These deep fried maple bacon donuts are full of flavor from real maple syrup and topped with candied bacon for a delightful sweet and savory treat! The donuts are light, fluffy, and the most perfect fall dessert!
You might also like these maple bacon cupcakes or these apple cider donuts!
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Ingredient Notes
You just need a few simple ingredients to make these fried maple bacon donuts.
Instant yeast - The yeast is what helps the dough rise! I like using instant yeast (as opposed to active dry yeast) because you don't need to bloom it first.
Whole Milk - The whole milk helps keep the brioche dough tender, but you can substitute skim milk or water if you prefer.
Bacon - I recommend using high quality, thin cut bacon for this recipe for the best flavor and the prefect amount of crispiness. You can also get maple bacon for even more maple flavor!
Pure Maple Syrup - If you do nothing else, please use REAL maple syrup for these donuts! It can be a little pricey but the flavor is unmatched! Use dark maple syrup for the most robust flavor!
Maple Extract - This is optional, but I like adding a little maple extract for an even deeper maple flavor.
The complete list of ingredients and amounts is located in the recipe card below.
How to Make Candied Bacon
Preheat the oven to 375°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. [The parchment is NOT optional. If you bake it directly on the sheet, you'll end up scrubbing for days.]
Place the maple syrup in a small bowl. Then spread the brown sugar on a small plate.
Brush each strip of bacon with the maple syrup and then coat with the brown sugar.
Arrange on the parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Then transfer the bacon to a second parchment lined sheet and bake for an additional 5-7 minutes or until the bacon is crispy and caramelized. It's important to watch closely for the last few minutes as the sugar can burn quickly.
Switching the baking sheets might seem unnecessary, but it helps prevent the bacon from burning from the sugar caramelizing too fast.
Let cool completely, then chop into small pieces and set aside.
How to Make Fried Maple Donuts
The dough for these maple bacon donuts is super easy to make!
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, combine all of the dough ingredients and knead on medium low speed for about 5 minutes. The dough should come together in a cohesive ball that pulls away from the sides of the bowl but is still slightly sticky. If the dough does not come together, add in more flour 1 tablespoon at a time until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
Place the dough in a large, lightly greased bowl and cover. Place the dough in the fridge and chill overnight (8-12 hours).
In the morning, remove the dough from the fridge and allow it to rise at room temperature for about 30 minutes.
Turn the dough out onto lightly floured surface then roll into a large rectangle about ½ inch thick.
Using a 3 ½ inch round cookie cutter, cut the dough into 12 circles. If you don't quite get 12 you can re-roll the scraps and cut out more circles. Then using a 1 inch or 1 ½ inch round cookie cutter, cut the center out of each donut. You can discard the scraps or fry up some donut holes (I recommend the later). Lightly cover the donuts and let rest while the oil is heating.
Pour 2-4 cups of vegetable oil (you want it to be about 2 inches deep) into a large, heavy bottomed pot or dutch oven and heat over medium high heat until the oil reached 375°F. Place a cooling rack on top of a baking sheet and position it next to your stove. [I love this thermometer because it clips to the pot.]
While the oil is heating, make the glaze. In a medium bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, maple, syrup, milk, and salt until smooth and there are no more lumps. Set aside.
Once the oil reaches 375°F, fry 2-3 donuts at a time for 1 minute on each side. The donuts should be a deep golden brown. Remove from the oil and place on the cooling rack to allow excess oil to drain off.
Repeat with the remaining donuts as well as the donut holes.
While the maple donuts are still warm, dip them in the glaze making sure to cover both sides. Place the donuts back on the cooling rack to allow the excess glaze to drip off. The glaze will set and harden after about 15-20 minutes.
After the glaze has set, you can drizzle any leftover glaze over the top to make fun designs and garnish with the chopped candied bacon!
Recipe FAQ's
These donuts are best eaten the same day while they're still slightly warm, but will keep covered in the fridge for up to 2 days. They taste best re-heated in the microwave for 10-20 seconds.
This recipe was specifically designed for deep frying the donuts. If you would prefer baked donuts, I suggest looking up a different recipe. You might like my baked apple cider donuts!
Use an instant thermometer to check the internal temperature! You want to shoot for around 190°F.
Tips for Success!
For best results I always recommend using weight measurements (especially when baking) because it's the most accurate. Kitchen scales are super affordable and also reduce the number of dishes you have to do! However, all my recipes also include US customary measurements for convince. Use this chart to convert measurements for common ingredients!
Substitutions: In all my recipes, I've included substitutions that I know will work, but I cannot guarantee results if you substitute ingredients that I have not recommended. [For example, granulated sugar and honey are indeed both sweeteners but they have very different properties so they can not always be swapped 1:1. Using honey in a cookie recipe that calls for granulated sugar will yield a giant mess.] In the recipe card you'll find links to the specific ingredients/brands that I use.
A note on salt: I almost exclusively use Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt because it's the best all-purpose salt for cooking and baking. If you're not using kosher salt, consult this handy guide for a conversion chart! When in doubt, if you're using table salt just reduce the amount by half for baked goods. When cooking, I prefer to under-salt because you can always add more! If you've over-salted, adding a little bit of acid (like lemon juice) can help.
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Recipe Card
Fried Maple Bacon Donuts
Special Equipment
- 2-4 cups canola oil for frying
Ingredients
Candied Bacon
- 8 slices bacon
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- ¼ cup light brown sugar
Dough
- 4 cups all purpose flour
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup whole milk
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons instant yeast
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon maple extract, optional
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
Glaze
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- 2-4 tablespoons whole milk, as needed
- pinch kosher salt
Instructions
Candied Bacon
- Preheat the oven to 375°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. [The parchment is NOT optional. If you bake it directly on the sheet, you'll be scrubbing for days.]
- Place the maple syrup in a small bowl. Then spread the brown sugar on a small plate.
- Brush each strip of bacon with the maple syrup and then coat with the brown sugar.
- Arrange on the parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Then transfer the bacon to a second parchment lined sheet and bake for an additional 5-7 minutes or until the bacon is crispy and caramelized. It's important to watch closely for the last few minutes as the sugar can burn quickly. [Switching the baking sheets might seem unnecessary, but it helps prevent the bacon from burning from the sugar caramelizing too fast.]
- Remove from the oven and let the bacon cool completely.
- Then chop into small pieces and set aside.
Donuts
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, combine all of the dough ingredients and knead on medium low speed for about 5 minutes. The dough should come together in a cohesive ball that pulls away from the sides of the bowl but is still slightly sticky. If the dough does not come together, add in more flour 1 tablespoon at a time until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
- Place the dough in a large, lightly greased bowl and cover. Place the dough in the fridge and chill overnight (8-12 hours).
- In the morning, remove the dough from the fridge and allow it to rise at room temperature for about 30 minutes.
- Turn the dough out onto lightly floured surface then roll into a large rectangle about ½ inch thick.
- Using a 3 ½ inch round cookie cutter, cut the dough into 12 circles. If you don't quite get 12 you can re-roll the scraps and cut out more circles. Then using a 1 inch or 1 ½ inch round cookie cutter, cut the center out of each donut. You can discard the scraps or fry up some donut holes (I recommend the later). Lightly cover the donuts and let rest while the oil is heating.
- Pour 2-4 cups of vegetable oil (you want it to be about 2 inches deep) into a large, heavy bottomed pot or dutch oven and heat over medium high heat until the oil reached 375°F. Place a cooling rack on top of a baking sheet and position it next to your stove. [I love this thermometer because it clips to the pot.]
- While the oil is heating, make the glaze. In a medium bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, maple, syrup, milk, and salt until smooth and there are no more lumps. Set aside.
- Once the oil reaches 375°F, fry 2-3 donuts at a time for 1 minute on each side. The donuts should be a deep golden brown. Remove from the oil and place on the cooling rack to allow excess oil to drain off.
- Repeat with the remaining donuts as well as the donut holes.
- While the maple donuts are still warm, dip them in the glaze making sure to cover both sides. Place the donuts back on the cooling rack to allow the excess glaze to drip off. The glaze will set and harden after about 15-20 minutes.
- After the glaze has set, you can drizzle any leftover glaze over the top to make fun designs and garnish with the chopped candied bacon!
Notes
Nutrition
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
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