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Baked Maple Glazed Doughnuts. Made with a mix of maple, brown sugar, and whole wheat flour, then baked and dipped in a sweet brown butter glaze flavored with real maple syrup and vanilla. There’s really nothing not to love about these cute (and sweet) maple glazed doughnuts. The true secret is in the maple, be sure to use the highest quality you can find. They’re the perfect way to make any day fun, happy, and delicious.

over head photo of doughnuts with edible flowers

For someone who used to say that she didn’t care for baked doughnuts, I have sure changed my ways. I now love a baked doughnut, and clearly, I’m having a lot of fun creating new doughnut recipes.

I’ve said this many times now, but frying is one of my very least favorite things to do. If at all possible, I like to oven bake all normally fried foods. Obviously, some recipes are just not the same without frying. I won’t deny that baked doughnuts are not the same as fried. But they’re still delicious, and most importantly, we feel a million times healthier after enjoying a baked doughnut versus a fried one.

To me, baked doughnuts are just better. Still fun, still yummy, still perfect for Sunday breakfasts, holidays, and afternoon snacking. Just no food coma after eating them.

Ingredients

  • Salted butter 
  • Vanilla extract 
  • Large eggs 
  • Maple syrup 
  • Packed dark brown sugar 
  • Milk 
  • Whole wheat pastry flour 
  • Baking powder 
  • Baking soda 
  • Ground cinnamon 
  • Ground cardamom
  • Kosher salt 
  • Salted butter 
  • Maple syrup 
  • Powdered sugar 
  • Vanilla extract 
doughnut in doughnut pan after baking

Here are the easy details

I wanted to try and make these as wholesome as possible…yet still roll your eyes back good. For the batter, I love using whole wheat pastry flour. Which is whole wheat flour, just more finely ground so it will give you a lighter doughnut. If you don’t have whole wheat pastry four, white whole wheat flour, or even all-purpose flour, will work pretty much the same too.

Essentially the process of making a baked doughnut is the same as making a muffin. I like to mix the wet ingredients together first. Melted butter, vanilla, eggs, maple syrup, brown sugar, and then milk. Nothing fancy at all, but the key ingredients are the maple syrup, brown sugar, and vanilla.

doughnuts on cooling rack after baking

Then, I add in the dry ingredients. I use whole wheat pastry flour with a mix of baking powder, baking soda, and salt. For added warmth and yumminess, I always mix in cinnamon and a dash of cardamom too.

Again, no fancy ingredients, and hopefully all ingredients you already have in your pantry.

Divide the batter between doughnut pans (or use cupcake pans). As the doughnuts bake, the kitchen will start to smell like a sweet maple and brown sugar candle. It’s one of my favorite scents.

close up photo of half eaten doughnut

Make the glaze

The glaze was the reason I really wanted to make these doughnuts. I love a maple glazed doughnut. I find them to be one of those doughnuts people often ignore so I wanted to highlight them!

The glaze is pretty simple. Butter, real maple syrup, powdered sugar, and then plenty of vanilla.

Not too strong, not too sweet, but just right. Especially when dipped into or drizzled over warm maple doughnuts.

Delicious!

side angled photo of half eaten doughnut stacked on other doughnuts

And with that, here’s my recommendation for the coming weekend (since Mother’s Day is this Sunday). Bake up plenty of maple glazed doughnuts, add a side of fresh flowers, and serve them up to your mom. Something delicious and a little different from the usual French toast, pancakes, and waffles!

She’ll appreciate the thought that went into making these. Homemade doughnuts are always impressive!

overhead close up photo of doughnuts with flowers

Looking for other baked doughnuts? Here are my favorites: 

Baked Chocolate Fudge Glazed Doughnuts

Baked Apple Cider Doughnuts with Cinnamon Maple Glaze

Baked Blueberry Cinnamon Sugar Doughnuts

Baked Hot Chocolate Doughnuts

Lastly, if you make these Baked Chocolate Fudge Glazed Doughnuts, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!

Baked Maple Glazed Doughnuts

Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings: 14 doughnuts
Calories Per Serving: 224 kcal

Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.

Watch the How-To Reel

Ingredients

Maple Glaze

Instructions

  • 1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Grease a 6-cup doughnut pan or 12-cup muffin pan with melted butter
    2. In a mixing bowl, stir together the melted butter, eggs, vanilla, maple syrup, brown sugar, and milk until combined. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cardamom, and salt, mix until just combined.
    3. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared pan, filling 1/2-2/3 of the way full. Bake 12-13 minutes, until just set. Remove and let cool 5 minutes, then run a knife around the edges to release and invert the pan.
    4. Meanwhile, make the glaze. Add the butter to a small pot set over medium heat. Allow the butter to brown slightly until it smells toasted, about 2-3 minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk in the maple syrup, powdered sugar, and vanilla. Dip or drizzle the doughnuts into the glaze. Highly recommend eating a few of these warm.
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Maple Glazed Doughnuts | halfbakedharvest.com
This post was originally published on May 3, 2022
4.97 from 78 votes (45 ratings without comment)

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Comments

  1. 4 stars
    These were a blast to make! I didn’t feel like they were quite the level of maple-tasting that I was expecting. I would add more maple syrup next time.

    1. Hey Jo,
      Happy Monday!! Thanks a lot for giving this recipe a try and sharing your feedback, I’m so glad it was a winner!

  2. I was wondering if you have ever made these as donut holes (munchkins) and if so, if there were any adjustments that need to be made (cook time, ingredient amounts, etc.). Thank you so much!

    1. Hi Re,
      You could use a mini muffin tin to make these into little donut holes! That would work nicely for you, just reduce the bake time slightly. I hope this helps!

  3. 4 stars
    Made these last night, and it took a little trial and error but we got them tasting DELICIOUS! We used a silicone donut baking sheet, and I suspect they cooked a little faster in there, so the first round came out very overcooked/dry. Next round we took out at 10 minutes and they are PERFECT.

    1. Hey Sophie,
      Happy Friday!! So glad to hear that this recipe turned out nicely for you, thanks for making it and your feedback! Xx