, sondern ein regionales aus Schlesien. Die Polen kennen es nicht wirklich.

    Reply

    1. Schlesien gehört zu Polen 🙂

      Reply

Polish Farmer's Cheese Donuts Oponki Recipe - Polish Foodies (2024)

FAQs

What is the difference between a paczki and a donut? ›

It fluffs right back up." In a Smithsonian article from February of 2023, Bielinski noted that paczki dough is richer and denser than a doughnut. It's complemented by a sweet fruit preserve filling, a thin glaze on top, a hint of orange or lemon peel, or even a trace of rose. Feeling out of the loop?

What is the Polish donut tradition? ›

So, what is Fat Thursday? Fat Thursday is one of Poland's tastiest traditions, it's a national holiday also known as Tłusty Czwartek. For many, it is the last day to consume sweet treats, alcohol, and more delish delights, more specifically, doughnuts.

What do Polish people eat on Fat Tuesday? ›

This day is celebrated by indulging in the traditional Polish jelly-filled pastry known as a pączek (PON-check). The more commonly used name for these is pączki (POONCH-kee), which is the plural pronunciation for this sweet treat. Pączki are made from richer yeast dough that won't collapse when you bite into it.

What are Polish donuts for Fat Thursday? ›

Pączki (singular – pączek) are a Polish version of the doughnut, known as the most widely and commonly consumed food during Fat Thursday. The most traditional pączki are filled with rose-flavoured jam, but many varieties exist.

What are the traditional Polish paczki flavors? ›

Powidła (stewed plum jam) and wild rose petal jam are traditional fillings, but many others are used as well, including strawberry, Bavarian cream, blueberry, custard, raspberry, and apple. Pączki have been known in Poland at least since the Middle Ages.

What is a Polish donut called? ›

Pączki are very rich donuts, deep fried and then filled with fruit or cream filling and covered with powdered sugar or icing.

What is the Polish Fat Tuesday donut called? ›

Fat Tuesday is the day before Ash Wednesday which is a day of preparation for the penitential season of Lent. Paczki are Polish deep-fried donuts that are filled with some sweet filling such as jam, custard, lemon curd or chocolate. They are usually covered with powdered sugar, icing, glaze or dried orange zest.

What is the most eaten Polish food? ›

Pierogi is undoubtedly Poland's most famous and simple comfort food. But after tasting one of these delicious filled dumplings, you're likely to find yourself craving more. Perogis can be cooked or fried; stuffed with meat, vegetables, cheese, fruit, chocolate; accompanied by a sour cream topping or just butter.

What is the national Polish breakfast? ›

Poland. The traditional Polish breakfast is a large spread with a variety of sides eaten with bread or toast. Sides include various cold cuts, meat spreads, the Polish sausage, tomatoes, cheese, and sliced pickles. Twaróg, a Polish cheese, is a breakfast staple and comes in many forms.

What do Polish people eat on Sundays? ›

In Poland, the Sunday dinner is a family institution. It connects generations, creates bonds and builds love for home-made comfort food. Millions of Poles will repeat the Sunday dinner ritual craving such classics as rosół, barszcz, mielone or gołąbki.

What is the tastiest tradition on Fat Thursday in Poland? ›

Pączki (Polish doughnuts)

Put simply – pączki (singular – pączek) are a Polish version of the doughnut and are the most widely and commonly consumed food on Fat Thursday. The most traditional pączki are filled with rose flavoured jam, but many varieties exist.

What is a Polish donut Ash Wednesday? ›

Paczki (pronounced POWN-ski) is a traditional Polish donut like confection started in Middle Ages to use up butter, sugar, and fruit so they wouldn't spoil before Lent. Traditionally Paczki Day is Fat Thursday, the Thursday before Ash Wednesday.

Is a paczki just a filled donut? ›

Paczki are essentially Polish doughnuts, though denser and richer than your typical American yeasted doughnut. Traditional fillings include rosehip jelly or plum jam, but now they can be found filled with a variety of jams and sweet creams.

Is a paczki just a jelly donut? ›

The centerpiece of those celebrations were pączki: fried, yeasty donuts filled with fruit jams, like the traditional rose hip or prune, as well as lemon berries and custards. The dough is heavier and richer, more like a brioche bun than a plain glazed.

What makes it a paczki? ›

People will ask for pączkis, not realizing that pączki is already the plural of pączek (punch-ek). Pączki are very rich donuts, deep fried and then filled with fruit or cream filling and covered with powdered sugar or icing. Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent.

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