homemade maple bars

Recipe by
Vickie Parks
Renton, WA

My stepmom made these every Christmas, and they always went quickly. I've seen many recipes for Maple Bars that use biscuit dough rolled into bar shape. But these are made from a fresh soft dough and includes cinnamon (which you won't get using packaged biscuit dough). They're easy to make; the hardest part is probably waiting an hour for the dough to rise. Work fast when icing the cooled doughnuts, because the icing can set rather fast if it's allowed to sit for any length of time. If the icing starts to set too quickly in the pan, stir it occasionally with a wooden spoon.

yield 12 (makes 1 dozen Maple Bar doughnuts)
prep time 2 Hr
cook time 8 Min
method Bake

Ingredients For homemade maple bars

  • DOUGHNUTS
  • 1 1/2 cups
    milk
  • 1/3 cup
    shortening
  • 4 Tbsp
    granulated sugar
  • 2 tsp
    salt
  • 2 tsp
    ground cinnamon
  • 2 (1/4-oz) pkg
    active dry yeast
  • 1/4 cup
    warm tap water
  • 2 lg
    eggs, beaten
  • 4 1/2 cups
    all-purpose flour
  • MAPLE ICING
  • 1/3 cup
    unsalted butter
  • 1 cup
    brown sugar, packed
  • 1/4 cup
    milk
  • 1 cup
    confectioners' sugar
  • 2 tsp
    maple extract

How To Make homemade maple bars

  • 1
    Lightly grease 15x10-inch jelly roll pan; set aside.
  • 2
    In a medium saucepan, scald milk. Stir in the shortening, sugar, salt and cinnamon, stirring until smooth. Let cool to lukewarm.
  • 3
    In a large bowl, dissolve both packages of yeast in the warm water. Add both eggs, and stir well. Stir the milk-cinnamon mixture into the yeast mixture.
  • 4
    Gradually add the flour and stir with a wooden spoon until all the flour is incorporated. Knead dough on a flat surface, adding up to 1/4 cup more flour if needed to reach a smooth dough (it shouldn't be sticky). Let rise for 1 hour.
  • 5
    Punch dough down. Then roll dough into a rectangle about 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick. Using a pizza cutter, cut the dough into 12 rectangles.
  • 6
    Place cut rectangles on greased jelly roll pan, and set aside for about 30 minutes to rise.
  • 7
    Preheat oven to 425°F.
  • 8
    Place baking pan in oven, and bake for 7 to 8 minutes or until lightly browned.
  • 9
    For Icing: In a saucepan, mix together the butter, brown sugar and milk. Bring to a soft boil, and then reduce heat to low and let simmer 3 minutes. Remove from heat and cool for 15 minutes.
  • 10
    Whisk in maple extract and confectioners' sugar until it reaches a smooth consistency. Add more confectioners' sugar, if needed, for consistency and sweetness.
  • 11
    Spread icing on top of cooled doughnuts, and let stand 15 minutes to allow icing to set.

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