Until a few years ago I had never heard of a paczki. I had never seen the word and never tasted a paczki.

When I finally did see one I thought it was just a jelly doughnut. I was so wrong.

Paczki are made from especially rich dough and feature a variety of fruit and creme fillings and can be glazed, or covered with granulated or powdered sugar.

Paczki Day is what most of us know as Fat Tuesday. You fill up on the pastries, maybe have a few beverages, right before Ash Wednesday.

But where in McHenry County can you get a great paczki? A lot of bakeries make them, but finding an authentic, great tasting one can be difficult.

We will take votes through 5 p.m. Tuesday. From there, we will select finalists to square off in finalist's Showdown. Voting will start Wednesday morning for the finalists' Showdown and continue through noon on Friday. The weekly champion will be announced in an article on the McHenry County Patch.com sites Saturday morning. 

This is all about participation so we hope you will chime in and check back. 

So, without further ado, let’s get the voting started. Patch readers, tell us by commenting below, where is the BEST place to get paczkis in McHenry County?