Bake for 20-25 minutes. You’ll know they’re done when the top is golden, the edges are just pulling away from the pan, and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs—not wet batter. While they bake, your whole house will smell like a bakery. Let the bars cool completely in the pan on a wire rack before glazing. Rushing this will cause the warm bars to absorb the glaze and become soggy.
Pro Tips for Best Results
For the absolute best maple flavor, use a combination of maple extract in the batter and real maple syrup in the glaze. The extract gives you that true, concentrated “maple donut” essence, while the real syrup in the glaze provides a beautiful, nuanced sweetness. I’ve tested using only one or the other, and the double hit is what makes these bars truly special.
Don’t overbake. Because these are bars and not a towering cake, they bake relatively quickly. Start checking at 20 minutes. The moment the toothpick test is clean, take them out. Overbaking will dry out the edges and make the bars more crumbly than soft. They will continue to set as they cool in the pan.
Let the bars cool completely before glazing. I know it’s hard to wait, but patience is key. If the bars are even slightly warm, the glaze will melt into them and create a sticky, wet layer instead of a beautiful, set icing. For a neat, clean drizzle, I like to lift the entire slab of cooled bars out of the pan using the parchment overhang before glazing.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Do not substitute the maple extract. I can’t stress this enough. Vanilla extract alone will not give you that signature maple donut flavor. If you absolutely cannot find it, you can try reducing the buttermilk by 2 tablespoons and adding 2 tablespoons of real maple syrup to the batter, but the flavor will be much more subtle.(See the next page below to continue…)