Maple Bacon Bars with Bourbon Cream Filling
Filed Under: Breakfast | Dessert | Donut

Maple Bacon Bars with Bourbon Cream Filling

  |  
August 3rd, 2015

Maple Bacon Bars with Bourbon Cream Filling are not for the faint of heart! Ultimate salty sweet decadence with every fluffy, creamy, crispy bite. Obsessed!

Yield: 12 doughnuts

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook: 10 minutes

I will have dream about these Maple Bacon Bars with Bourbon Cream Filling! Not for the faint of heart! Ultimate salty sweet decadence with every fluffy, creamy, crispy bite. Obsessed!

Tessa's Recipe Rundown...

Taste: I imagine this is what breakfast tastes like in heaven. Texture: Texture like whoa. The doughnuts are incredibly light and fluffy, the cream is luscious and smooth, the glaze is thick and shattering, and of course the bacon on top adds the perfect crisp bite. Ease: While there's no part of this recipe that requires a lot of technique, it does require quite a bit of time, energy, and cleanup. Dedicate a day off to this incredible baking project and just make sure to follow the recipe! Appearance: I'd question anyone who wouldn't stop in their tracks at these photos... they're likely a cyborg. ;) Pros: Crazy over-the-top twist on an already mouthwatering treat. Cons: Oh so bad but so good. Would I make this again? On a special occasion. This is only a once in a while treat!

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I will have dream about these Maple Bacon Bars with Bourbon Cream Filling! Not for the faint of heart! Ultimate salty sweet decadence with every fluffy, creamy, crispy bite. Obsessed!
Did I just kill your diet with simply the name of this recipe? Maple Bacon Bars with Bourbon Cream Filling… ingredients that are so bad but sooooo good. What about these photos? Can you almost smell the sweet maple and salty bacon? What about that faint sharp bite of bourbon?

You know you love it! These doughnuts are the definition of indulgence and they are SO WORTH it. You could, of course, leave out the bourbon cream filling or omit the bacon on top. But don’t. We all know these aren’t an everyday treat, just from the amount of labor it takes to make these alone makes it a special occasion fare. But the fact that we live in a world where you can make from scratch something so delightful is something to be celebrated and relished. That is exactly what I’m all about, so won’t you join me for a bite of heaven?

Maple Bacon Bars with Bourbon Cream Filling are not for the faint of heart! Ultimate salty sweet decadence with every fluffy, creamy, crispy bite. Obsessed!

Holy YUM. Maple Bacon Bars with Bourbon Cream Filling... does life get better than this?!

Yeast Raised Chocolate Glazed Doughnuts – hands down the best chocolate glaze ever. You’ll love the texture of these delicious doughnuts!

Making Maple Bacon Bar Doughnuts

How to make
Maple Bacon Bars with Bourbon Cream Filling

Yield: 12 doughnuts
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Inactive Time 3 hours 20 minutes
Total Time: 4 hours
Maple Bacon Bars with Bourbon Cream Filling are not for the faint of heart! Ultimate salty sweet decadence with every fluffy, creamy, crispy bite. Obsessed!

Ingredients

For the doughnuts:

  • 3 tablespoons (yes, tablespoons not teaspoons) instant yeast
  • 1 cup very warm (105 degree) water
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 2 teaspoons fine salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 4 cups (18 ounces) bread flour
  • 4 tablespoons (2 ounces) unsalted butter
  • 3 large egg yolks
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • Peanut oil, for frying

For the filling:

  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons heavy cream
  • 2 tablespoons bourbon

For the maple glaze:

  • 4 cups powdered sugar
  • 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon light corn syrup
  • 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 2 teaspoon pure maple extract
  • 1/4 cup hot water
  • 10 slices bacon, crisp cooked and roughly chopped

Directions

For the doughnuts:

  1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine all the dough ingredients until a cohesive dough begins to form. On medium speed, knead until smooth and soft, about 6 minutes.
  2. Place the dough in an oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
  3. Punch down the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface. Roll the dough into an 11×12″ rectangle. Cut the dough into 12 rectangles about 5×2-inch big. Transfer the dough rectangles back to a floured baking sheet, spaced about 1 1/2-inches apart. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rise again until doubled, about 30 minutes.
  4. When the dough is almost done rising, heat at least 2 inches of peanut oil in a large, deep pot with a candy thermometer attached. Heat to 350°F. Carefully transfer 2 to 3 rectangles to the hot oil and fry for about 1 minute, or until golden, then flip and cook for another minute or until golden brown. Remove from the hot oil, allow to drain on paper towels. Test a doughnut to make sure it’s cooked through before repeating with the remaining dough.

For the filling:

  1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Gradually add the powdered sugar on low speed. Add in the cream and bourbon and increase speed to high. Beat for 3 minutes, or until very well combined and light. Transfer to a pastry bag fitted with a small plain tip.
  2. Using the tip, poke a small hole in one end of a doughnuts and fill with about 1 tablespoons of the filling each. Repeat with the other end of the doughnuts.

For the glaze:

  1. Whisk together the glaze ingredients. Dip the bars into the icing. Immediately sprinkle with the bacon. Allow to set for 15 minutes before serving.

Recipe Notes

If you don't have instant yeast, use active dry yeast and just let it proof with the warm water for 5 minutes, or until frothy, before proceeding.
Doughnut recipe adapted from Hand-Forged Doughnuts
Course : Dessert
Cuisine : American
Tessa Arias
Author: Tessa Arias

I share trusted baking recipes your friends will LOVE alongside insights into the science of sweets. I'm a professionally trained chef, cookbook author, and cookie queen. I love to write about all things sweet, carb-y, and homemade. I live in Phoenix, Arizona (hence the blog name!)

Tessa Arias

About Tessa...

I share trusted baking recipes your friends will LOVE alongside insights into the science of sweets. I'm a professionally trained chef, cookbook author, and cookie queen. I love to write about all things sweet, carb-y, and homemade. I live in Phoenix, Arizona (hence the blog name!)

Find Tessa on  

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Recipe Rating




  1. #
    Erin Eaves — January 24, 2019 at 2:08 pm

    Can you make these ahead of time, like a day, and they still taste yummy?

  2. #
    Aidan — September 25, 2017 at 1:21 am

    These look amazing! I actually ended up here after getting distracted looking for a glaze for some doughnuts I already made, and now I wish I had made these.

    One thing I’m wondering…have you tried using more than 1 TB of cream filling? My pet peeve is doughnuts without plentiful cream; I like it in every bite, bursting out the whole way through. Will they take more than a TB or does it just not fit?

    Looking forward to making these.

  3. #
    Ashley — September 20, 2017 at 3:44 pm

    How long can these last filled? If they werent going to be eaten right away would it be better to fill them the day they would be eaten?

  4. #
    Michelle Kitson — December 13, 2016 at 5:17 pm

    Can I make the doughnut dough in the morning, before work and have the kids get it out of the frig & let it rise in the afternoon?
    Would it be better to just make the whole thing the day before?
    I work all day, then we are planning on friends over for supper.

  5. #
    Sheila — July 18, 2016 at 10:17 am

    I would not change anything about this recipe, except to rename them “LONGJOHN’S. Am from the Midwest where LONGJOHN’S were plentiful with the maple icing. No place on the Gulf Coast makes these to sell. Bless you for this!

    • #
      Tessa — July 19, 2016 at 6:09 pm

      Thank you! And oh yes! I’ve seen them called Long Johns a couple times before here in AZ 🙂

  6. #
    Melissa — April 16, 2016 at 3:38 pm

    I ‘m getting ready to make these maple bacon donuts. But was wondering if you had a recipe for cream filling I know you use powdered sugar an crisco. But don’t know what else an also how much of the ingredients to use . Hope you can help me out. Thanks melissa

  7. #
    Alex — November 20, 2015 at 9:13 pm

    I made these donuts yesterday and they were super tasty! However I have a question about the dough. My dough came out super dense and heavy, and the donuts (although they tasted amazing) weren’t at all fluffy and light, they were pretty dense and heavy. So much so that most of the donuts didn’t cook through completely and stayed kind of doughy. Do you know what could have caused this? Thank you!

    • #
      Tessa — November 23, 2015 at 2:14 pm

      Sounds like you may have added in too much flour. Did you weigh out the flour? Is it possible too much extra flour was added while rolling out and shaping the dough?

  8. #
    Chantal — August 24, 2015 at 6:30 am

    Well, I’ve tried everything I could with what I have, which is basically nothing, as far as utensils and ‘machines’ are concerned. So I guess I would probably get better results if I tried with a bread proofer or something like that… But whenever I try to make anything rise, it simply doesn’t rise as much as it should. Yet, I’ve tested the yeast(s) (I usually use active dry yeast), and it’s always good, so I know it’s not because the yeast’s dead. So I go through all the steps – the rising, the proofing, the kneading – yet when I’m about to put it (‘it’ usually being bread) in the oven, it’s never risen enough. Therefore I always get breads that are always dense. I’ve tried different kneading methods, but none seem to make any difference compared to one another. I’ve baked in high altitude and at sea level, with the adjustments that are required either way, and I always get the same results… I guess at least I’m consistent that way! Anyhow… If you can help me, that would be great!!

  9. #
    Chantal — August 10, 2015 at 4:36 pm

    These look absolutely amazing, and my brother just would do about anything to eat something that has bacon in it!! So I would to do these for his birthday!! However, I’ve tried some of your doughnuts recipes, and I suck at them. I generally suck at anything that requires yeast, actually… I’ve been trying to get my breads to rise for years, and I just C-A-N-N-O-T make it happen… 🙁 So! Any way this recipe could be adapted otherwise so that it doesn’t require yeast/rising/proofing time? Thanks !!

    • #
      Tessa — August 10, 2015 at 5:09 pm

      No, that cannot be done. That would be a completely different recipe! What goes wrong when you attempt yeast breads? I’d be happy to help you troubleshoot!

  10. #
    Jen — August 10, 2015 at 6:24 am

    What would you suggest for alternate to the bourbon in the filling. I want to make these kid friendly for my bacon loving 13 nephew….

    • #
      Tessa — August 10, 2015 at 8:50 pm

      You can just leave it out and add in a teaspoon of vanilla extract!

  11. #
    Gaby — August 3, 2015 at 3:37 pm

    Yes you did kill my diet! I need these in my life!!

  12. #
    kearin @ the winsome baker — August 3, 2015 at 3:16 pm

    you have the most amazing doughnut recipes! dying over here!

  13. #
    Patty K — August 3, 2015 at 8:52 am

    Talk about indulgent! Perfect timing for the fair season too 🙂

  14. #
    Joan Hayes — August 3, 2015 at 7:56 am

    YES, you totally killed my diet with me just LOOKING at these! But you know what? They look TOTALLY worth it! I’ll be dreaming about these all week long!

  15. #
    Rachel Cooks — August 3, 2015 at 4:31 am

    DREAMY. I want the filling, and a spoon. Okay no, I want the whole thing.

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