Maple Donut Bars From Scratch (2024)

Published: Oct 21, 2020 by Dina

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

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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

1. 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.
2. 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