Make this easy maple glaze in 2 minutes of active time using maple syrup, powdered sugar, and butter. Drizzle it over doughnuts, scones, quickbreads, or your favorite dessert recipes for a pretty and delicious finish!

This luscious maple glaze sings with the earthy flavor of maple syrup sharpened with a touch of salt. It has a rich, buttery mouthfeel that makes it super addictive and versatile.
I especially love this glaze drizzled over my favorite gluten-free pumpkin spice bread. It starts out silky-smooth, and within a few minutes, it hardens into an icing-like finish that locks in moisture and keeps the quickbread fresh for days.
This glaze also works beautifully on a variety of desserts and baked goods, from breakfast pastries such as buttery almond flour scones and oat flour pumpkin muffins, to thin, crisp butter cookies and doughnuts.
It's also incredibly quick and simple to make. In the time it's taken you to read this post, you could have whipped up a batch of glaze!
Ingredients
This simple recipe uses just 3 main ingredients.
- Butter (dairy or vegan) adds richness.
- Maple syrup adds sweetness and warm caramel notes.
- Powdered sugar thickens and emulsifies the glaze, helping it harden once it's cool.
- A pinch of salt sharpens the flavors if using unsalted butter.
How to Make it
This recipe comes together with just a few minutes of active time. For best results, let it sit for 20 minutes to thicken before using.
This makes a small batch of glaze, a little over half a cup, just the right amount for 1 loaf cake, 12 muffins, or 1 batch of scones. Feel free to increase the recipe if you need more glaze.
How to use it
This easy maple glaze makes a delicious finish for a wide variety of desserts and pastries. Here are a few more favorites:
- Dip doughnuts into it
- Garnish gluten-free almond flour apple cake with it
- Finish gluten-free blueberry streusel coffee cake with a thin layer of glaze
- Lick it off of spoons – it's seriously so addictive!
However you use this buttery, salty-sweet maple glaze, I hope you love it!
Bojon appétit! For more Bojon Gourmet in your life, follow along on Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest, purchase my award-winning gluten-free baking cookbook Alternative Baker, or subscribe to receive new posts via email. And if you make this maple glaze recipe, I’d love to know. Leave a comment and rating below, and tag your Instagram snaps @The_Bojon_Gourmet and #bojongourmet.

Quick 3-Ingredient Maple Glaze for Desserts
Print Recipe Pin RecipeIngredients
- 4 tablespoons (55 g) butter, melted
- ½ cup (60 g) powdered sugar, sifted if clumpy
- 3 tablespoons maple syrup
- big pinch salt if using unsalted butter
Instructions
- In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, melted butter, and maple syrup until the mixture is smooth.
- Let cool until thickly pourable, about 20 minutes.
Martina Lauer says
Smooth and rich, keeps the pumpkin bread moist! Can't get enough of this glaze. Thank you.
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
Yay, so glad you like it!
Michelle says
I would like to use this glaze for the pumpkin bread but need it to be dairy free. Can I substitute coconut oil for butter? If so, what ratio?
Thanks! Looks delicious and can't wait to try it!!
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
Hi Michelle,
Great question! I actually made this recipe with vegan butter (I used Miyoko's) and that works very well.
Coconut oil *might* work, but you may need to add a splash of plant milk to make it emulsify since butter contains fat, water, and milk solids while coconut oil is almost 100% fat.
Please let me know how it works!
-Alanna
Bethany Morse says
I made this today to top some apple muffins. The syrup I had was not sweet at all, I added a bit of vanilla to the recipe as well. It is a perfect recipe for a glazing or almost frosting if you add too much powdered sugar (learned this today!). It was a great topping for the muffins. Not too sweet. The better half gave it his stamp of approval!
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
I'm so glad you and your other half loved this glaze and that it paired well with the apple muffins (yum! I want those!)
I'm fascinated by your not-at-all-sweet maple syrup. What was this magical stuff??
Thanks so much for the kind note and feedback, I really appreciate it!
Gayle says
I made this to glaze pumpkin cookies. I doubled the recipe (I made 7 dozen cookies), and added about a teaspoon of good bourbon. It really elevated my cookies.
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
This glaze sounds so delicious on pumpkin cookies, and I *love* the idea to add a little bourbon for flavor. Yum!!
Kelya says
good recipe easy to follow ... I personally thought it tasted too much like butter so will probably not be using this recipe again. Thank you Alanna!
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
Thank you for the feedback, Kelya!