17 Comments
Nov 18, 2021Liked by Jolene Handy

Oh, Jolene, I think we may have crossed paths many times in the past. 30 years ago I was living on the upper west side in a shoebox that I loved and Sarabeth's was my absolute favorite restaurant for Sunday brunch. I would save up my money just to go there! And the pumpkin muffins were heaven! Thanks for the trip down memory lane. Will definitely be making these.

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Thank you, Jolene. Lovely post.

As a Brit, I have never had pumpkin bread. Or pumpkin pie. All things pumpkiny have passed me by.

I am fully aware of how malnourished and joyless my experience of the world is as a result. But...they don't serve them here. Pumpkins aren't so much a thing for eating in the UK. I've found it impossible to stumble across them (especially these last two years I've been in Scotland). And it seems this is a national problem: https://bakeryinfo.co.uk/finished-goods/thanksgiving-why-wont-brits-eat-pumpkin-pie/625590.article

This needs to change (at least when it comes to me, I can't speak for Britain). I need to step up into the light. Today is the day I find out where good pumpkin bread is served in Scotland, and I'm asking if they deliver. Today.

I will, however, pass along the bread/cake I *did* grow up with as a kid in Yorkshire, because I feel about it in the way that you feel about pumpkin bread. In case you've never encountered it, I welcome you to the rich, sticky glory that is Yorkshire Parkin:

https://traditionalhomebaking.com/yorkshire-parkin/

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Nov 17, 2021Liked by Jolene Handy

Wow, they look yummy. I want a half dozen and a pot of coffee. Happy Thanksgiving Jo! Skip the turkey pass the muffins...

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pumpkin bread is one of my favorite things to eat. I first learned about it when I learned how to make it in third grade at school. Our whole class made it together and we each got to take a little loaf home. I loved it so much that I asked my mom if I could make it at home, and the rest is history. I have made so many loaves of pumpkin bread that it’s really quite ridiculous. I use a recipe from the Betty Crocker cookbook that has been my standby since I guess the 70s! Nowadays I’m gluten-free, so I just substitute King Arthur gluten-free flour for wheat flour and it works just fine. You would never know it was gluten-free. It is one of the most perfect recipes for people who can’t eat wheat.

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I've been making a version of the Sarabeth pumpkin muffin recipe for years that I found in Dorie Greenspan's "Baking: From My Home to Yours." She says the Sarabeth ones are "so good they ought to be the standard for all pumpkin muffins in the world." How cool that you worked there!

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Perfect timing for me—I've been searching for a great pumpkin muffin recipe, and these look great! Thanks!

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What a lovely memory -- for a second I could hear the salsa music 😊

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