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
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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Destiny says
Can I use honey instead of corn syrup?
Dina says
Honey is usually the best substitute for corn syrup. I have never tested this out yet so I am not too sure how it would change the texture and flavor.
Andrea R Officer says
How do I print a copy of the recipe? Wanting to make the maple bars.
Dina says
Hi Andrea 🙂 I have a print option at the top of the post and in the recipe card (at the bottom). I hope that helps and I hope you love these maple bars! Let me know how it goes 🙂
Tamra says
These sound delicious! How long to proof in the oven? Is it half the time? 30 minutes? Thanks so much!
Dina says
Great question Tamra! I find that it takes a little over half the time to proof in the oven. You want to make sure it doubles in size 🙂
Sandra Lorenzo says
They were mixed, they were raised, they were fried, they were frosted, and then they were gone.
simplyhomecooked says
Happy to hear that you loved these maple donuts, Sandra 🙂 It makes me so happy when people love my recipes! Thank you for taking the time to leave your feedback and I hope you find many more delicious recipes on my blog 🙂
Emily says
My 8 year old has been wanting to make homemade maple bars so we finally did. What a great Sunday project and they are delicious! That maple glaze is dangerously easy to make!
simplyhomecooked says
Hi Emily, thank you so much for taking the time to write your kind recipe review! It means a lot to me 🙂 I am very happy that you all enjoyed the maple bars!
Melissa says
Can I bake these instead?
simplyhomecooked says
Hi Melissa 🙂 Yes, you can. However, I have not tried baking these maple donuts so I am not sure about the bake time and temperature. If you give them a try let me know how it goes 🙂
Sheila B says
In Canton, Ohio they fill the donut sticks with cream. Thus they call them cream sticks.
Filling: 1 cup milk, 3 teaspoons flour, 1 cup Crisco, 1 cup white sugar, 2 1/4 cup powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.
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.
YUM!
simplyhomecooked says
Hi Sheila, thank you so much for your input 🙂
Richard Horst says
Hi, I would like to try this recipe in the air fryer will it work? Thank you.
simplyhomecooked says
Yes, this recipe can be made in an air fryer 🙂
Valerie Brooks says
I can’t seem to cook mine all of the way through? And the bars are huge! What am I doing wrong?
simplyhomecooked says
Hi Valerie, there is a chance that your oil is too hot. That will cause your donut’s exterior to be done while your interior is still uncooked. You can cut the dough into smaller rectangles. My donuts also came out a little bigger than a typical grocery store donut. However, many donut shops’ maple bars are also a bit larger. Hope that helps clarify 🙂
Danny says
If I make this dough the night before, do I let it proof twice for 1hr each then put it in the fridge or do I just knead the dough and put it straight in the fridge?
simplyhomecooked says
Hi Danny, I would place it in the fridge right after it’s done kneading. The dough should slowly rise in the fridge overngiht. Then the next morning, roll and cut it out, and let it rise once more before frying the donuts.
Vickie L Brown says
Can I freeze these maple bars and then defrost them and then glaze them?
simplyhomecooked says
Yes, you definitely can Vivkie 🙂 and glaze them up after they are fully thawed out.
Barbara Salisbury says
This recipe has some errors. Under the ingredients, it shows 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar. In the instructions, the 1 tablespoon sugar is dissolved with the yeast. The instructions state to add 1/3 cup sugar to the flour mixture. The instructions do not mention 1/2 cup sugar.
The ingredients show 1/2 teaspoon salt. The instructions show 1 1/2 teaspoons salt.
What are the correct ingredients?
simplyhomecooked says
Hi Barbara, thank you for bringing this to my attention. I just fixed the errors. It should be 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 tsp salt. I hope you love this recipe 🙂
Destiny says
Can I substitute corn syrup with honey?
Dina says
Hi Destiny, honey is usually the best substitute for corn syrup. I have never tested this out yet so I am not too sure how it would change the texture and flavor.
Sara says
These look amazing! I’m considering making these for breakfast later this week! But I would definitely prep the dough the night before!. Have you done it that way? Do they still come out just as good?
simplyhomecooked says
This dough can definitely be done the night before. It might even taste better that way!