Grandma’s Easy Homemade Maple Bars Recipe (Mom’s Maple Sticks)

Originally Published September 21, 2021, Updated May 5, 2026

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Growing up, Grandma called these “maple sticks,” and every time she made them for the holidays, they were gone before they even had a chance to cool. When I was putting together the family recipe book, I knew this one had to be in it. The original recipe card is written in her handwriting, and I love that I get to share it here.

I’ll be honest, anything involving frying used to intimidate me. Hot oil, a thermometer, and dough that needs to rise twice, it sounds like a project. But the first time I made these I was genuinely surprised at how straightforward it was. The dough comes together easily in a stand mixer, the frying goes fast, and that maple glaze is just three ingredients. Once you’ve made homemade maple bars, you will never want a store-bought donut again.

These are the real deal — soft, fluffy fried dough with a sweet maple glaze that sets perfectly. Worth every single minute.

This is a blurb from the original recipe!

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Why You’ll Love This Recipe

No shortcuts. This is Grandma’s from-scratch maple bar recipe that she made every holiday season, and everyone went absolutely crazy for. The dough is soft and pillowy, the maple glaze sets beautifully, and the whole process is easier than it looks, even if you’ve never fried dough before!

You Will Need

  • Yeast: make sure it’s fresh and active. Sprinkle it over warm water (110°F — about 50 seconds in the microwave) and wait 5 minutes. It should get foamy. If it doesn’t, your yeast is dead and the dough won’t rise.
  • Maple extract: This is what makes the glaze taste like a real maple bar. Don’t substitute maple syrup in the glaze — the flavor won’t be strong enough, and the consistency will be off.
  • Oil for frying: use a neutral oil like canola or vegetable. You’ll need enough to fill your pot a few inches deep.
  • Candy thermometer: not optional! The oil needs to stay right around 375°F. When you add cold dough, the temperature drops, so you need to monitor it and adjust your heat as you go. My husband got me the KitchenAid digital thermometer and it is a game changer.

Tips for Perfect Homemade Maple Bars

Don’t rush the rises. The first rise should double the dough, and the second rise after cutting (about 1 hour) is what gives the bars their light, airy texture. Rushing either one will give you dense, heavy donuts.

Keep the oil temperature steady. Fry in small batches — adding too many bars at once drops the oil temperature and makes them greasy instead of golden.

Fry 1 minute per side. No longer! They cook fast. Set a timer the first time you make these.

Glaze while warm. Dip the bars into the glaze right after frying while they’re still warm — it helps the glaze set with that beautiful shiny top.

For the warm water, 50 seconds in the microwave gets you to about 110°F, which is the sweet spot for activating yeast without killing it.

Variations and substitutions

Chocolate glaze: swap the maple extract for vanilla and add 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder to the glaze for a chocolate bar version.

Cinnamon sugar: skip the glaze entirely and toss warm bars in cinnamon sugar for a churro-style version the kids will love.

Maple bacon: top the glazed bars with crumbled crispy bacon for a sweet and salty twist. A classic PNW donut shop combo!

No stand mixer? You can knead by hand — it takes about 8–10 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic.

How to make easy homemade maple bars

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes! After the first rise, punch the dough down, cover tightly, and refrigerate overnight. The next morning let it come to room temperature for about 30 minutes, then cut, let rise again, and fry.

A neutral oil with a high smoke point — canola, vegetable, or peanut oil all work great. Avoid olive oil as it has too low a smoke point and will smoke before reaching 375°F.

Almost always because the oil temperature dropped too low. Make sure your oil is back up to 375°F between batches and don’t fry more than 2 or 3 bars at a time.

Strongly recommended. The difference between 350°F and 375°F really matters. Too cool and the bars absorb grease; too hot and they brown on the outside before cooking through.

Technically yes, but they won’t have the same soft, pillowy texture. If you do bake them, use 375°F for about 10–12 minutes until golden. They’ll be more like a sweet roll than a classic maple bar.

Grandma's Easy Homemade Maple Bars Recipe (Mom's Maple Sticks) Save
grandmas easy homemade maple bars recipe with maple glaze on cooling rack Save

Easy Homemade Maple Bars

Growing up, my grandma would make homemade maple bars for holidays and everyone loved them! Here is the easy homemade maple bar recipe!
Prep Time 30 minutes
Rising time 3 hours
Serving Size 2 dozen doughnuts

Ingredients

  • ½ cup Butter or margarine Room temperature
  • ½ cup Sugar
  • 2 Eggs Beaten
  • 1 tsp Salt
  • 1 ½ Tbs Yeast or 2 packets
  • 2 cups Water 110 degrees
  • 8 cups Flour

Maple Glaze

  • Warm water
  • Powdered sugar
  • Maple extract

Instructions

  • Sprinkle yeast over warm water (110 degrees, about 50 sec in the microwave) and let the yeast activate for 5 minutes.
  • Cream butter and sugar. Then add the eggs and salt.
  • Add the activated yeast and flour into the creamed butter mixture. Knead with dough attachment in a stand mixer, or on the counter until the dough is smooth
  • Place the dough in a greased bowl, and let it rise until it has doubled.
  • Once the dough has risen, roll out into a 1/4 inch thick sheet. Cut into rectangle shapes.
  • Let the cut rectangle dough rise for another 1 hour.
  • After the dough has risen for a second time, fry in oil. Use a candy theremometer to make sure the oil stays at or around 375 degrees. Fry for 1 minute, then flip over the donut and fry for 1 more minute.
  • Remove the doughnut from the oil, onto a paper towel to remove excess grease.
  • Allow the doughnuts to cool slightly before frosting.

FROSTING

  • Mix approx 1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar, and 2 Tbs of hot water, and 10 drops of maple extract to make the maple glaze.

Notes

A candy thermometer is very useful, as it lets you know the exact temperature of the oil. Sometimes dough can cool down the oil, causing the doughnuts not to cook properly! 

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Grandma's Easy Homemade Maple Bars Recipe (Mom's Maple Sticks) Save
Grandma's Easy Homemade Maple Bars Recipe (Mom's Maple Sticks) Save
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