Maple Bacon Donuts

I’m going to confess something I’ve failed to mention: I’m obsessed with donuts. I’ts true. So much to the point that, when my boyfriend went away for a business trip all the way on the other side of the US, the only thing I asked him to bring me back was some donuts.

I wish I was kidding.

So it was only a matter of time until they made their way onto this blog! And, actually, they’re not that hard to make as long as a) you’ve given the dough enough time to rise, and b) the oil is hot enough. If the dough doesn’t reach the right temp, you’ll end up with soggy donuts instead of nice fluffy ones.

Otherwise, enjoy these fresh–they’re great with a cup of coffee.

What You Need Blog Ingredients.jpg

Dough

1 teaspoon dry yeast
2 tablespoons warm water
¾ cup warm milk
¼ cup white sugar
1 egg
½ teaspoon maple syrup
3 teaspoons salted butter, softened
2 ¼ cups flour, plus extra as needed

Glaze & Topping

10 slices of maple bacon
4 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons salted butter, softened
1 ½ cup maple syrup, plus 1-2 tablespoons

Other

Oil for frying

How You Do It
Dough

Microwave milk for 30 seconds.
Pour water into stand mixer or large bowl. Sprinkle yeast over top, avoiding creating tall piles of yeast. Tip: If you’re using a stand mixer, put on the lid and fill with hot water to help keep the bowl warm (good for the yeast), otherwise, drape a warm towel over. Let set for at least 10 minutes undisturbed, until yeast swells and turns foamy.
When yeast and milk are ready, add milk and sugar and stir with a fork.
Using a dough hook, mix in 1 ½ cup of flour.
Add in the egg, butter, and maple. Do not over mix at this point! If there are still some lumps, that’s okay.
Going a ¼ a cup at a time, at in the remaining flour.
When dough begin lifting from the side but is still slightly sticky, remove from bowl, oil bowl, place dough back inside, and flip. This will allow the entire ball of dough to be lightly coated in oil. Cover, fill lid as in step 2, and let set for at least an hour, until dough is doubled in size.

Glaze & Topping

Begin to heat oil for frying.
While dough rises, cook bacon according to directions (do not cook until crispy). When done, drain off grease, let cool, and chop into pieces of desired size.
Return bacon to pan, drizzle over 1-2 tablespoons, and cook on medium-low until bacon is slightly crispy. Remove from pan and set aside. Pieces will be sticky due to the syrup.
To make glaze, combine all ingredients. If too thick (or you simply want it sweeter!), feel free to add more maple syrup.

Putting it together

When dough has doubled in size, carefully remove from bowl and place on a lightly floured surface. Roll out into ½-inch thickness, being cautious to handle the dough as carefully/ little as possible.
Flour your cutouts. Donut cutouts would be ideal, but I just used two circular cookie cutouts in different sizes.
Cut out donuts.
When the oil reaches 365F, drop in 3 donuts at a time. Fry for 2 minutes per side. Because you’re going to be adding and taking things out of the oil, the temp will change throughout each round, meaning fry time will vary. As long as they’re a golden brown, you should be good to go. When done, place on cooling rack to let drain.
To apply the glaze, either dunk the donuts into the glaze itself, or put glaze into a piping bag and pipe on.
Put on the bacon, adding more than you think you’ll need. Because there’s maple in every component of this donut (dough, glaze, bacon), it can slightly drown out the saltiness of the bacon, so use more than you think you’ll need!
When you’re done, step back, admire your work… and devour them all!