These Maple Bars are so easy and delicious! I never thought frying donuts would be so simple! These classic, homemade Maple Long Johns make the perfect breakfast treat. Your family will thank you for this warm, fresh version of a classic donut with a homemade maple glaze!
An Easy Donut Recipe? Yes Please!
Every Saturday, I get up while my family is still in bed and drive down to our local bakery to get some donuts. They make the best donuts in town and I love the looks on the kids faces when I come home with that big, white box full of goodies. But, sometimes I don’t feel like getting out of my PJs on a Saturday morning. That is where it’s important to have your own, homemade donut recipe!
And, while we’ve made some serious breakfast treats on this site from Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies to Lemon Muffins, we haven’t yet share a homemade donut recipe. Let’s change that today with these Easy Maple Bars!
Maple Bars
Making homemade donuts is actually a lot easier than you think! You don’t need a deep fryer (although you don’t NOT need a deep fryer). And it literally just takes a couple minutes and a handful of easy ingredients to make these Maple Bars in no time!
Maple Bars have always been one of my wife’s favorite donuts. Also called Maple Long Johns, they are a “long” donut as opposed to the standard ring shaped donut. They are usually a yeast based donut and are always iced with a caramel/maple icing.
Maple Long Johns Recipe
So, what will you need? Like I said, just some common ingredients that you have around the house!
- 2 tubes 16.3 oz each, refrigerated biscuits (I used Pillsbury Grand Homestyle Biscuits)
- Vegetable oil for frying
- Butter
- Brown sugar
- Milk
- Light corn syrup
- Maple extract
- Powdered sugar
Recommended Equipment
You don’t NEED the exact things that I’m listing here. But they certainly help!
- LARGE FRYING PAN– This Large Frying Pan is pretty awesome and affordable! It’s nice and deep and comes with a lid.
- DIGITAL THERMOMETER– Making sure you oil is the right temperature is pretty important. Just make sure you get your oil up to 350 degrees before frying. We like to use this This Instant Read Thermometer for all sorts of things in our kitchen!
- COOLING RACK- This 3 Tiered Cooling Rack is awesome! It’s super affordable and now you have room to cool all your recipes without taking up too much counter space
- LARGE TUPPERWARE CONTAINER– Having a large tupperware container to put all your baked goods is a MUST! And this one is perfect for these donuts!
What Oil Is Best For Frying Donuts?
If you’re like me, you have a ton of random bottles of oil in your cupboards leftover from random recipes. For this recipe, you probably are best just to keep it simple. You don’t really need or want your oil to be adding any flavors to the Maple Bars. And you also need a high smoke point. Your best bet is to use Canola Oil or Vegetable Oil. We are going to be frying at 350 degrees, so make sure you oil has a smoke point that is higher than that!
While they are both very similar, Canola Oil is known to be a little lower in Saturated Fats, so it may be a little healthier.
Maple Bars Notes, Tips and Variations
- Have your paper towels ready to go. Frying the donuts moves fast and can get a little messy.
- Make sure you let your donuts cool before adding the caramel icing.
- Add Bacon?!?! A Maple Bacon Bar is something to behold. Fry or bake some bacon until it’s nice and crispy. You can chop it up and sprinkle it on the icing. Or you could just lay some strips down on the donut. Sweet and savory baby!
LOOKING FOR MORE BREAKFAST TREATS? CHECK OUT:
- CHOCOLATE CHIP BREAKFAST MUFFINS
- BANANA ZUCCHINI MUFFINS
- EASY BISQUICK CINNAMON ROLLS
- EASY BISQUICK COFFEE CAKE
- CINNAMON ROLL FRENCH TOAST BAKE
- STARBUCKS COPYCAT LEMON LOAF
- EASY FRENCH TOAST BAKE
We hope you enjoy this recipe for homemade Maple Bars. We’d love to hear how they turned out in the comments section!
Maple Bars
Ingredients
- 2 tubes 16.3 oz each refrigerated biscuits
- Vegetable oil for frying enough for 2 inches deep in pan
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons milk
- 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
- 2 teaspoons maple extract
- 2 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
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Separate the biscuits and flatten and stretch into a log shape.
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Heat hot oil in a pan on the stove. Working in batches, fry the biscuits, about 2-3 minutes on each side until golden brown.
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Remove and drain on paper towels.
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Add butter, brown sugar and milk to a sauce pan and heat on medium low heat, stirring constantly until butter is melted and sugar is no longer grainy.
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Remove from heat and stir in corn syrup and maple extract.
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Whisk in powdered sugar until blended smooth. Icing will begin to harden, but it should be fine to dunk.
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Dredge the top of each bar into the icing and flip over onto a flat surface for icing to firm up. Repeat until all bars are covered. Serve immediately.
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Store any leftover maple bars loosely covered at room temperature. These are best when eaten within 24 hours of making.
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