Saturday, October 6, 2012

Maple Bars

I am re-posting this recipe as I have tweaked it just a bit. I decided adding the cinnamon to the milk isn't the best thing to do, it clumps. Instead, whisk into the flour and then add to the yeast mixture. Also I'm increasing the flour to 5 cups... seems I always have to add more. And I'm adding 1/8 teaspoon salt to the frosting.... Salt enhances flavors and takes that "too sweet" out of the frosting just a bit. I made these for work yesterday and added diced cooked bacon to the top! Delicious!
I was snowed in yesterday morning and couldn't go to work!! So I thought 'why not bake?' And one of my favorite things when I worked at the Bakery was Maple Bars! MMMMMM... I ran across this recipe on http://www.recipezaar.com/. So I thought I would give it a try!! It was yummo !  I think next time I make them I will cut the dough into 3 strips and then in six pieces for a little smaller bar but they were good, and not too heavy. I also like the fact that these are baked, not fried! I suggest eating with hot chocolate or a tall glass of milk. mmmmmmmmmmmm!!

Maple Bars
1 1/2 cups milk
1/3 cup shortening (I used butter flavored Crisco)
4 Tablespoons  granulated Sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup lukewarm water
2  (1/4 ounce) envelopes yeast
2 large eggs, beaten
5 cups flour (might need a bit more)
2 teaspoons cinnamon

Maple Icing
1/3 cup butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup milk
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons mapleine (found by the flavor extracts and seasonings) or maple extract
1/8 teaspoon salt

For the dough:
In a medium saucepan scald milk; add shortening, 3 Tablespoons granulated sugar, and salt. Stir to combine and set aside to cool to lukewarm.
In a large mixer bowl, add the lukewarm water and the yeast (remember the water should be just lukewarm, too hot and it will kill the yeast) Add the remaining 1 Tablespoon of sugar to the yeast and water and whisk to combine. Let sit for about 5 minutes until it starts to bubble and become foamy.
After the yeast is foamy and the milk mixture is luke warm. Add the eggs to the yeast and stir to combine, then add the milk mixture to the yeast mixture. Whisk the cinnamon into the flour and gradually add to the yeast mixture. You may need to add more, you want the dough slightly sticky but not too sticky.  Knead for 3 to 5 minutes. I let my kitchen aid do the kneading for about 5 minutes.
Spray another large bowl with non-stick spray, place dough in the bowl and let raise for an hour or until double in size.
Punch down and roll out into a large rectangle about 1 inch thick.

Cut into rectangles, I cut the rectangle in half, and then each half into 6 pieces to make 12 bars, then place on a greased baking sheet. Let raise for about 30 minutes.
While bars are raising,  preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
Bake the bars for 7 to 8 minutes or until light golden brown, Watch carefully. Remove from oven and let cool slightly before icing.
Make the icing while the bars are raising:
In a small saucepan mix butter, brown sugar and milk. Bring to boil for medium heat and simmer 3 minutes. Remove from heat and cool for 15 minutes. Add the mapleine, salt and powdered sugar and blend well with a hand mixer. Add a little more powdered sugar if needed (I added about 1/4 cup more)
Spread on maple bars and enjoy!  Sarah and I did!!! Yummo!

122 comments:

  1. I heard these were WONDERFUL. Alec loves maple bars so I'll have to try them soon.

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  2. this is the most wonderful thing i have seen online in so long! and the music by kris allen is my new favorite. thanks so much. sandra lee from the food network!

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  3. I'm glad you liked my recipe! I love cooking in the kitchen and listening to music while I'm at it.....

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  4. I only let raise 15 min (not hour) - we were impatient, halfed recipe (so as not to be tempted with leftovers), and used pure maple syrup (didn't have mapleine extract) .... AMAZING!!!!!!!! (and I cut mine in perfect mini rectangles like you said) so cute and good! Easy! Fast! Baked! Yummy! And we ate them hit off the press ... Again too impatient to let cool! Sooo glad we didn't delicious!

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  5. I'm glad they turned out for you!! They are delicious while still warm... I made the same dough and made them into twists. I iced some with maple and some with a cinnamon glaze! YUM!

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  6. Can the donut part be made with butter instead of shortening?

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    Replies
    1. Yes I have always done it with just butter and its great

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  7. You could give it a try..... I haven't tried it yet. I have a scone recipe that uses shortening too, it might be what keeps them fluffy. maybe try coconut oil... it's healthier for you and has the texture of crisco.

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  8. Have you ever made these with soy or coconut milk?

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  9. I haven't made them with coconut or soy milk... but I bet it would turn out just as good! I have some Silk... maybe I will give it a try next time I make them.

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  10. Oh my... Beyond amazing!!! I made just a simple icing with just crisco and powdered sugar and put in the middle and made cream filled long johns!! Thanks for sharing!!! :)

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  11. i am soooo making these! great blog! just found you. i am adding you to my sidebar so others can find you too!

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  12. Thanks!! I'm glad you like my blog!

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  13. Wow! These just came out of the oven! Fantastic recipe. Didn't need to change a thing! Thank you for sharing!

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  14. I'm glad you liked the recipe Susan!! I LOVE maple bars!! Thanks for the comment!

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  15. When scalding the milk, how hot do you want it? At what temp?

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  16. I scald it so it barely gets bubbles on the side (not boiling) remove from heat and add the butter, it will be hot enough to melt the butter almost entirely. Let cool to lukewarm before adding to the yeast mixture. :)

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  17. Followed this recipe to a "T" and the doughnuts were gross. Did not like at all.

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  18. I just made these and they turned out better than I expected ~ Thank you for sharing.

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  19. I love the maple frosting! Love this recipe! Thank you for posting!!!

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  20. I am making these right now and have had to add way more flour. Anyone else had to do this? The dough would have been way to sticky to work with.

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  21. I didn't have to add to much more flour... sometimes it depends on the weather (humidity) and where you live....

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  22. I am making these right now for the 3rd time! My family LOVES them. Tomorrow my son starts kindergaten so I thought what a better surprise treat to take to school with him!

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  23. oh cute!! I'm soooo glad your family likes them! Hope your son has a great day a school!

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  24. I made them today and they turned out to be very dense. I lost track of how much flour I used but I added enough so they were no longer sticky. They did not seem to rise very much if any when I was waiting for the oven to preheat. The frosting was perfect and besides the flour part I followed the recipe to a T. Any suggestions as to why they were do dense or what I could have done wrong?

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  25. Maybe try adding a little less flour, a little sticky is okay.... and let raise a little longer after cutting into bars. Sorry they didn't turn out for you.

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  26. Thanks for the feedback. No worries I knew it as something I did, not your recipe. I look forward to trying again. Thanks for posting it! :)

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  27. These look really good! I have them on my list of foods to make soon!

    Helen
    Blue Eyed Beauty Blog

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  28. I just made these for breakfast. They were very good, but I'm glad I am not diabetic because I could be dead right now after eating that frosting! I made half of them with the maple frosting, and the other half with just a vanilla glaze (my husband is not a fan of maple flavoring). I prefered the ones with the plain glaze on them. The bread portion of the donut was very good, but next time I will try to find a new frosting that's a little less sweet!

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    Replies
    1. try trimming the powdered sugar by 1/4 cup and a scant 1/4 cup of milk. Might make it a little less sweet.

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  29. I made some glazed too, try adding a little cinnamon to the glaze if you do that. Also I put a dash or two of salt in my maple frosting ... helps with the sweetness. I thought the frosting tasted like the frosting we used to use at the Bakery I worked at.

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  30. Do you have a recipe for Chocolate?

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  31. Go to my Chocolate Marshmellow cookie recipe, I have a chocolate butter cream frosting recipe there. That might be good on them.

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  32. I found your recipe on Pinterest and just finished enjoying every bite of our attempt. So yummy!! The dough has amazing flavor but isn't as airy as commercial maple bars. But that was okay with me. The flavor was GOOD! I did have to cook them several minutes longer then the 7-8 instructed. Mine were still raw in the middle at 8 min. I cooked ours for nearly 12 minutes. They were brown but the texture was a lot better. The maple icing is SPOT ON! So fantastic. I added a 1/4 tsp salt as suggested by another comment. Overall, these were a big win! Thank you!!

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  33. I'm so glad you liked them!! cooking time does vary depending on different ovens... thanks for your comments!

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  34. Just found this on Pinterest and can't wait to try it. Will difantly be doing the maple bars but adding chopped bacon on the top.

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    1. I am going to surprise my husband with these tonight ... and do the bacon topping too!!

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  35. I have been going to make them with bacon on top too!!! Sounded delicious to me!

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  36. I found this recipe on Pinterest and was so excited. My favorite donut from Dunkin Donuts is the maple frosted. I didn't make the bar part of the recipe, I cheated and used refrigerated biscuits, just because of time. However, the maple frosting is amazing. My girls came downstairs after their bath and said that it smelled like Dunkin Donuts. Thanks for the recipe, it is amazing!

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  37. oh!! i'm glad you liked it! I love the maple frosting!!!

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  38. . Spent 2 hours making these and they are no good. Very disappointed

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  39. Made these today as part of brunch for 5 adults. Very tasty, easy to follow recipe. It was almost worth it just for the smell! I made 16 out of the batch, and the size ended up being just right. 1/2 batch would have been enough for the day, but I will enjoy one with my coffee tomorrow. I look forward to trying other variations. Thanks for the tasty morning!

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  40. Yum! The frosting was spot on, I even forgot the salt. I didn't feel like it was too sweet but I will try it next time. Great recipe, thanks for sharing!

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  41. Glad you liked them! I made them with cooked bacon crumbles on top last week... Delicious!

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  42. Can you freeze these?

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  43. the donut part would freeze well but the icing probably wouldn't. It goes runny and separates even with out freezing.

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  44. Made these today and they are TO DIE FOR!! Thank you soooo much for this recipe! I used quick rise yeast and I put bacon bits that I fried with a few drops of mapleine on them. They turned out better than perfect.

    ps you rock!

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  45. thanks!!! I'm so glad they turned out for you! I'm going to have to try frying the bacon in mapleine. That sounds yummo!

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  46. Just tred these the kids loved them maple for my daughter,chocolate for the grand kids the twist for my son all happy here.You are great

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  47. So I am going to try these because they sound great!! But I am not a baker and have never used yeast so I am not really sure how much the recipe is asking for? Thanks for the help!!

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  48. It's 2 and 1/4 teaspoons PER envelope. I like to use the quick rise yeast that comes in 3 envelopes hooked together by the yeast in the grocery stores. Good Luck! hope they turn out for you.

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  49. Is it possible to make the dough the night before and leave it in the fridge until it is time to roll out and bake? I'm thinking it is a little too much work for early Sunday morning football but would be perfect if I could prep the dough the night before...

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  50. I think that will work ok... might take a little longer to raise since the dough will be cold.

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  51. I just made these and they were excellant! Shared them on my blog FB page. Great job! http://www.facebook.com/CraftInterrupted http://www.craftinterrupted.com

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  52. OH! I'm glad you liked them!! I love your blog! Cute halloween decorations and ideas!

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  53. has anyone tried topping these off with bacon? it sounds strange but i've seen maple iced donuts with bacon bits and i wanna try that with these.

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  54. I did top mine with crumbled cooked bacon, it was awesome... I took them to work and everyone loved them. Try it!

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  55. I hope he liked them! I LOVE the bacon topping... :)

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  56. Made these for second time! Everyone loved them.I mix them up in my bread machine. I froze half of the first batch, pull them out, pop them in microwave for 1 min.(6) of them. Today I am going to inject cream in them using a turkey baster.

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  57. YUM! that sounds goood to put cream in the middle! I will have to give that a try!

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  58. Okay i love love love this! My husband,son and i enjoy these so much. The only problems i had were the dough was soooo sticky i added lots more flour, rolled then out on wax paper and they sick so badly to the wax paper..but they wetter still nice and thick ! Aslo i think my frosting came out a lil runny (maybe a lil Less mixing?) It still hardened, though. And then my last concern is how to store them? The frosting (glaze/whatever) started melting off last night and that was probably 6 hrs after i mad them. I plan on making them for xmas and it's pretty easy to do but i aslo dont feel like being up extra early xmas day to make them so they are extrs fresh...i could always do the glaxee that day. Sorry for trying to answer my own questions on the way. Lol.

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  59. Also, how would i go about making a cinnamon glaze? For those who don't like maple. Sorry if my last comment was confusing i only have my and i couldn't go back to correct my errors! : ) thanks you!

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  60. I think making the bars the night before might be a good idea.... and Ice them the day you are going to eat them.. I have the problem of runny icing the next day too. Even when i worked at the Bakery I worked at, the day old maple bars always had runny icing. To make cinnamon glaze mix about 2 cups powdered sugar wiht a 2 or 3 tablespoons softened butter with 1/2 teaspoon (or more) cinnamon and enough milk until it's a runny glaze, pour over the bars.

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  61. I had a recipe, but my cookbooks are all packed
    away, for work being done on my house. There is
    all kinds of things on line, so this is what
    I found. Trying them tomorrow, can't wait. I like to bake and share with other elderlys in
    my neighborhood. Thanks

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  62. I tried this recipe, with a few substitutions because I was out of some things. It was sad and pathetic! I will try again with all the correct ingredients next time!

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  63. made tonight with bread flour. not bad but not good. very bread like. :( also did not put cinnamon in and put hollowed out vanilla bean i had used earlier in the milk as it was scolding. the flavor was there. texture not so much. i also used chocolate icing. will try again when i have all purpose flour.

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  64. These sound so tasty. I think I am going to have to try these on a Saturday morning. Although I will have to tweak the recipe, use egg replacer instead of eggs. I will have to cross my fingers it turns out well.

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  65. I hope you like them... that's what I LOVE about recipes, tweaking them to suit your tastes! :)

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  66. Anyone know what the calories are, per doughnut? Just curious since they are baked and not fried :)

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  67. How do you make the creme filing..... these remind me of Normans bakery creme sticks i grew up on. You can also do a chocolate glaze on top.

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  68. Your daughters are fortunate you decided to try your hand at a blog! Thank you!

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  69. thanks for all the nice comments :) I think if I were to put a cream filling in them I would maybe make a vanilla pudding?? I used to work at a Bakery and we had a Bavarian creme that we would fill the donuts with but that came pre-made... I might have to look for a recipe for that to try out. :) I'm not sure what the calorie content is.... but I'm sure they're better for you baked. :)

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  70. I am fixing these for the second time. They are wonderful. I am actually going to add cream filling in the middle this time around,

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  71. Cream filling sound great! I think I'm going to have to try that next time. :)

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  72. I made these with Coconut oil instead of shortening and butter and they turned out AMAZING! Thanks for such a great recipe!

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  73. I'm going to have to try with Coconut oil... i've started using that in some things too. Also I love grapeseed oil in place of canola oil in cake mixes...

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  74. I've made these twice and LOOOOVE them, I always use bacon too! The first time I used Maple extract and this time I used mapleline. The icing was much better with the extract. The Mapleine gave it a little different taste!

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  75. oh I'm soo glad you liked them! The first time I made these I couldn't find maple extract in the grocery store where I live (lets just say it's a small town), all I could find is mapleline.... since then I have found maple extract Yay!

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  76. These are amazing!!! I just finished a batch and had one still warm with a big glass of cold milk ..I got a little impatient while waiting for them to rise the 2nd time but that was completely my fault ..if I can figure out a cream filling that would not over power these I would be in heaven!!

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  77. Have you heard anyone try this recipe using Gluten Free Flours?
    I'm very tempted to try, but my flours are expensive and concerned about how it will turn out.

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  78. sorry... but I haven't heard if any has tried this recipe yet with gluten Free flour....If you do try it, let us know how it turns out...

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  79. Is the flour all purpose flour

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  80. Made these today, so good. Family loved them.

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  81. Hello,

    My boyfriend and I made these and they turned out like bread and not fluffy like yours. We have never worked with yeast before so do you have any idea why this may have happened? The dough set a little longer than an hour while it was doubling in size and we also kneaded it by hand instead of a mixer. Thanks!

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  82. hmmm I'm not sure what you might have done differently. Did you let the yeast get foamy at the first in the water? Maybe let them rise a little longer before baking?? Yeast doughs can be tricky sometimes, my bread turns out differently about everytime I make it, depending on the weather and the climate you are at. I hope if you make them again they turn out for you.

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  83. These worked perfectly for me! I was worried about there not being enough frosting, but it worked perfectly. Thank you!!! I even planned them into my calorie count for today (days ago!) Just so you know, they are 287 calories each. I allotted in my day to eat three of them (and then I'm eating a healthier lunch and dinner.) =) YUMMY!

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    1. The calorie count is for 18 baked maple bars. =)

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  84. I made these yesterday and they were AMAZING and they worked perfectly. Thanks for a great recipe!

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  85. So glad they worked for you and you liked them! Thanks for the calorie count NaDell!

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  86. Yum! These look like the cream sticks (or long johns) we buy at the local bakery, only without the cream filling. I believe I will try them and make an attempt at filling them. A new twist on the maple roll. Thanks for the recipe:)

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  87. Absolutely delish! I had no trouble with the dough being too wet.
    I think next time I make them I will turn down the oven heat by 5-10 degrees.
    The frosting is wonderful and that's coming from someone who's not a big Maple flavor fan. I increased the salt to 1/4 tsp. and that was perfect.
    Thanks for the great recipe.

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  88. I'm so glad they turned out for you!! Thanks for sharing the 'tweaks' that you did when making the recipe... I always can use helpful hints for recipes!!

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  89. When do you add the salt for the icing?

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  90. oops sorry about that... I add the salt along with the powdered sugar. Salt just takes the edge off the sweetness of the frosting. I add it to all my cake frosting and it makes a difference... just a dash or two.

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  91. I want to make these for a brunch and need to make them a day before. Other than not frosting until the day they're served, do you have any storage tips? Thank you.

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  92. I want to make these for a brunch and need to make them a day before. Other than not frosting until the day they're served, do you have any storage tips? Thank you.

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  93. Definitely don't ice them till you are going to serve them.. I think storing them in an air tight container would work, or a Zip lock bag after they cool...

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  94. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  95. Sorry Anonymous.... I didn't mean to delete your comment. I think it would work to fry them if you wanted. I just liked the recipe because they were baked.

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  96. These sound yummy, and look like they would also be awesome with a cream filling.

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  97. Hi ya~ I love your recipes and when I first pinned this a year ago I played your favorite playlist all the time. I got on today to listen and it says that it no longer exists. To I have to look somewhere else for the list that was on a year ago?

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  98. the playlist changed it's format and will no longer play on my blog. I was so mad! I loved music on my blog....they switched to a format like Pandora radio... I've lost my list of songs and everything. I was sooo bummed. I do have my fave Pandora stations at the bottom of my blog.... Sorry to disappoint you... I was way disappointed too

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  99. I really like the Norah JOnes station on Pandora... plays Jack JOhnson and alot of songs that I liked on my playlist:D

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  100. Mine turned out like biscuits. I am so bummed I worked so hard. I know it was something I did I just wished I knew what.

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  101. I'm sorry they didn't turn out! I wish I knew what you did too!

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  102. Thank you for this recipe! I've shared with family & coworkers. Made one batch & they were perfect! Plan to make more (& try making the dough the night before). Yummy!

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  103. I'm so glad you liked them! I have brought them to work too! Everyone loves them!

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  104. These are amazing! I gave half away so I didn't eat them all! My picky 11 year old loved them and my husband was surprised I made them. He asked if the dough was homemade... I guess He didn't think his wife could bake that good. This is a great recipe with easy to follow instructions. Will definitely make again!

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  105. Making these this morning for Santa breakfast :) this is the second time I'm making them I put the dough in the fridge after the first rise last night and pulled them out about 4am and let them sit the house is a little cold so it has taken about 4 hours to rise but they are looking just like the first time (just a little smaller since I cut them into 1in squares so they are bite size for the Santa breakfast. Thank you so much for posting this!!

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  106. that's a good idea to make them bite size! I might have to give it a try!! So glad you liked the recipe!

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  107. these were a huge hit, loved making them and really enjoyed eating them

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  108. I am gluten free, was wondering if using other types of flour would still get same results?

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    1. I haven't tried these with any other kind of flour... but if you know of a flour that works with bread recipes I would try that. This recipe is similar to a bread dough. Good Luck!

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  109. Can these be frozen and thawed a week later and have the same freshness?

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    1. if you make the bars without icing them and froze. then thaw out and ice they would probably be ok that way.... I have never tried it tho.

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  110. These look so good. These are just what I have been looking for to make cream filled long johns. Can you use regular Crisco instead of the butter Crisco?

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  111. Thanks Di...have a great day.

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  112. Husbands fave. Using parchment paper.... Hope it works!

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  113. I came to your sight looking for a maple frosting recipe. I bought a maple coffee cake from Publix, which is my husbands favorite. He complained that they did not put enough maple icing on it. So I went to Pinterest. Your recipe for frosting looked good so I gave it a try. I put it on the coffee cake and my husband & son in law went bonkers. They loved the frosting so much they are trying to figure out what else we can put it on. So, I know this is backwards but I will be make the donuts today.

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