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.

maple bar yeast doughnuts

Why you’ll love these maple bars!

  • 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 it 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.

Maple Bar Yeast Doughnuts

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.

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!

Maple Bar Yeast Doughnuts

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.

maple bar yeast doughnuts

Get the Recipe: Maple Bar

Delicious real maple bars, made with yeast dough, fried and topped with a shiny maple glaze. Garnish if you like, with chopped pecans, maple sugar and/or chopped cooked bacon.
5 stars from 5 ratings
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Rising Time:: 1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours 10 minutes
Yield: 8 bars

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 into 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 it is too 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 into 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

These maple bar donuts are best enjoyed on the day they are made. Freeze up to 2 months for longer storage.
Be sure to read the notes above this Recipe Card, for more tips on making this recipe.
Cuisine: American, Canadian
Course: Snack
Serving: 1serving, Calories: 241kcal, Carbohydrates: 43g, Protein: 7g, Fat: 5g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 2g, Trans Fat: 0.4g, Cholesterol: 34mg, Sodium: 299mg, Potassium: 136mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 13g, Vitamin A: 46IU, Vitamin C: 0.03mg, Calcium: 26mg, Iron: 2mg
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Adapted from Top Pot Doughnuts Cookbook