Air Fryer Maple Bar Donuts: Easy 15-Minute Recipe

There’s a bakery near me that sells maple bars the size of my hand, and for years I assumed the only way to get that soft, glaze-cracked long john at home was to fry a batch of dough in a pot of oil I didn’t want to deal with. Turns out I was wrong. A can of biscuits, an air fryer, and about fifteen minutes gets you a maple bar that’s genuinely close to the real thing — pillowy in the middle, just crisp on the outside, and coated in a maple glaze I’ve caught more than one person eating with a spoon.

If you’ve already made my air fryer vanilla glazed donuts or strawberry-filled jelly donuts, you already know the canned-biscuit trick — this is the maple bar version, and it might be my favorite of the bunch.

The key thing I learned after testing these more times than I’ll admit: shape them like actual bars, not rings. A maple bar is a rectangle (you’ll also hear them called long johns or Bismarcks), and pressing the biscuit into a bar shape instead of cutting a donut hole gives you that classic bakery look — plus more surface area for glaze, which is the entire point.

What Is a Maple Bar, Anyway?

A maple bar is a rectangular yeast-raised donut topped with maple icing. Depending on where you grew up, you might know it as a long john or a maple Bismarck. The bar shape is what sets it apart from a round glazed donut — and it’s why we press the biscuit dough flat instead of cutting out the center. If you’d rather make ringed donuts, you can (see the variations below), but if you searched for a maple bar, the bar shape is the one you want.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

These come together with pantry shortcuts and no special equipment beyond your air fryer:

• No deep frying and no yeast dough. Canned biscuits do the heavy lifting, so there’s no proofing and no pot of oil.
• 15 minutes, start to finish. Prep is about 10 minutes and they cook in 6.
• That real bakery texture. Fluffy inside, lightly crisp outside, blanketed in glaze.
• A glaze worth the recipe alone. Real maple syrup plus a hit of maple extract gives it depth you don’t get from syrup by itself.

It’s one of the easiest air fryer donut recipes I make, and a good gateway if you’re new to making donuts this way.

Ingredients You’ll Need

• Grand’s refrigerated biscuits: Use the standard biscuits, not the flaky-layers style — I’ll explain why in the tips.
• Powdered sugar: The base of the glaze.
• Maple syrup: Use real maple syrup if you can; the flavor is noticeably better than pancake syrup.
• Maple extract: This is the secret. Syrup alone tastes flat; the extract makes it taste like a bakery maple bar.
• Milk: To thin the glaze.
• Salt: Cuts the sweetness so the maple actually reads as maple.

Exact amounts are in the recipe card at the bottom.

How to Make Air Fryer Maple Bars

Step 1 — Shape the bars. Open the can and separate the biscuits. Working one at a time, press and stretch each biscuit into a rectangle roughly 4 inches long by 2 inches wide. Don’t overwork it — a few presses with your fingers is enough.

Step 2 — Preheat and prep the basket. Preheat the air fryer to 350°F (175°C) for 3–5 minutes. Lightly spray the basket so the bars don’t stick.

Step 3 — Air fry. Lay the bars in a single layer with space between each one (cook in batches if you need to — crowding steams them instead of crisping them). Air fry for 5–6 minutes, flipping halfway, until golden brown and cooked through in the center.

Step 4 — Make the glaze. While the bars cook, whisk the powdered sugar, maple syrup, maple extract, milk, and salt until smooth. You want it thick but still pourable — like warm honey. Too thick, add milk a teaspoon at a time; too thin, add a spoonful of powdered sugar.

Step 5 — Glaze and set. Let the bars cool for a couple of minutes (glaze on a hot bar just slides off), then dip the tops into the glaze or spoon it over. Set them on a rack and give the glaze about 5 minutes to firm up before serving.

Tips for the Best Maple Bars

After a few failed batches, here’s what actually matters:

• Skip the flaky-layers biscuits. The layers separate and the top peels off the moment you glaze it. Standard biscuits hold together and give you a cleaner bar. (If a top does lift, just press it back down — it still tastes great, it’s only cosmetic.)
• Cool before you glaze. This is the single most common mistake. Glaze applied to a hot bar melts and runs straight off. Two minutes of cooling is enough.
• Flip halfway. Air fryers heat from the top, so flipping gives you even browning on both sides instead of a pale bottom.
• Chase the right glaze thickness. If your glaze disappears into the bar, it was too thin. It should sit on top and set to a soft shell.

Variations

• Maple + espresso glaze. Add ¼ teaspoon instant espresso powder to the glaze for a grown-up version.
• Maple bacon bars. Press crumbled cooked bacon into the glaze before it sets. If you love that sweet-salty combo, my air fryer maple bacon donuts and these copycat Dunkin’ maple bacon croissants lean all the way into it.
• Ring donuts. Prefer the classic donut shape? Cut the center out of each biscuit with a small round cutter before air frying — the same way I shape my air fryer maple frosted donuts.
• Different topping entirely. The same biscuit base takes a cinnamon sugar coating beautifully if maple isn’t your thing.

How to Store, Freeze, and Reheat

• Store: Keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days. Like all biscuit donuts, they’re best the day they’re made.
• Freeze: Freeze un-glazed bars in a single layer, then transfer to a freezer bag for up to 1 month.
• Reheat: Warm in the air fryer at 350°F for 2–3 minutes to bring back the crisp edge, then glaze fresh. (Here’s my full guide on how to reheat donuts in the air fryer without drying them out.)

Air Fryer Maple Bars — FAQ

What is another name for a maple bar? A long john or a maple Bismarck. They all refer to the same rectangular maple-glazed donut.

What’s the difference between a maple bar and a maple donut? Shape, mostly. A maple bar is rectangular; a maple donut is usually ringed. The glaze is the same idea.

Can I use a different biscuit dough? Yes — most standard refrigerated biscuits work. Avoid the flaky-layers variety, since the layers separate when you glaze them. Crescent dough is too thin and won’t give you that fluffy bar.

Why did my glaze slide off? The bars were too warm. Let them cool for a couple of minutes so the glaze can grip and set.

Do I need maple extract, or is syrup enough? You can make them with just syrup, but the extract is what gives that unmistakable bakery maple flavor. It’s worth keeping a bottle around.

Can I make the glaze ahead of time? Yes. Whisk it up, cover, and refrigerate for a few days. Stir and let it come to room temperature before dipping; add a splash of milk if it thickened.

How do I know when the bars are done? They should be golden brown and spring back when you press the top. If the center still looks doughy, give them another minute. culinary adventures!​

More Air Fryer Donuts to Try

If these disappear as fast as they do in my kitchen, here are a few more to keep on rotation:

• Air Fryer Vanilla Glazed Donuts — ready in about 5 minutes.
• Air Fryer Strawberry-Filled Jelly Donuts — same biscuit trick, jam inside.
• Air Fryer Cinnamon Sugar Donuts — the classic.
• Air Fryer Maple Bacon Donuts — for the sweet-and-salty crowd.

You can also browse all my air fryer breakfast recipes for more easy mornings.