20 Best Maple Desserts

These sticky-sweet maple desserts showcase the rich depth of the syrup’s treacle-like flavor.

If you’re worried about the sugar content, don’t be. Maple syrup is a natural sweetener, making it a healthier choice for your sweet snacks.

This dense syrup isn’t just delicious, it’s also loaded with health-supporting minerals like zinc, potassium, magnesium, and calcium. 

And don’t forget the antioxidants! Maple syrup is harvested from maple trees, giving it lots of plant-based goodness – especially if you use the darker (Grade B) variety.

But let’s talk taste. Maple syrup isn’t just a healthier replacement for sugar, it’s also amazingly flavorful in its own right.

A little like caramel, a little like treacle, maple syrup adds unmistakable richness to any dessert.

From bars to blondies and cookies to cakes, this golden syrup makes everything better. 

1. Maple Syrup Bars

Soft and chewy, these gorgeous snacks are incredibly addictive.

They’re sweetened with maple syrup and brown sugar, giving them an intensely rich taste.

You’ll bake the walnut crust first, which is a genius move.

Baking it beforehand turns it into a crispy, buttery shell that crumbles as you bite into the squishy, sweet goodness. Magic!

2. Maple Brown Sugar Cookies

Biting into a good cookie is a transcendent experience.

First, you’ll crunch through the crispy outer shell, then you reach the soft, fudgy center, all the while enjoying the intense sugar-laden flavor.

These sugar cookies are just the right balance of crunchy and chewy.

They’re topped with a thick maple glaze too, making them the ultimate fall snack.

3. Maple Glazed Apple Blondies

Blondies are basically brownies without the chocolate.

These fun treats are moist, soft, and taste a bit like apple pie. A cinnamon-laced maple syrup glaze adds fall-flavored perfection.

Maple glazed apple blondies are the kind of treats I’d make for a dinner party, but end up eating before the first guest arrives.

4. Maple Syrup Pudding Cake

This Canadian classic is a true winter warmer.

It’ll fill your kitchen with delicious maple aromas and fill your belly with mouthwatering cake.

You can make this sticky pudding in a skillet or serve it up in individual ramekins.

Whichever way you enjoy it, serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream to really get the full effect.

5. Homemade Maple Pudding

Pudding is a great pick-me-up dessert when you need a bit of sugary comfort.

This no-bake version is gooey and syrupy. It’s so easy to make, too!

In fact, you probably have all the ingredients on hand – eggs, brown sugar, corn starch, milk, and maple syrup.

Simply heat on the stove-top, whisk until thickened, chill, and enjoy!

6. Maple Cookies With Maple Icing

These soft cookies are really cute, and really delicious.

They’re squishy mounds of butter dough, coated in a thick maple glaze. 

Made with buttermilk, these are much moister than your average cookie.

And with both maple extract and real maple syrup in the mix, there’s plenty of rich syrupy flavor!

7. Salted Maple Blondies

Seasoned with flakes of sea salt and maple syrup, these blondies are a gorgeous blend of sweet and salty.

They’re also dense and chewy, with a fudgy consistency that makes them dangerously addictive. Be warned – one is never enough.

8. Maple Dumplings

Also known as grandperes, maple dumplings are a beloved culinary tradition in Quebec. 

They became popular during the depression when more sophisticated dessert options were in short supply.

But you don’t need to be fancy to be delicious. These insanely tasty dumplings are cozy, comforting, and very easy to make.

Fluffy balls of buttery dough are simmered in a sticky maple sauce and served straight from the pot.

This wonderful winter treat is a joy any time of year, but is especially welcome on chilly nights.

9. Maple Sugar Muffins

These ultra-moist maple muffins are made with sour cream, making them extra fluffy.

So if you like your muffins light and airy, give these beauties a try. 

They’re topped with crumbled bacon and a drizzle of maple syrup, giving them a mouthwatering sweet and salty taste.

And because there’s bacon involved, I consider them breakfast food. Start your day with maple muffins and you’re winning at life.

10. Maple Cream Pie

This dreamy pie is ridiculously easy to throw together and richly decadent.

It’s perfect for serving a hungry crowd. Simply use a pre-made pie crust (or make your own if you have the time and the skills), fill it with a custardy center, and chill.

If you are feeding guests, pipe whipped cream around the outside of the pie for a show-stopping dessert that can’t fail to impress.

11. Soft Maple Brown Sugar Cookies

Sugar cookies are a very traditional treat and they’ve stood the test of time for a reason.

Easy to make with a melt-in-the-mouth crumb, they’re a classic. 

This recipe sticks to the drop cookie formula but adds its own spin – a thick and buttery maple icing.

12. Maple Butter Bars

Dense and rich, these cake-like bars are a great addition to any lunch box.

There’s just a hint of cinnamon in this gorgeous recipe, perfectly highlighting the intense maple tones. 

13. Maple Cream Puffs

The only bad thing about these profiterole-like puffs is that you can easily eat the whole plate in one sitting.

Thin, buttery pastry is wrapped around a vanilla and maple cream filling to create these tiny treats.

Light, fluffy, and airy, they’re like little clouds of heaven. 

14. Maple Pecan Bars

With an old-fashioned shortbread crust and a gooey maple and pecan filling, these bars taste just like pecan pie.

Which is great for those Thanksgivings where you can’t be bothered making an entire pie. 

Serve these with a scoop of ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream and your guests will forget pecan pie was ever a thing.

15. Old-Fashioned Maple and Walnut Fudge

Fudge is surprisingly easy to make, even for beginner cooks.

This nutty, buttery version comes together beautifully, with just four ingredients in the mix.

Maple syrup, cream, butter, and walnuts are blended together and chilled until set.

You can store this fudge for up to a week but, trust me, it won’t last that long.

16. Maple Leaf Sandwich Cookies

These patriotic cookies are the perfect way to celebrate our neighbors to the north.

Buttery vanilla cookies are sandwiched together with a creamy maple filling.

These fun and festive treats don’t just look adorable, they also taste incredible.

If you doubt your artistic skills, don’t worry. Get yourself a maple leaf cookie cutter and let it do all the work. 

Alternatively, just shape them into circles. These will taste just as good whether they’re round, square, or a blob!

17. Maple Glazed Donuts

Lightly spiced donuts with a sticky maple glaze – does dessert get any better than this?

You’ll need a donut pan for these divine donuts, but there’s very little prep or assembly involved.

Simply whisk up the batter, transfer it to the pan, and bake.

Once the donuts have cooled, you can dip them into the glaze and then let them sit as it sets.

If you’re a person who likes their donuts extra sweet, go ahead and double-dip!

Eat these for breakfast, enjoy them as a snack, or serve them after dinner. These donuts are welcome anywhere, any time.

18. Brown Butter Maple Cookie Pizza

Dessert pizzas are a really fun option for kids parties, or any time the youngest members of the family deserve a treat.

This one has a sugar cookie base, topped with creamy maple frosting.

It’s a lighter version of maple pie, so it’s a much better choice if you don’t want to overindulge.

19. Homemade Maple Ice Cream

You’ll need this recipe to get you through the holidays. 

How many times are you going to make pecan pie, or apple pie, or pumpkin pie this year? And what are you going to serve with all that pie?

Maple ice cream is the answer. In fact, it’s the answer to every question. 

It’s rich, creamy, and swirled with streaks of treacly syrup. I could not love this recipe more, and you’ll understand why when you make it.

This dish takes a bit of work, but it’s so worth it.

The informative recipe talks you through every step so you can nail your ice-cream making technique.

Maple ice cream is the fall favorite you never knew you needed, but you really really do.

20. Maple Sugar Candy

When you boil down maple syrup with a dash of cream, salt, and sugar, something wonderful happens.

It turns into chewy, toffee-like candy!

This recipe is a hit for the holidays. It’s a sweet treat that can be beautifully packaged and given to friends as a Christmas gift.

And if your friends don’t eat candy, no problem. That just means more for you!