These baked maple glazed donuts are spiced cakey-style donuts with a thick and rich maple icing on top. This is my go-to baked donut recipe and I love adding different flavors, spices, and glazes. Try my cinnamon sugar donuts next!
Have you ever considered adding a donut pan to your collection of best baking pans? They’re an inexpensive, but very fun tool if you’re looking to bake something different. I have plenty of donut recipesโmost of which are bakedโso you’ll always have an excuse to whip that donut pan out. These maple glazed donuts are definitely a favorite. Start here!
Why You’ll Love These Baked Donuts:
- No electric mixer required
- Baked, not fried
- Soft, dense, and cakey (more like a muffin than a fried donut)
- Spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves
- Sweetened with brown sugar
- Generously dunked in maple icing
- Comfort food at its finest
One reader, Ashli, commented: “Such an easy and delightful recipe, and one I plan to have in the rotation for many years to come. My first time baking donuts, and I am happy to say this recipe garnered rave reviews. The donuts were light, flavorful, and just sweet enough. โ โ โ โ โ ”
Two Parts to Baked Maple Glazed Donuts
- Donuts: We’re using my standard baked donut recipe as the base. It’s what I use for my cinnamon sugar donuts, crumb cake donuts (doubled for that recipe), chocolate frosted donuts, and lemon poppy seed donuts. Itโs a very thick batter that produces tight-crumbed, cakey donuts. There’s a small handful of very basic ingredients required like flour, egg, leaveners, and milk. I like to add a little Greek yogurt to the donut batter for a moisture punch (sour cream works too) and prefer sweetening them with brown sugar. Add cinnamon as well as a little nutmeg and ground clove. After you mix this donut batter together, the aroma alone will remind you of a donut shopโitโs those spices!
- Maple Icing: We’re using the same maple icing as my maple bacon doughnuts, only slightly scaled down. It’s creamy and sweet, but thickens and sets quickly. If desired for a flavor punch, add a little maple extract. You can find maple extract in the baking aisle near the vanilla extract and you’ll use it again in maple brown sugar cookies, maple walnut tassies, and maple bacon doughnuts. (PS: Try this glaze on homemade eclairs, too!)
Looking for other flavors? Try my strawberry, chocolate, and vanilla donut frostings.
Quick Overview: How to Make Maple Glazed Donuts
Our mixers can take the morning off for this recipeโ you donโt need one here!
- Make the donut batter. Combine the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet ingredients in another bowl. Whisk to combine both. It’s that easy.
- Fill the donut cavities. Transferring donut batter into the donut pan can be tricky, so I always suggest using a zipped-top bag to pipe the batter. (You can see me doing this in my pumpkin donuts post.) Just spoon the batter into a large zipped-top bag, trim off a bottom corner, and squeeze the batter into the pan. The donut batter is thicker than youโd expect, so it pipes pretty neatly.
- Bake. They bake up VERY quickly!
- Make the icing. I usually do this as the donuts bake. Warm butter and maple syrup together, then add confectioners’ sugar, maple extract, and salt to taste.
- Dip into icing. Dip the warm donuts into the icing. Place on a cooling rack so the excess icing drips down. And don’t be afraid to do a double dip!
More Donut Recipes
- Pumpkin Donuts
- Glazed Doughnuts (fried)
- Berry Fritters (fried)
- Apple Cider Donuts
- Chai Spice Donuts
Maple Glazed Donuts
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 8 donuts
- Category: Donuts
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
These baked maple glazed donuts are spiced cakey-style donuts with a thick and rich maple glaze on top. Baked, not fried– and you don’t need a mixer!
Ingredients
Spice Donuts
- 1 cup (125g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 Tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1/3 cup (65g) packed light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup (60ml) milk, at room temperature
- 1/4 cup (60g) yogurt or sour cream, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Maple Icing
- 2 Tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter
- 1/3 cup (80ml) pure maple syrup
- 1 cup (112g) sifted confectioners’ sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon maple extract (optional, but recommended)
- pinch of salt, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ยฐF (177ยฐC). Spray donut pan with non-stick spray. Set aside.
- Make the donuts: Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt together in a large bowl. Set aside. Whisk the melted butter, egg, brown sugar, milk, yogurt, and vanilla together until completely combined. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk until just combined. Do not overmix. The batter will be thick.
- Spoon the batter into the donut cavitiesโI highly recommend using a large zipped-top bag for ease. Cut a corner off the bottom of the bag and pipe the batter into each donut cup, filling about halfway. (If you only have 1 donut pan that bakes less than 8 donuts, keep the remaining batter in the bowl at room temperature until you can bake the next batch.)
- Bake for 10-11 minutes or until the edges and tops are lightly browned. Gently poke a donut with your finger. If it bounces back, the donuts are done. Allow donuts to cool for a few minutes in the pan, then transfer to a wire rack set on a large piece of parchment paper. Bake the remaining donut batter and once baked, transfer to the wire rack.
- Make the icing: In a small saucepan over low heat, melt the butter and maple syrup together, whisking occasionally. Once the butter has melted, remove from heat and whisk in the sifted confectionersโ sugar and maple extract. Taste. Add a pinch of salt if desired. Cool for 2-3 minutes, then dip each donut into the icing. The icing quickly thickens, so feel free to place it back over heat as you dip. Place dipped donuts back onto cooling rack as excess icing drips down. Feel free to double dip them (I usually do!).
- Donuts are best served immediately. Leftovers keep well covered tightly at room temperature or in the refrigerator for 2 days.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: Freeze the baked donuts for up to 3 months, with or without icing. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then warm up to your liking in the microwave. Dip into icing after thawing if you froze them plain.
- Special Tools (affiliate link): Donut Pan | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Large Zipped-Top Bag | Cooling Rack | Saucepan
- No Donut Pan? Make 8-10 donut muffins in your standard 12-cup muffin pan. Line with cupcake liners or grease with nonstick spray. Fill each 2/3 full with donut batter. Bake at 350ยฐF (177ยฐC) for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Milk & Yogurt: Whole milk is best, but you can use lower fat or even nondairy milk in a pinchโthe donuts won’t taste as moist or rich. I recommend Greek yogurt or full-fat sour cream. I usually use low fat Greek yogurt, which is pretty thick. Regular low fat (or full fat) yogurt works too. If you’d like to use buttermilk, substitute it for both the milk and sour cream (1/2 cup/120ml total). All cold ingredients should be brought to room temperature before using, otherwise the butter will solidify.
- Maple Syrup: For the richest flavor, pure maple syrup is best.
Reader Comments and Reviews
These are fantastic. So light and tasty! After a steady diet of Hallmark movies featuring baked goods, I was craving something tasty for Fall. These hit the mark. I didn’t have regular milk, but used the Almond milk I had on hand and they tasted great. It made six donuts…perfect to share. Will definitely put these on rotation and look forward to trying different spice combos. Thank you!
Hi! I have a pan for 20 donuts. Can I simply multiply the recipe by 2.5 and bake the 20 donuts all together? And if so, how would you recommend adjusting the baking time? Thank you so much!
Hi Lili, if the pan is 20 standard-sized donuts, the bake time should be the same. If they are mini donuts, you will want to reduce the time. Hope you enjoy them!
Thanks so much! This is a standard size donut pan indeed. In terms of the quantities, can I simply multiply the recipe by 2.5?
These looked so good on instagram I wanted to try them. Except nowhere on the website does it include pumpkin puree for the batter. Very confusing.
Hi Lillian, here is the recipe for baked pumpkin donuts which have a brown sugar glaze on top. The recipe here is for plain donuts with maple glaze. They are different recipes.
The Maple Glazed spiced donuts were very great. The Maple Glaze was the perfect touch. A plain glaze would have been fine but this was so much better.
I am not giving it five stars because of the recipe yield being an odd amount. My donut pans are for six donuts. One is Nordic Wareโone of the best bakeware manufacturers, the other from Target. They are not unusual sizes. I did a search for donut pans and could not find any that made eight donuts. Out of several hundred donut pans on Amazon, there was not one for eight donuts. A Google search had the same results. Theyโre are all in multiple of six. The recipes online usually made a dozen. Although I made only two donuts in my second pan, it seems to be a waste when I could have made a dozen donuts. I would have liked more donuts, but by doubling this recipe it still would have been the same problem.
I will not be using this recipe again but going to sites such as King Arthur that use standard equipment and standard yields in recipes.
Sally, the glaze doesn’t work. I followed the recipe , weighing thoroughly every ingredient with a scale. The minute you remove it from the heat it starts to crystallize. In less than 20 seconds it becomes un-spreadable, resembling wet sand. Tried many times, always the same result.
Hi Silvia, is your stove temperature a bit too high? You can try turning it down a bit for your next batch to more evenly warm/heat the icing. However, the icing does quickly thicken, so feel free to place it back over heat as you dip.
Maybe Iโm just a dummy, but this was a disaster for me. Measurements only made 4 donuts, I had to double the cooking time because they werenโt close to being done after 10 minutes, and 3 of the 4 donuts fell apart when I tried to take them out of the pan. Oh well, maybe next time.
Great flavor recipe. I only got 6 donuts from 1 batter, which is better for a small family. Also, we had to make this recipe twice because the donuts take 18 minutes to bake, not 10-12. The first batch was raw.
Can fresh bacon bits be added to the batter for maple bacon?
Sure can!
Such an easy and delightful recipe, and one I plan to have in the rotation for many years to come. My first time baking donuts, and I am happy to say this recipe garnered rave reviews. The donuts were light, flavorful, and just sweet enough.
Fantastic job, Sally – no notes for you!
Yum!! I don’t have a donut pan, so I made them in a muffin pan as suggested. I will definitely make them again. My husband, the donut aficionado, loved them!!
Great recipe! These came out so good I only wish it made more! I love the maple glaze but I had a lot left. Could you possibly make this recipe for more than eight donuts? Thank you for another great recipe!
Hi Belinda, you could double the recipe for 16 donuts, or 1.5x the recipe for 12!
Yum! Second time making this recipe. Love the flavor and how great my kitchen smells.
Hi! Does this recipe make extra frosting? If so, what could it be used for?
Hi Amy, there will be some extra. It’s great on any muffins, cookies, quick bread, etc.! Would be lovely on pancakes.
Sally, thank you for this! I followed your instructions with precision and they came out EXACTLY as described. My baking mould has a 5.5cm cavities, so your recipe made 24. And the icing was enough for all of them (less than a teaspoon left in the pan). Fantastic! thank you so much
We have loved all your donut recipes and this one was a hit too
How long would you bake mini donuts?
Hi Natasha, You should be able to make these mini. We have never tried it, but know a few readers who have reported back with luck. So give it a try! You may have to make a little less glaze!
If I make a double batch should I do it in two separate runs or all together?
Hi Amber, for best results (and to prevent over or under mixing), we recommend making 2 separate batches rather than doubling.
If I were to use a mini donut pan how long should I bake them for?
Hi Christine, We’re almost positive these can be made in a mini donut maker. We have never tried it, but know a few readers who have reported back with luck. So give it a try! You may have to make a little less glaze!
I loved how easy this recipe is! My husband is a diabetic so I replaced Swerve Baker’s Brown Sugar and Swerve confectionery sugar and used Mrs.Buttersworth Sugar Free syrup.
Let me say, I am really surprised at how delicious these are. I’ll make a regular batch for the grandkids. I also love that these can be frozen too!
@Kathy, thank you for sharing the brand swerve! I’m not diabetic, but I have issues when I eat sugar, and I love to bake (and eat what I bake). I’m going to give them a try!
The prep time really needs to be adjusted. Who has room-temperature milk and yogurt sitting around?
Thanks for the feedback. If desired, you can microwave each for a few seconds to quickly raise the temperature.
Dang these are good!
Oh my gosh these are delicious! Used sour cream instead of yogurt and baked for 11 min. With the amount of icing I was able to to dunk each donut 3 times. Thank you so much for sharing.