Maple Bacon Donut English Muffins
If you’re as obsessed with the sweet and salty combo as I am, you’ll love this Maple Bacon Donut English Muffin recipe—soft, maple-glazed muffins with crispy bacon baked right in, perfect for breakfast sandwiches or a quick sweet-and-savory bite.
If you choose, you can leave the bacon out of this recipe to create Maple Donut flavor without altering the rest of the ingredients. The bits of crispy bacon really bring a hint of smokey, salty flavor that balances the sweetness of the maple, as well as an added crispy crunch throughout!
The dough is infused with real maple syrup, a touch of vanilla and cinnamon, and brown sugar for added depth of flavor. If desired, you could replace the vanilla with maple extract for a more prominent maple flavor. I prefer the natural sweetness the maple itself brings to this recipe, enhanced by the brown sugar.
Maple Bacon Donut English Muffins
Ingredients
- ¾ cup warm milk
- 1 tbsp dry active yeast
- 1 tbsp granulated sugar or maple syrup or honey
- 4 tbsp melted butter
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup maple syrup
- 3½ cups all purpose flour
- 1½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp baking powder *see notes
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- 5-6 strips of crispy, cooked bacon
For the Maple Icing:
- 5 tbsp butter
- ⅓ cup maple syrup
- 1 cup powdered sugar
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, combine ¾ cup of warm milk, 1 tbsp dry active yeast and 1 tbsp granulated sugar (or honey). Stir until combined and let stadn 5-10 minutes until foamy.
- Add 4 tbsp melted butter, 1 tsp vanilla, ⅓ cup maple syrup to the large bowl containing proofed yeast.
- In a separate large bowl, combine dry ingredients of 3½ cups flour, 1½ tsp salt, ½ tsp baking powder, 1 tsp cinnamon and ⅓ cup brown sugar, stir to combine before adding it to your large mixing bowl containing wet ingredients.
- Stir to bring a shaggy dough together before adding 5-6 pieces of finely chopped crispy bacon. Continue to bind the bacon bits into the dough gently with your hands, until a dough ball forms. Don't overwork/ knead the dough, we want lots of air bubbles to form.
- Transfer dough ball back into the large mixing bowl that has been lightly drizzled with oil or melted butter. Cover with cling wrap ora kitchen towel and place in a warm, place to rise for 1 hour, or until doubled in size.
- Divide dough into 6-8 equal pieces and roll into a ball. Arrange dough pieces on a lined baking sheet and cover with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap to let rise another 30 mins while your oven preheats.
- Preheat oven to 350℉. Place a lightly greased cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Dip each side of the dough ball into a bowl of corn meal before pan frying for 1-2 minutes each side, until a golden brown crust forms. Reduce heat to medium low if they are cooking too quickly.Bake at 350 F for 10-15 minutes to ensure they are cooked all the way through. Allow to cool some before slicing and serving.
For the Maple Icing:
- While your muffins are baking, prepare the icing by melting 5 tbsp butter in a small pan until foamy. Add ⅓ cup of maple syrup, and finally 1 cup pof powdered sugar slowly, whisking while adding. If too thick, drizzle more maple syrup in. Keep on low heat until icing to ensure it doesn't harden.
- Once baked, dip tops of english muffins into the icing and lay on a baking sheet to let icing harden.
Notes
