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These maple long john donuts are the perfect sweet treat for fall! Homemade long john donuts are coated in a sweet maple glaze and topped with walnuts. Enjoy them with a steaming cup of coffee or spiced cider!
I love a good homemade donut — it’s no surprise I have so many donut recipes on my site! Apple cider donuts, cinnamon sugar donuts, even glazed twisted donuts with fresh milled flour make a regular appearance when I have a little time in the kitchen.
Ever since I shared my long john donuts recipe, I’ve had a maple version sitting on my “to bake” list, because a maple bar is one of those classics I can never walk past in a donut case!
It has the very same soft, chewy dough underneath, just cut into bars and dipped in a maple glaze with chopped walnuts scattered over the top.
These turned out so irresistible. I’ll certainly be making them year-round, but I think the warm maple flavor and touch of nutmeg are especially perfect for autumn.
These do take a little bit of rise time, so they aren’t a throw-together kind of morning treat, but my oh my, they are worth every minute of it.
If you want a fun Saturday brunch recipe or even a sweet fall dessert, you can’t go wrong with these scratch-made maple long john donuts.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Bold maple flavor: If you’re a fan of maple, you are going to absolutely love these donuts.
- Freshly milled flour: Once you make a baked good with fresh milled flour, it’s hard to go back! These have such a fresh, nutty, robust flavor from the freshly ground wheat berries.
- Homemade treat: Why make a trip to the donut store when you can enjoy from-scratch donuts that you made yourself? These are well worth the effort — fresh homemade donuts are so much better than anything you can buy!
Ingredients
- Whole grain flour: I use freshly milled hard white wheat flour for this recipe.
- Maple extract: We are using real maple syrup in the glaze, but for that really bold maple flavor, a dash of maple extract is essential.
- Brown sugar: This is one of the key differences between my regular long john donuts and these maple donuts! The brown sugar gives the dough that caramelized flavor that pairs so perfectly with maple.
- Walnuts: While peanuts are the more common topping for maple donuts, I love the maple walnut flavor combination, especially for fall! You can use any nut you prefer (pecans are delicious too) or skip them altogether.
Find the full list of ingredients in the recipe card at the bottom of this post!
How to Make Maple Long John Donuts
Step 1. Heat the milk to about 110°F. Stir in the yeast and let it stand 5 to 10 minutes, until foamy.
Step 2. In a large bowl, whisk together both sugars, the eggs, egg yolk, melted butter, and maple extract. Pour in the yeast mixture.
Step 3. Stir in the flour, nutmeg, and salt until a soft, sticky dough forms. Knead on a floured surface 2 to 3 minutes.
Step 4. Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm spot 1 ½ to 2 hours, or until about doubled in size.
Step 5. Set the dough out on a lightly floured surface and roll it out to ½ inch thick. Cut into 8 rectangles, set on parchment paper, and cover while you heat your oil.
Step 6. Heat ½ inch of oil in a Dutch oven to 350°F. Fry 2 or 3 bars at a time, 1 ½ to 2 minutes per side, until golden. Drain on paper towels and cool.
Step 7. Whisk the melted butter, powdered sugar, maple syrup, and maple extract until smooth. Dip the top of each bar, then scatter the walnuts over while the glaze is still wet. Let set before serving.
Expert Tips
- Roll it no thicker than ½ inch: The thicker you roll out your dough, the longer it will take to cook them all the way through. I try to aim for no thicker than ½ inch.
- Keep an eye on your oil: After a few batches, the oil in the Dutch oven does start to get dark, and therefore the donuts get darker quicker; just be aware. I don’t change out the oil or anything.
- Cool them completely before glazing: Let the donuts completely cool before adding the glaze. Otherwise, the glaze will all slide off!
- Cut with a pizza cutter: Use a pizza cutter to cut out your dough. It’s much easier than a knife, and you don’t have to worry about the dough tearing.
Notes
- I make these with my long john donut dough, with just a few changes to turn them into maple bars. Half the sugar is light brown here, maple extract goes in place of the vanilla, and there’s a little nutmeg in the dough. If you love these, my long john donuts with fresh milled flour are worth a look too!
- Your milk needs to be about 110°F, which feels barely warm when you dip your finger in. If it doesn’t foam up within ten minutes, the yeast is not good, and I would start fresh with a new packet.
- I cut mine into 8 for a traditional maple bar size, but you can cut them any size you like.
- I fry only two or three at a time and keep the oil right around 350°F. Any more in the pot makes the temperature drop, and they come out greasy instead of golden.
- These are best the day you make them, but leftovers can be kept loosely covered at room temperature for 2 days. Freeze unglazed bars for up to 2 months, then thaw them and glaze fresh.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, you can use all purpose flour instead of the freshly milled whole wheat flour if you prefer. Just measure by weight the same as you would with fresh flour.
Sure! Once they are cool, before glazing them, you can pipe custard or any other filling you’d like into the center of the donuts.
You don’t need to — I didn’t. But if you like the added crunch and flavor of toasted nuts better, it’s certainly not a bad choice! Just make sure they are completely cool before you sprinkle them onto the maple bars.
Oh, good question! I have a couple of beginner posts that will help. Learn how to mill your own flour and my tips for baking with whole grains before you get started. You can also check out my top freshly milled flour recipes to find your next bake.
I buy all of my whole grains, and many of my pantry staples, from Azure Standard. They have the best price and quality in my experience.
Related Recipes
- Fresh Milled Strawberry Sweet Rolls
- Cinnamon Rolls with Fresh Milled Flour
- Whole Wheat Apple Cider Cake
- Cinnamon Sugar Muffins With Fresh Milled Flour
- Pumpkin Roll with Freshly Milled Flour
If you tried these Maple Bar Donuts or any other recipe on my website, please leave a star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. Thanks for visiting!
Maple Long John Donuts
Equipment
- Dutch oven for frying
- Pizza Cutter
Ingredients
Dough
- 1 ¼ cups whole milk
- 2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast 1 packet
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup packed light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 egg yolk
- ½ cup butter melted
- 1 teaspoon maple extract
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 700 grams hard white wheat flour
- Oil for frying
Maple Glaze
- ½ cup butter melted
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- ¼ cup pure maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon maple extract
- ¾ cup chopped walnuts
Instructions
- Heat the milk to about 110°F. Stir in the yeast and let it stand 5 to 10 minutes, until foamy.
- In a large bowl, whisk together both sugars, the eggs, egg yolk, melted butter, and maple extract. Pour in the yeast mixture.
- Stir in the flour, nutmeg, and salt until a soft sticky dough forms. Knead on a floured surface 2 to 3 minutes.
- Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm spot 1 ½ to 2 hours, or until about doubled in size.
- Set the dough out on a lightly floured surface and roll it out to ½ inch thick. Cut into 8 rectangles, set on parchment paper and cover while you heat your oil.
- Heat ½ inch of oil in a Dutch oven to 350°F. Fry 2 or 3 bars at a time, 1 ½ to 2 minutes per side, until golden. Drain on paper towels and cool.
- Whisk the melted butter, powdered sugar, maple syrup, and maple extract until smooth. Dip the top of each bar, then scatter the walnuts over while the glaze is still wet. Let set before serving.
Notes
- I make these with my long john donut dough, with just a few changes to turn them into maple bars. Half the sugar is light brown here, maple extract goes in place of the vanilla, and there’s a little nutmeg in the dough. If you love these, my long john donuts with fresh milled flour are worth a look too!
- I use chopped walnuts on top, but peanuts are the classic maple bar topping, and pecans are lovely here as well, or you can leave the nuts off altogether. They all work perfectly!
- Your milk needs to be about 110°F, which feels barely warm when you dip your finger in. If it doesn’t foam up within ten minutes, the yeast is too old, and I would start fresh with a new packet.
- I cut mine into 8 for a traditional maple bar size, but you can cut them any size you like.
- I fry only two or three at a time and keep the oil right around 350°F. Any more in the pot makes the temperature drop, and they come out greasy instead of golden.
- These are best the day you make them. Keep them loosely covered at room temperature for 2 days, and unglazed bars freeze for up to 2 months, so thaw them and glaze fresh.
