Publick House Pumpkin Muffins
The Publick House restaurant and inn in Sturbridge, Massachusetts, is most famous for its dinner bread basket, but these sweet, golden pumpkin muffins are just as delectable.
By Yankee Magazine|Oct 14 2021|
Publick House Pumpkin Muffins
Photo Credit: Aimee TuckerThe Publick House restaurant and inn in Sturbridge, Massachusetts, is most famous for its dinner bread basket stocked with sweet and savory treats. But these sweet, golden pumpkin muffins are just as delectable.
Yield:
2 dozen muffinsTotal Time:
20 minutesIngredients
2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil, plus extra for pan
3 large eggs
1-1/2 cups canned pumpkin purée (not pumpkin-pie filling), such as One-Pie brand
1/2 cup water
3 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon table salt
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
11/2 cups raisins
1 cup chopped walnuts
Instructions
Grease the cups of two standard muffin tins or use paper liners. Set an oven rack to the middle position.
In a large bowl, stir together sugar, oil, eggs, pumpkin, and 1/2 cup water.
In a medium-size bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices.
Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir until moistened. Add raisins and walnuts and stir.
Let stand 20 minutes at room temperature. Preheat oven to 400°.
Pour batter into prepared muffin cups, each two-thirds full. Bake until golden brown and domed, about 15 minutes.
This is a wonderful recipe. I made sure I used bread flour and I believe it accounted for the nice height in the muffins. They were moist, easy to handle … and delicious!
Publick House pumpkin muffins are the best pumpkin muffins ever. Every time I go to Sturbridge, I have breakfast at the Publick House, then stop at the bakery to take home pumpkin muffins and sticky buns. Thank you for the recipe.
So glad to see this recipe repeated. Still the BEST!
Can you halve this recipe?
Hi Joan. Certainly! Note: One large egg contains approximately 3 tablespoons, so to halve the 3 eggs, you’ll want to beat together 2 eggs and then remove 1 1/2 tablespoons before proceeding. Happy baking!
Can these muffins be made gluten free?
Yes. Just leave out the gluten.
Just use gluten-free flour.
How much sugar and sodium per muffin?
I made these today. Delicious! Can they be frozen?
I freeze these all the time. They freeze very well.
I made these today! So good! It seemed like a lot of spice but it wasn’t! If you like spicy you may want to add more! I also added flax seeds. I baked them 23 minutes.
Has anyone tried reducing the amount of sugar?
Can the amount of sugar be reduced?
I find that using ½ cup less sugar has no negative affect to the taste.
First, time to update your opening statement – corn sticks are no longer on offer at the Publick House, to the disappointment of my son. I’m not sure they even make corn muffins as I haven’t seen them in the bake shop. Second, I’ve been going to the Publick House with my family since the 1950s. We lived in New York and always stopped there either on the way to visit family in Maine, or on the way home, or both. I continued that tradition with my son, and then my grandchildren. The bake shop has changed dramatically. Besides the elimination of the corn sticks, there’s no more Anadama bread, you can’t buy their canned Indian pudding any longer, the sticky buns are apparently prepared in sheet pans as they resemble flat Cinnabons and not the muffins they once were, and the bake shop is mostly stocked with sugary cakes and pastries that one finds in most modern bake shops. I stopped buying the sticky buns and pumpkin muffins there as my son and his family would no longer eat them. Thank God for your publication – I make my own corn sticks, sticky buns and pumpkin muffins now and my son and his family have declared that my sticky buns are much better than the ones the Publick House now sells. The recipes, at least, still produce the flavor we once loved. I’m bitterly disappointed in what the bake shop has become. Such a shame. Happily, I still have the memories. And the recipes!
Debra, could you send me your recipes for corn sticks, sticky buns. I’ve never been to Publix House or bakery.
Like you, I have been going to Sturbridge since 1959/1960. The breads and muffins in the Publick House were the best ever. I have not been there in too many years and am disappointed to hear that they have changed.
They have changed big time.
I totally agree with Debra, having gone twice yearly to the Publick House since the 1940’s. Extremely disappointing experience now, especially the bakery.
I so agree.
Everything about the Public House has gone downhill. Had Thanksgiving there a few year back and it took them hours to serve us. It was such a disappointment. We never went back.
I agree! I don’t know why but it has definitely gone down hill. It used to be an exceptional place to go for dinner.
We’re located near Sacremento ,Ca and cannot locate One Pie product. Are there any substitutions or modifications to regular pumpkin pie filling?
You can use Libby’s pumpkin puree or any store brand puree.
DO NOT use pumpkin pie filling. It is Libby’s 100% Pure
Pumpkin which is also Known As Pumpkin Puree
I am crushed to read about the bakery. We just this week planned to take a ride and get some sticky buns. It is about an hour from my house and now not sure it will be worth the trip. One of my favorite rides in the fall. We will go anyway but at least now I will not pin my hopes on a great baked good. ????
I don’t know what you read about the public house but the bakery is open and still making all those delectable treats they are known for. I live not too far from there and it has always been and still is, one of our favorite go to places. As with all restaurants, Covid has been a huge challenge for the PH but they have persevered and become creative in offering outstanding dining experience. I am on Facebook with them and they are constantly submitting photos of their baked goods and their gorgeous grounds. If you go to their website and Facebook page, you will see that they continue to thrive and thrive well.
I made these pumpkin muffins today… scrumptious!
The bakery is open!!!!
My husband and I traveled from the West to Massachusetts for our honeymoon 25 years ago this month and we stayed at the Publick House. What a beautiful memory of the fall colors, the old Inn, and the delicious food, etc. Such a shame it is struggling. Like many have said, at least we have the memories . . . and recipes.
I just made these muffins and they are great! They did take 20 minutes to cook instead of 15. I may cut back on the water net time.
My daughter has celiac disease, when I make baked goods for her, I use king Arthur measure for measure flour, most recipes come out fine. You can’t tell the difference.
Stayed and ate dinner and breakfast a week ago. Best sticky buns I have ever eaten. Food and service excellent. Took advantage of bakery to buy sticky buns for the road.
O love all your recipes but they contain way too much sugar and oil. Can you redo some these recipes to accommodate the newer thinking about healthy foods? Thanks.
My sister often substitutes applesauce for oil or butter in some baking recipes. I’m not sure if that would work for these muffins, and stevia is a nice sugar sub and still tastes very sweet. I love all things pumpkin flavored in the autumn! Good luck!
Well we are going to the PH in December with a group from our senior center and it includes a turkey dinner with all the fixings. Looking forward to it. I don’t believe they would have organized a trip for us if it has gone downhill but we’ll see.
How do I get nutritional information on these recipes?