These Maple Donut Bars are soft, simple, and from Scratch. Perfect for dessert or a snack, these maple donuts are fluffy, buttery, and delicious.
If you love homemade donuts, you have to try our brioche donuts and old fashioned sour cream donuts.
Maple donut bars
This recipe for Maple Donut Bars is so easy to follow and the results are decadent and perfectly sweet. You’ll love the fall flavors of this tasty snack, which goes as great with coffee and it does with dessert. Made with yeast for that wonderful fluffiness, and topped with sweet maple icing that melts in your mouth, these homemade Maple Donut Bars are so good, you’ll never get enough.
Here is what ingredients you will need
To make these Maple donut bars from scratch, you’ll need All-purpose flour, Yeast, Eggs, Granulated sugar, Salt, Unsalted butter, Milk, and Water.
Maple donut glaze
To make the Maple glaze that goes on top of each donut bar, you’ll be using Unsalted butter, Powdered sugar, Brown sugar, Corn syrup, Milk, and Maple extract
How to make maple donuts from scratch
Here’s a quick run-down of how to make Maple donut bars, but you can get the full details in the printable recipe card below!
Make the dough
- Froth the yeast. Add the warm water to the yeast, warm milk, and sugar. Give it a quick whisk and then wait until it gets foamy, about 10 minutes.
- Combine ingredients. Using a stand mixer, combine the flour, salt, sugar, yeast mixture, and eggs. Mix everything together with the hook attachment at medium-high speed.
- Add the butter. When the dough starts to come together, add the butter and continue mixing for another 8 minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic, and not sticking to the sides of the bowl.
Rise, cut, and fry the donuts
- Let the dough rise. Put the dough in a greased bowl and cover it with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel. Let it rise in a warm place for about an hour, until it doubles in size.
- Punch it down and proof again. After it has risen, punch the donut dough down. Reshape it and let it rise again to double another hour.
- Roll, cut, and proof the donuts. Place the dough on a floured surface and dust it with flour before rolling it out with a rolling pin. It should be about 3/4-inch thick and in the shape of a rectangle (about 15×17 inches). Cut out 12 donut bars with a pizza cutter and place them on a floured baking sheet. Let them rise for 30 more minutes.
- Fry the donut bars. Pour about 2 inches of oil in a heavy-bottomed pot and let the oil reach 360-375 degrees Fahrenheit. Fry each side of the donuts for a few minutes, until they are golden brown.
- Let them cool. Place the donuts on a baking sheet with paper towels to absorb excess oil to cool.
Dip them in the maple glaze
- Make the maple glaze. Melt the butter for the glaze in a saucepan and then add the brown sugar, milk, and corn syrup. Then turn the heat up to medium and let it come to a simmer. Turn off the heat and add the maple extract and powdered sugar. Stir until smooth.
- Dip the donuts into the glaze. Dip one side of each cooled donut into the maple glaze and then let it solidify on a cooling rack. Serve.
These can be made in advance!
Yes, you can prep these Maple Donut Bars the night before. Just make the dough and place it in the refrigerator overnight. In the morning, roll it out and fry it, then glaze it. This will save you some time if you planned to serve these for breakfast.
How long will they keep?
These maple bars will keep for about 2 days at room temperature, and about a week in the refrigerator. Place them in a ziplock bag or covered with plastic wrap to keep them from going stale.
Can I freeze them?
No, maple glaze donuts don’t freeze well. The glaze just doesn’t defrost right and so your donuts won’t survive well in the freezer.
More donut recipes you’ll love
- Old fashioned sour cream donuts
- Zeppole (Italian donuts)
- Japanese mochi donuts (video)
- Buttery Brioche donuts
- Ponchiki Russian donut holes
Full Recipe Instructions
Maple Donut Bars From Scratch
Ingredients
For the donuts
- 1/2 cup warm water
- 3/4 cup warm milk
- 2 tsp dry active yeast
- 1/2 cup + 1 Tbsp cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 5 large eggs
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
For the maple glaze
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 3 TBSP milk
- 1 TBSP corn syrup
- 2 tsp maple extract
- 2 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
Froth up the yeast
- Combine 1/2 cup warm water (110 degrees Fahrenheit), 3/4 cup warm milk along with 1 tbsp sugar and 2 tsp yeast. Give it a quick whisk and wait till it gets foamy. About 10 minutes.
Combine everything in a stand mixer
- In the bowl of a stand mixer add 5 1/2 cups of flour(spooned and leveled off with a knife) , 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 cup sugar, the frothy yeast mixture, and 5 large eggs. Using the hook attachment, mix everything together on medium-high speed.
- When the donut dough begins to come together add 1/2 cup of softened unsalted butter. Continue mixing on medium-high speed for about 8 minutes or until the dough becomes smooth and elastic and no longer sticks to the sides of the stand mixer.
Let the dough rise
- Place the donut dough in a greased bowl and cover with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap. Then let it rise in a warm place for about 1 hour, or until it doubles in size. ( I like to speed it up in the oven on the “proof” setting).
Punch and proof a second time
- After the dough rises punch it down, reshape it, and let it rise again until it becomes twice the size (about an hour),
Roll, cut, and proof the donuts again
- Now remove the dough from the bowl and place it on a well-floured surface. Dust some more flour on top and roll it out using a rolling pin. You want the dough to be about a 3/4 inch thick rectangle. (About 15×17 inches)
- Now cut out the 12 donut bars using a pizza cutter and place them on a baking sheet dusted with flour. Then let them rise for about 30 more minutes.
Fry the donuts
- Pour about 2 inches of corn or vegetable oil in a heavy-bottomed pot and let the oil come to 360-375 degrees Fahrenheit (I used this instant-read thermometer). Now fry each side of the donut for a few minutes per side or until golden brown.
- Transfer to a baking sheet lined with paper towels to absorb any extra oil. Let them cool completely.
Make the maple glaze and dip
- To make the glaze melt 1/4 cup unsalted butter in a saucepan. Then add 1/2 cup brown sugar, 3 TBSP milk, and 1 TBSP corn syrup. Turn the heat to medium and let it come to a simmer.
- Then turn the heat off and add 2 tsp of maple extract and 2 cups of powdered sugar. Stir until smooth.
- Then dip the cooled donuts into the maple glaze and let them set on a cooling rack.
Notes
Nutrition
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Whitney says
Can this dough be made ahead of time? Possibly on second rise into fridge and brought out in the morning?
Dina says
Hi Whitney, yes you can make it up till the first rise. Then cut, cover, and refrigerate until ready to bake in the morning. Enjoy! 🙂
Fate says
10/10, highly recommend – gave one to a student of mine and he saluted me then ran around the room like a football player celebrating a goal. Twice.
I think he liked it.
Dina says
Haha that’s hilarious! I am so glad he enjoyed the donut!
Ronnie Scott says
I’ve attempted to make this 2x, and the result is the same. After I fold in the butter and beat for 8 minutes or longer, it never forms correctly. It’s elastic, but it remains very sticky. Ive beat it for 15 minutes with the same outcome. What am I doing wrong? I follow the directions step-by-step. I can’t continue to waist ingredients.
Dina says
Hi Ronnie, I am so sorry to hear that you have been having this issue with this recipe. What kind of flour are you using? Sometimes the type of flour you use can alter the moisture ratio. Have you tried adding more flour if the dough was too sticky?
Ronnie Scott II says
Thank you for the reply. I figured it out. I just kept it in the mixer for about 15 minutes until it started separating. They tasted delicious. I have one question, can you use this dough to make twists?
Dina says
Ronnie, I am so happy the donuts turned out delicious! Yes you can most definitely use this dough to make twists!
Ashley says
Hi I am trying to make this recipe and I can’t get it to come together.
I mixed it for 8 minutes the first time then set aside and let it sit. I checked back when it had 18 minutes left for the first rise. And it was not doing anything.
So I tried to mix it for 10 minutes this time and I’m having the same issue I’m using all purpose flour and measured everything right. Any suggestions
Dina says
Hi Ashely I am so sorry you are having this issue! Have you tried adding a little more flour?
Jessica Short says
10/10 would recommend!!
My family absolutely loves them🩷
very easy definitely worth the rising time 😂
Dina says
You are too kind Jessica! Glad to hear your whole family enjoyed these maple donuts. I really appreciate your feedback! 🙂
Destiny Alexander says
I made this for the first time and everyone loved it. It has been requested for breakfast more then anything else I make. I am absolutely making these more often. I love this recipe thank you.
Dina says
Thank you so much Destiny! I am so happy to hear that it’s a highly requested recipe!
Rose Wall says
What can I use instead of corn syrup? Cause I do not cook with that, trying to be a little healthier but still wanna have some sweet treats every now and then.
Dina says
Hi Rose, you can use agave nectar instead of the corn syrup.
Sarah says
I haven’t tried this yet and am wondering if I can bake instead of frying these? I’d rather not fry them…
Dina says
Hi Sarah 🙂 Happy that you took a look at my recipe. This is a yeast raised donut so yes it can be baked. I have not tried baking this exact recipe so I am not sure on the specific time and temperature. If you give it a try let me know how it goes. 🙂
Noelle says
I made these for a church activity for teenagers and I got rave reviews! Thank you for the recipe! If I am refrigerating over night, should I let the dough rise at all before placing it in the fridge?
Dina says
Hi Noelle, I am so thrilled to hear that these maple bars were a winner! If you already cut out the bars, they don’t need to rise before going into the fridge. They will rise slowly overnight. I hope that helps!
Me,annie elliott says
Could you freeze the fried donut bars before they are frosted
Dina says
Hi 🙂 Yes you can freeze them before you add the maple icing.
Katlyn says
Is there any substitute that I could use in place of egg? I’m trying to find some good recipes for my daughter who has an egg allergy and she loves donuts and this would be awesome!
Dina says
Hi Katlyn 🙂 I am sorry to hear about your daughter allergy. I have heard from some of my followers that they used Bob’s Red Mill egg replacer on some recipes and that it worked really well. I have not personally tried it with this recipe so I am not sure how it will turn out. If you give this recipe a try please let me know how it turns out. This way I can know for others if they ask. Thank you 🙂
Sheila B says
In Ohio, we fill them with cream lengthwise. We call them cream sticks.
Filling:
1 cup milk
3 tsp flour
1 cup Crisco
1 cup white sugar
2 1/4 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
For filling, in a saucepan, place milk and 3 tsp flour. Mix and boil till thickened. Cool completely. Cream together well with mixer the Crisco and white sugar. Add the cooled flour mixture and cream again. Add powdered sugar and vanilla and mix.
Cut open middle (on top of donut) within 1/2″ of ends. Or you can poke a hole from the end of the donut like you would a jelly donut and fill with a pastry bag. Fill with filling and either sprinkle powdered sugar on top or drizzle with favorite icing.
Natalie says
Can I make these into donut holes? I like the easier bite sized for little ones.
Dina says
Hi Natalie 🙂 Yes, that should work. Just make sure to dust the work area with flour. I hope you love these donuts! 🙂
Destiny says
I had to use way more flour. I even weighed it out so that part was disheartening.. but on my second proof right now, made it work.. hoping for the best so the kids can have some dam donuts!!!
Dina says
Hi Destiny, how did the donuts turn out? I know that the way the flour is measured can alter the consistency.
Dakota says
I had the same issue, ended up adding almost 2 full cups more of flour, I also weighed the flour out so not sure what’s up.
Dina says
Hi Dakota, this recipe calls for a good amount of butter in the dough. Which makes it slightly resemble brioche dough. When mixing butter in, you need to knead the dough until it becomes smooth and elastic. If it’s not kneaded long enough it will feel very sticky. I hope that helps.
Shannon says
I made these and my dough was soooo sticky. When I cut into bars amd proofed for the 30 additional minutes, they blew up into a pool floating:) Then they stuck to the floured pan when I tried to remove the bars to fry. I want to try again, so do you have any suggestions on what I clearly did wrong?? Thank you!!
Dina says
Hi Shannon, this recipe calls for a good amount of butter in the dough. Which makes it slightly resemble brioche dough. When mixing butter in, you need to knead the dough until it becomes smooth and elastic. If it’s not kneaded long enough it will feel very sticky. I hope that helps.