Maple Bars Recipe - Beautiful Life and Home (2024)

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This easy step-by-step Maple Bars Recipe will be your new favorite! No need to buy doughnuts when you can make them at home! (P.S. Check out my post for 20 To-Die-For Doughnut Recipes).

When I was a kid, we didn’t get doughnuts often. But when we did, my mom always bought maple bars. They were so soft and tender and were wonderfully delicious.

But now I can make them at home and save my money!

Here’s what you’ll need to make homemade maple bars:

Ingredients for Maple Bars

3/4 cup milk

3 Tablespoons butter

2 1/4 teaspoons yeast (not quick-rise)

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Oil for frying

1 cup powdered sugar

3 Tablespoons maple syrup

1 teaspoon maple extract

1 Tablespoon water

Step-by-Step Instructions for Maple Bars (with pictures)

Put the milk and butter in a microwave-safe dish and heat for one minute in the microwave. The butter should be melted. If not, heat it for a little longer.

Pour the milk/butter mixture into your stand mixer. Test the temperature with a thermometer. If it’s between 100 degrees and 110 degrees, add the yeast. If it’s too hot, wait for it to cool down a little bit before you add the yeast.

If you don’t have a thermometer, test the temperature with your finger. The milk should feel like warm bath water. If it hurts your finger or feels too hot, wait for it to cool down. (I know this is really unscientific. That’s why an actual thermometer here is advantageous).

Allow the yeast to proof for about ten minutes. It should get bubbly.

Once the yeast has proofed, add the granulated sugar, salt, eggs, and vanilla. Briefly mix with the paddle attachment.

Switch to your dough attachment and add the flour. Mix on low speed for about five minutes. The dough will be slightly sticky.

Remove the bowl from the mixer and cover the dough with plastic wrap. (I find that this makes the dough rise faster than covering it with a towel). Allow the dough to double in size.

Once the dough has risen, punch it down and let it rest while you prepare a surface for cutting out your maple bars.

Use a large cutting board, silicone mat, or your clean countertop and sprinkle generously with flour.

Roll the dough into a 12×8-inch rectangle.

Use a knife, pizza cutter, or bench scraper to cut the rounded edges of the dough so that you have a true rectangle.

Then cut the dough into twelve bars, each 4 inches long by two inches wide.

Separate the bars a little. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and allow to rise for about thirty minutes.

When your bars have risen, they should look like this:

While your bars are rising, prepare your oil for frying. A deep fryer or electric skillet works best for this, as you can control the temperature of the oil.

Add 1 1/2 to 2 inches of oil and heat to 350 degrees F.

Once the oil has come to temperature and your bars have risen, fry one or two at a time.

Fry for 1-2 minutes on each side, until golden brown.

Use tongs to carefully remove the maple bars from the oil, and place on a paper towel-lined baking sheet.

Once you’ve fried all your maple bars, it’s time to whip up the delicious maple glaze!

In a medium-sized bowl, mix together the powdered sugar, maple syrup, maple extract, and water. The glaze will be runny.

Now you can dip the top of each maple bar into the glaze, or brush the glaze on top of the maple bars.

Allow to set for a few minutes, and then eat!

Store at room temperature for up to a day.

Maple Bars Recipe - Beautiful Life and Home (9)

Yield: 12

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Additional Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Total Time: 2 hours 10 minutes

Delicious homemade maple bars with with real maple syrup in the glaze!

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup milk
  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 2 1/4 teaspoons yeast
  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
  • 1 teaspoon maple extract
  • 1 tablespoon water
  • Vegetable oil for frying

Instructions

    1. Put the milk and butter in a microwave-safe dish and heat for one minute in the microwave. The butter should be melted. If not, heat it for a little longer.

2. Pour the milk/butter mixture into your stand mixer. Test the temperature with a thermometer. If it's between 100 degrees and 110 degrees, add the yeast. If it's too hot, wait for it to cool down a little bit before you add the yeast. If you don't have a thermometer, test the temperature with your finger. The milk should feel like warm bath water. If it hurts your finger or feels too hot, wait for it to cool down. (I know this is really unscientific. That's why an actual thermometer here is advantageous).

3. Allow the yeast to proof for about ten minutes. It should get bubbly.

4. Once the yeast has proofed, add the granulated sugar, salt, eggs, and vanilla. Briefly mix with the paddle attachment.

5. Switch to your dough attachment and add the flour. Mix on low speed for about five minutes. The dough will be slightly sticky.

6. Remove the bowl from the mixer and cover the dough with plastic wrap. (I find that this makes the dough rise faster than covering it with a towel). Allow the dough to double in size.

7. Once the dough has risen, punch it down and let it rest while you prepare a surface for cutting out your maple bars.

8. Use a large cutting board, silicone mat, or your clean countertop and sprinkle generously with flour.

9. Roll the dough into a 12x8-inch rectangle.

10. Use a knife, pizza cutter, or bench scraper to cut the rounded edges of the dough so that you have a true rectangle.

11. Then cut the dough into twelve bars, each 4 inches long by two inches wide.

12. Separate the bars a little. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and allow to rise for about thirty minutes.

13. While your bars are rising, prepare your oil for frying. A deep fryer or electric skillet works best for this, as you can control the temperature of the oil.

14. Add 1 1/2 to 2 inches of oil and heat to 350 degrees F.

15. Once the oil has come to temperature and your bars have risen, fry one or two at a time.

16. Fry for 1-2 minutes on each side, until golden brown.

17. Use tongs to carefully remove the maple bars from the oil, and place on a paper towel-lined baking sheet.

18. In a medium-sized bowl, mix together the powdered sugar, maple syrup, maple extract, and water. The glaze will be runny.

19. Dip the top of each maple bar into the glaze, or brush the glaze on top of the maple bars.

20. Allow to set for a few minutes, and then eat! Best stored at room temperature and eaten the same day they are made.

Choose your favorite to pin!

Maple Bars Recipe - Beautiful Life and Home (2024)

FAQs

What is the difference between a maple bar and a Long John? ›

Filled Long Johns are called filled bars, or filled bar doughnuts. For example, an unfilled (or even custard-filled) Long John with maple-flavored icing is called a maple bar in California. They may also be topped with chopped bacon and called a maple bacon bar.

What is another name for maple bars? ›

West of the city, Pennsylvania Dutch and Lancaster County bakeries serve what are known as Long Johns — doughnuts cut into oblong rectangles that closely resemble maple bars. They can be frosted or not, filled or unfilled. Some shops might call them “eclair doughnuts,” especially the ones filled with cream or custard.

What does a maple bar taste like? ›

And as I mentioned, Maple Bars are a west coast thing, so Top Pot is especially qualified. This recipe produces a soft and fluffy yeast donut that is perfectly chewy. It is yeasty, sweet, and flavorful. It's like biting into a cloud.

What is a maple donut? ›

Baked Maple Glazed Doughnuts. Made with a mix of maple, brown sugar, and whole wheat flour, then baked and dipped in a sweet brown butter glaze flavored with real maple syrup and vanilla. There's really nothing not to love about these cute (and sweet) maple glazed doughnuts.

How long do maple bars last? ›

➡️ Can you keep extra/leftover maple bars in the fridge? They'll stay for about a week in the fridge, as long as you keep them in an airtight container, ziplock bag, or something similar!

Are maple bars a California thing? ›

Maple bar is an unusual American doughnut originating from the West coast and usually associated with California. The doughnut is rectangular in shape and topped with a maple glaze. Inside, it can be left as it is or filled with cream or custard.

What is collecting maple syrup called? ›

Maple Sugaring or just "sugaring" - is the process of collecting the sap (water with sugar and minerals dissolved in it) from the maple trees and boiling it down (concentrating the sugar) to make it into a sweet delicious syrup.

What is the nickname for a sugar maple tree? ›

The sugar maple is sometimes called "rock maple" or the "hard maple." The “sugar” common name, is a tribute to the tree's sweet, delicious maple syrup product. Sugar maples can reach up to 100 feet in height and collectively grow on around 31 million acres of land.

What is the indigenous name for maple syrup? ›

Sinzibuckwud' is the Algonquin name for maple syrup. The literal translation is “drawn from the wood“. Early in the 16th century, the First Nations people shared their maple syrup making process with Europeans.

What is the strongest tasting maple syrup? ›

Grade A Very Dark (Strong) Syrup

The last of the maple syrup grades comes at the end of the sugaring season, as the sap starts to slow and boiling simmers down. Very Dark (Strong) syrup has the most intense maple flavor developed over many weeks. This taste is ideal for baking.

Is good maple syrup thick or thin? ›

The thin, pale fluid labeled Fancy or Grade A Light Amber commands the highest prices. It is the white bread of condiments, an inoffensive accompaniment to more flavorful fare. The robust, thick syrup marked Grade B fairly bursts with maple flavor, but sells at a significant discount.

What is sweeter maple or honey? ›

Honey is slightly sweeter and often described as having a floral flavour. Both sweeteners come in several varieties, with each having a unique taste. Honey varies based on its nectar source, while the different grades of maple syrup are collected in stages throughout spring.

What do Canadians call donuts? ›

Donuts. There are other variants such as beaver tail etc, but the sweet round fried dough with a hole in the middle is called donut in Canada.

What is a millionaire donut? ›

Description. RAISED DOUGHNUT WITH MILK CHOCOLATE GLAZE, TOPPED WITH SHORTBREAD CRUMB, FILLED WITH CARAMEL AND HALF A SHORTBREAD BISCUIT. Contains gluten, milk, eggs, soya, nuts.

Are maple bars called Long Johns? ›

Long Johns are rectangular yeast doughnuts that are left unfilled. Maple bars are a type of Long John doughnut and are the inspiration for many of the maple bacon bars that have become popular in gourmet doughnut shops.

Why is it called a Long John? ›

Etymology of long johns

The manufacturing foundations of long johns may lie in Derbyshire, England, at John Smedley's Lea Mills, located in Matlock. The company has a 225-year heritage and is said to have created the garment, reputedly named after the late-19th-century heavyweight boxer John L.

Is a Long John bigger than a donut? ›

Because they are larger than their round donut counterparts, Long John donuts are also higher in calories. On average, an unfilled maple Long John donut will ring up 320 calories, and a chocolate cream stick will come to 460 calories.

How much sugar is in a maple Long John? ›

Nutrition Facts
1 per Donut
Total Sugars 14 g
Includes 12 g Added Sugars24 %
Protein 7 g
20 more rows

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