Magnificent Maple Bars

Ever since I was a kid, I have always correlated Halloween with maple bars. Why, you might ask?  Well, I am fortunate to have very creative parents.  As kids, my parents, along with a handful of other parents in the small town I grew up in, would come together and create a scavenger hunt (which would lead us all over my parent’s twenty areas) as well as a haunted house.  Now this only happened a couple of years, but it is a beautiful memory. And one of the best parts of this nostalgic tale is the food.

Maybe I was a foodie at heart even as a child because I LOVED the maple bar portion of the evening.  My mom would make homemade maple bars for this particular party and continues to make them for Halloween every year.  I have tried to carry on the tradition, at least for myself, but this year, my mother was in town to make them for my niece and nephew (and I made sure to stop by).

I’ve never been a huge donut fan, but let me tell you, when you have the opportunity to taste hot, freshly made donuts, do not hesitate.  You will notice an immediate difference, and you’ll most likely never go back.

Here’s the recipe:

Maple Bars

Ingredients:

*2 cups milk

*1 1/2 teaspoons yeast

*1 teaspoon salt

*1/4 cup sugar

*1/4 cup vegetable/canola oil

*2 medium eggs beaten

*1 1/2 quart flour

For topping:

*powdered sugar

*maple flavoring

*hot coffee (or water)

Directions:

1. Heat milk to a boil. Take milk off heat to cool. Do not let the milk get cooler than lukewarm or the dough will not rise. Add yeast, salt, sugar, oil, eggs, and flour.

2. Knead, then let rise until almost twice the size (feel free to place it in he oven at 100 degrees for one hour).

3. Take out of the oven, knead again and roll out into 1/2 inch thickness. Cut into rectangles (or any shape you would like your maple bars). Let rise again ( 1 hour in a 100 degree oven)

4. Using canola oil or vegetable oil, heat oil to 350 –375 degrees (a test is to drop dough in and it should be perfectly fried in 60 seconds). But a candy thermometer is best to be precise.

5. Fry each (possibly 2-4 at a time) in the hot oil. Flipping over when each side is toasty brown. It won’t take long (maybe 30-60 seconds on each side), so don’t walk away from the stove.

6. Let donuts cool then frost them with the topping.

7. To make topping: mix together powdered sugar, a teaspoon or two to begin with (to taste and a tablespoon of coffee.  Mix together until it reaches the consistency and flavor you like.  It should cover a spoon and not be transparent, but it should also running slowly off the spoon in a steady flow.

8. Let the donut sit for about 5-10 minutes to let the topping harden a bit.

9. Then enjoy with a cold glass of milk or hot coffee or tea!

Images: Simply Luxurious