Baked Maple-Glazed Sweet Potato Donuts with Candied Bacon (Small Batch)
Golden, glazed, and kissed with sweet maple and smoky bacon—donuts that satisfy as comfort food but with a flair of unexpected adventure.
If you’ve ever dreamed of a donut that tastes like autumn mornings and cozy kitchens, this recipe is for you. These maple-glazed sweet potato donuts are soft, tender, and baked to golden perfection—just like your favorite bakery-style treat, but with a warmly spiced twist from roasted sweet potato. Perhaps I should also mention the maple-glazed bacon! —Stone
Topped with a glossy maple glaze and crisp maple-candied bacon, each bite balances sweet and salty. Whether you’re deepening your donut game or just craving something special to share, this small-batch recipe is sure to make your kitchen smell incredible—and your friends ask for seconds. Want more than just 6-8 donuts? Double the batch; we won’t tell a soul!
Welcome to the Mountaintop Kitchen. It’s time to bake some goodness! So, let’s bake!
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In May, I took a much-needed vacation to the American Southwest—one of those soul-filling trips where the skies are endless, the light hits everything just right, and even the food feels touched by the desert sun. I made it my mission to explore every sweet spot I could find, popping into bakeries, donut dives, and charming little cafes tucked between red rock cliffs. One stop that stayed with me long after I left was Sedonuts in Sedona, Arizona. The name made me laugh, but the donuts made me pause—unapologetically decadent, with flavors that tasted like someone’s grandma and a five-star chef had joined forces.
One bite of their sweet donut glazed with maple and sprinkled with a hint of something smoky had me scribbling notes on a napkin. It was nostalgic but fresh—like fall had rolled into the desert in the best way. I couldn’t get it out of my head; and when I got home, I set out to recreate the magic: plump, cakey donuts but with a new twist inspired by my Appalachian grandmother—enriched with roasted sweet potato— and dipped in a buttery maple glaze topped with crisp maple-candied bacon. A bakery-sized small batch, baked to golden perfection in my (your) own kitchen.
This recipe is a celebration of that trip and the flavors that followed me home. It’s for home bakers who love donuts with real character—fluffy inside, crunchy on top, and kissed with the kind of warmth that only sweet potato and maple can deliver. Whether you’re chasing the memory of a road trip, remembering the familiar smells of your grandma's kitchen, or just looking for something special to share; these donuts juxtapose the Southwest and Appalachia to bring a whole lot of joy—right to your countertop and breakfast musings.
The Recipe:
On Measuring Ingredients: My preferred method of measuring is weight by grams. Baking by volume rather than weight can lead to varied and unexpected results. Flour is especially problematic when measured by volume (sifted, not sifted, spooned, not spooned, fluffed or not … you get the point). Grams are always the same; they are your friend as a baker. King Arthur Baking Company’s Ingredients Weight Chart is helpful for converting recipe weights.
On Altitude Adjustments: Before measuring ingredients, preheating your oven, or setting your timer; it’s important to consider any necessary adjustments for baking at higher altitudes, which is generally considered to be 3,500ft and above. Most recipes are written for sea level up to 3,500ft. Take at look at our baking at High-Altitude Baking Adjustments page for guidance.
Note 👀 : No altitude adjustments are needed to make these donuts.
Yield: 6-8 large baked donuts (standard donut pan)
Prep time: 25 minutes
Bacon prep & bake time: 20–25 minutes (can overlap)
Bake time: 12–14 minutes
Cooling time: 10–15 minutes
Glazing & topping time: 10 minutes
Total time (excluding sweet potato roasting of 55 minutes): ~1 hour👨🏼🍳 Stone’s Tip: To organize time better, split tasks into two days:
Prepare roasted & mashed sweet potato a day in advance.
🍩 For the Donut Dough:
¼ cup mashed roasted sweet potato, cooled (60g)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened (28g)
⅓ cup granulated sugar (67g)
1 large egg (50g)
⅓ cup Milk or Greek yoghurt (2.5 fl oz / 80g)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour (180g)
1 tablespoon cornstarch (8g)
1½ teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)
🥓 For the Maple-Candied Bacon:
4-5 slices thin or thick-cut bacon (about 120g)
2 tablespoons maple syrup (30g)
1 teaspoon light brown sugar (4g)
🍁 For the Maple Glaze:
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted (14g)
½ cup pure maple syrup (120g)
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted (113g)
Pinch of fine sea salt
👨🏼🍳 Watch the complete instructions in our YouTube tutorial or upgrade your subscription for the illustrated step-by-step instructions and a bunch of other groovy perks.
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