These maple bar yeast donuts are the real deal yeasted and fried donuts, topped with a delicious maple glaze. Garnish if you like with chopped pecans or walnuts, maple sugar and/or chopped cooked bacon.
Why you’ll love these maple bar donuts!
- These maple bar donuts are the real deal, with a yeasted dough, deep fried and topped with a shiny maple glaze.
- This recipe is adapted from a Seattle area bakery cookbook (and Seattle knows their maple bars, I understand!) I have simplified the process of making these donuts, to make it as easy as possible for the home baker.
- These maple bar donuts freeze beautifully, so they can be frozen to keep them on hand longer.
Ingredients and Substitutions
Yeast – you can make these donuts with Active Dry or Instant yeast.
Shortening – shortening makes great donuts! It also helps to extend the shelf life. This is the solid shortening, such as Crisco™ You can also use large or softened butter, but do note that butter in particular will give a different texture and flavour and shorten the shelf life.
Mace – mace isn’t a common spice. If you don’t have it on hand, substitute nutmeg.
Light Corn Syrup – this is used in the glaze as an invert sugar, to prevent the sugar glaze from crystallizing. It also brings that lovely shine. Use the clear (light) corn syrup if possible, but the dark should also work here.
Maple Extract – I’m not a fan of maple extract (or most extracts beyond vanilla, if I’m being honest). Use it if you have it and enjoy it, or omit if you don’t. I didn’t use any here. Adding the extract would probably have made a more maple-looking brownish icing, if you’d like that, go for the extract.
Maple Syrup – I’ve used real maple syrup in the glaze. I recommend Amber or Grade B maple syrup, for the strongest maple flavour.
Recipe Tips
I know what you’re thinking. Donuts. Good to eat, a pain to make! I hear you. Here are my tips for making fried doughnuts at home less … painful.
1) Invest in a small deep fryer. Something that doesn’t take a ton of oil to fill, which is always good. Deep fryers also have the huge advantage of regulating the oil temperature for you. No need for a stove-top pot/thermometer situation. And finally, deep fryers have lids and filters, to keep those frying smells to a minimum.
2) Make half the recipe! Yes, good donuts are all about the freshness and while donuts do freeze well, you really don’t need a bunch of donuts most of the time. And if you take my advice from point #1, you would find that you can only fry a donut or maybe two at a time, so the time it takes to fry a bunch of donuts is, well, too much. So make a smaller batch, save all that frying time and enjoy them fresh!
Storing and Freezing
Donuts are always best on the day they are made. As these donuts are enriched with egg yolks, they will stale even more quickly. I suggest eating them all right away, or failing that, freeze them. They freeze beautifully for 2-3 months. Ideally, freeze before glazing, but even if glazed, they will still be fine, though the glaze may get a bit more moist from the freeze/thaw process.
Get the Recipe: Real Deal Maple Bar Donuts
Ingredients
For the Doughnuts:
- 4 1/2 teaspoons active dry or instant yeast
- 2 teaspoons white granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup water, lukewarm - 105-110F
- 2 Tablespoons shortening, or lard
- 1 1/2 large egg yolks , *mix up two egg yolks and remove about 1/4 of it
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup white granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon ground mace
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 - 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour, spooned and levelled
To Cook Doughnuts:
- Oil, for deep frying
For the Glaze:
- 1 3/4 cups icing/confectioners' sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon light corn syrup
- Pinch salt
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon maple extract, can omit
- 3 Tablespoons maple syrup
- 2 Tablespoons hot water, as needed, to thin
Topping Suggestions:
- Chopped pecans or walnuts
- Maple Sugar
- Chopped, cooked bacon
Instructions
- For the donuts: In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add yeast to warm water, together with the 2 teaspoons of white sugar. Stir and let stand to proof for 5 minutes. Add the shortening, egg yolks and vanilla to the yeast mixture and mix to combine.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the 1/4 cup white sugar, baking powder, mace, salt and 1 cup of the flour. Add this mixture to the yeast mixture and mix to combine. If using stand mixer, switch to kneading hook. Add additional flour, in small increments, as needed, to make a moist, soft dough. It should be smooth like bread dough, but a bit tacky.
- Remove dough to a greased bowl. Cover and allow to rise until doubled, about 1 hour.
- Remove dough to a floured surface and shape in to a rectangle about 10 x 6 inches. Cut dough in to 8 long rectangles, 1 1/2 inches wide and 5 inches long. Set pieces at least 2-inches apart on to a well- floured baking sheet. Cover with a clean tea towel and let rise until doubled and puffy, about 30-45 minutes.
- When dough is almost ready, heat at least 2 inches of oil in a heavy pot on the stove top or in a deep fryer to 350F. When doughnuts are ready, use a spatula to carefully transfer dough to the preheated fryer oil. Fry no more than 2 at a time for 30-40 seconds, flip, then fry for 20-30 seconds on the other side, or until evenly golden in colour. Remove to a cooling rack with a baking sheet underneath, to catch any drips of oil. Place doughnuts on to the cooling rack with the most rounded side up. Allow to cool completely before glazing.
- For the glaze: Combine all the glaze ingredients in a small bowl and stir until combined and all the icing sugar has dissolved. If to thick, add a bit more hot water to the mixture to thin.
- To finish the donuts: Dip the most rounded part of the cooled doughnuts in to the prepared glaze. Place on a rack with a baking sheet underneath (to catch the drips). While glaze is still wet, sprinkle with any toppings you might like to use, or leave plain. Allow to sit at least 15 minutes to allow the glaze to set up.
Notes
Adapted from Top Pot Doughnuts CookbookÂ
More Donut Recipes to Love!
Hi! I’m Jennifer, a home cook schooled by trial and error and almost 40 years of getting dinner on the table! I love to share my favourite recipes, both old and new, together with lots of tips and tricks to hopefully help make your home cooking enjoyable, stress free, rewarding and of course, delicious!
Just made these and they came out perfect! Thank you for this go-to recipe!
So glad to hear, Christina! Thanks so much :)
Bacon bits on a donut is pretty much everything to me. So delicious!
Thanks Cindy :)
These are such perfect doughnuts!
Thanks Laura :)
Hot damn I’m dying for a donut right now. I need to make a note to try these donuts the next time the hubs and I drive up to Seattle. However, in the meantime, I’ve gotta try your adaption. I love your advice on getting a deep fryer. I really want one. Maybe if I’m good the hubs will get me one for Christmas :). Anyway, awesome photos and great recipe! The donuts look amazing :)
Yes, Christina you definitely need to seek them out! Tons of delicious looking donuts :) And I love my little deep fryer. I don’t deep fry a lot, but when I do, it’s so much easier. Thanks :)
I like the bacon topping! What a great idea. The bar shape also appeals to me. A lot:) Pinned!
These were fun to make and delicious to eat :) I loved the bar shape, too. Perfect for adding toppings!
Hi Jennifer,
These look absolutely scrupmptuous and would be the best thing for the fall weather.
As I was reading through the recipe I’m not sure but I think there’s a mistake in your instructions. Could you please double check at Step 2 you mention FLOUR twice (the 1/4 cup white sugar, flour, baking powder, mace, salt and 1 cup of the flour.)
Thank you
Thanks so much, Louise and you are right, it was there twice in error. I’ve fixed it now. Thanks! (Love having help keeping the recipes correct :)
Jennifer You’re welcome. I will definitely have to try my hand at those delicious looking sinful sweetness. Yummm! Thanks for the recipe.
I make something similar twice a year, for my kids birthdays and for Christmas. Everyone loves them and we dream about them all year long. Mine don’t have maple though. I love that idea – I’m sure that maple flavor takes them over the top. And the bacon would take them over the top of the top!!
Thanks Chris! Maple and bacon is a popular combination in these parts and always a special treat :)
Is there anything better than a homemade fried cake? These donuts are nothing short of amazing!! Love the flavors! Pinned!
I know! Fried cake is just the best thing ever invented, in my opinion :)
OMGeee, Jennifer! These look dangerously delicious! I love a good donut, but you totally took these over the top with the maple and bacon! I could eat a ridiculous amount of these fried, glazed beauties! Pinned! Cheers!
Thanks Cheyanne :)
Ok, so these are nothing short of amazing! A good donut is what I could really use right now, especially one with maple AND bacon!! I would have a hard time stopping at just one ;)
Thanks Dawn and yes, the maple bacon one was really nice!
Now I could eat my weight in these doughnuts Jennifer. They sound just heavenly and look nice and fluffy! I love that maple glaze!
Thanks Mary Ann! Doughnuts are probably my favourite sweet treat. I usually buy them at my favourite bakery, but it’s fun (and handy :) to make them at home, too.
Oh wow, these look so tempting, we’re doughnut fans here, and these seem like the ultimate recipe ~ forget Dunkin Donuts :)
Thanks Sue :) I’ve been enjoying them from the freezer!
Happy donut day Jennifer! These look and sound pretty fantastic – and I’m one of those people that have never made fried donuts but I love your idea about picking up a deep fryer. I really didn’t know they were so affordable. Love using real maple syrup instead of flavoring – these must be amazing!
Thanks so much, Tricia :)