Try These Classic Desserts for Fat Tuesday (and All the Other Fat Days)

Celebrate Mardi Gras with these traditional—and indulgent—desserts.

Whether or not you plan on observing the Christian season of Lent, celebrating Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday, the day before is a great excuse to chow down on some desserts. In the past, Lent meant abstaining from indulgent foods like butter, sugar, and eggs. As Christianity seeped across different parts of the globe, during a time when food spoiled relatively quickly, there was no hope in preserving these ingredients during the 40-day period of fasting. Instead of tossing it all, there was a massive clear-out feast: Everything must go. In the wake of this food liquidation period, many creative and indulgent treats were born. Most of them are fried. All of them are carbs. Here are nine exquisite treats with which to celebrate the fattest days of the week.