If you visit Dawn Lowenstein’s Facebook page, I guarantee you will leave it smiling, hungry, and wanting to adopt a kitty! Dawn’s bright and friendly face will greet you with mouth-watering food photos and cute kittens . She also made me smile when this vintage cookbook ended up in my kitchen from her home in Pennsylvania.
Dawn is another one of the lovely Field Editors from Taste of Home that I mentioned in an earlier blog who generously send me such great cookbooks. Many people may not even have heard of Stouffer’s Restaurants, but are probably familiar with Stouffer’s line of frozen foods. Yep – same family, but I believe Stouffer’s is now owned by Nestle’s. However, Stouffer’s has a rich culinary history in the American food industry. In the early 1920’s, A.E. Stouffer of Cleveland, Ohio opened a stand-up dairy counter where he sold buttermilk fresh from a churn. He later added an open-grilled cheese sandwich on one-inch thick homemade bread. When customers asked for a dessert, his wife made her famous Dutch Apple Pie. By 1924, the first Stouffer’s Restaurant opened. The food was a hit and well-received for its freshly made homestyle food. The desire for Stouffer’s kind of food is what eventually led to their line of frozen foods.
The cookbook is a history of the restaurant’s recipes from appetizers and dips, soups, casseroles, hot and cold sandwiches, cakes, salads, to the ever popular Dutch Apple Pie from the original 1920’s recipe from Mrs. Stouffer. I searched the cookbook for the recipes that had been longtime favorites. Since it is now officially fall, and everything pumpkin is around, I stopped at the Pumpkin-Raisin Muffin recipe. The sentence about the recipe says: “There isn’t a week that goes by that someone doesn’t ask for this recipe.” Of course I had to try them!
The muffins are moist, flavorful, all bumpy with raisins, and go together in minutes. We loved them! Serve warm from the oven by themselves or with slathered with some butter.
Thanks, Dawn, for this great cookbook. Keep that beautiful smile and posting those tempting food photos, even if I do leave hungry every time I see your page!
- 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1-1/2 teaspoons salt
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 egg
- ½ cup milk
- ½ cup canned pumpkin
- ¼ cup butter, melted
- ¾ cup dark raisins
- 1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
- Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Stir flour, baking powder, salt, ½ cup sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg together in a mixing bowl; set aside.
- In bowl of electric mixer, or by hand, beat egg slightly. Add milk and mix thoroughly. Blend in pumpkin and melted butter.
- Add liquid to dry ingredients and stir to moisten. Add raisins and mix just until blended. Do not beat.
- Spoon batter into well-greased muffin tins. (recipe says it makes 12 muffins - I found it made 11 muffins). Sprinkle ¼ teaspoon sugar evenly over each muffin.
- Bake for about 15 minutes or until golden and testers inserted in center comes out clean. Serve warm.
My mother in law used to always serve pumpkin muffins at Thanksgiving using the Libby pumpkin recipe. I just copied this one to try. My family loves pumpkin muffins and these will be enjoyed on my Thanksgiving table this year! Thanks for the recipe Debbie!!!
You’re welcome, Ronna! Hope you like them.
I was a waitress at the Pittsburgh Stouffers during college breaks … first place I ever tasted real blue cheese dressing – yum!
I’m so excited you wrote, Gretchen! How fun that you used to work at a Stouffer’s! I just looked up the dressing in the cookbook and it sounds delicious! Here’s what it says above the recipe:
“From Atlanta to New York they ask for this recipe. And this is the first time we have ever given it.” That being said, how can I not give it out here!
Bleu Cheese Dressing- From Stouffer’s Restaurant Cookbook:
6 ounces bleu cheese
1/4 cup cream cheese
1 cup salad oil
2 Tablespoons cider vinegar
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon paprika
Combine bleu cheese and cream cheese; mix well. Add oil and vinegar alternately, beating constantly. Add sugar and paprika; beat until well-blended. Cover and store in refrigerator. Mix well before serving.
Thanks again for writing, and I’m sure there are some people who will love to have this recipe!
I love the Fall and with it pumpkin muffins! Going to whip up some muffins right now! Thanks for sharing the recipe, along with the Blue Cheese dressing recipe. Yum! Can’t wait to try it, also.
I started working at the Stouffer’s Restaurant in Garden City, Long Island when I was 16.
50 years later I am still in foodservice….teaching cooking classes at Central Market in Plano.
I learned so much working in the kitchen at Stouffer’s….and can duplicate MOST of their frozen food!
What a great story, Tom! I bet there are many people who would want to pick your brain for some of those recipes! How wonderful that you are teaching cooking classes all these years later. I wish I lived closer so I could take your classes! Thanks so much for sharing this with us.
I too worked at a Stouffer’s during college breaks. The one in Detroit and they had the most wonderful food. Nor were they chintzy with food for the staff either. The only thing you couldn’t have was steak. I worked a split shift so I could have those FAB pecan rolls in the morning and the hot apple pie with their warm vanilla sauce for my evening dinner. I have looked for both those recipes and would like to know if they are in the book.
M- I’ll see what I can find for you. It must have been a great place to work!
I have lived in Garden City, NY for over 65 years. I recall dining at the wonderful
Stouffers Restaurant when I was a lot younger. I cannot recall when it closed but it know
It was long ago. I still have an orange 3×5 card with the Stouffer’s pumpkin muffin
recipe printed on it. I believe Stouffers gave out the recipe cards. I have been making the
muffins for decades. They are a Thanksgiving tradition. These pumpkin muffins are the best
and everyone loves them.
**** I bake them in my mom’s cupcake pans which are much smaller then the larger muffin/
cupcake pans sold today. Each of my pans makes 12 muffins….not oversized. My pans have to be 80+ years old!
Lynette, I love your Stouffer memories. If you have been making the pumpkin muffins all these years, they must be very special. Could you share the recipe? I would love to try them!
It is the above Pumpkin Muffin recipe from Stouffers! Exactly as printed above. They truly are the best. I noticed the Stouffer’s Cookbook on this website and was able to buy one on EBay for a decent price. Thanksgiving is just around the corner
Thank you, Lynette! I’m glad you found a copy of the cookbook.
Thanks for printing the bleu cheese salad dressing recipe. I too worked at a Stouffer’s restaurant in the late 60’s, in Short Hills NJ. I’m going to look for the cook book mentioned above to see if it has the salmon salad recipe. Thanks again
Hello my name is Nathan Carpenter and I also remember Stouffers resteraunt in the Short Hills mall I remember it in the 1970s and it closed in August 1977, I only went in theree once with my mother but since i was young I do not remember it well this must have been in the autumn of 1976, I remember there was the lobby which was quite big and to the left of the lobby was the Pete and Charlies concession which was like a resteraunt inside of a resteraunt I think Pete and Charlies was a resteraunt chain who opened a concession in Stouffers resteraunt and paid them rent to operatre inside their premises, I remember the resteraunt being dark with candle lit tables, and if you walked ahead in the lobby rarher than going left you would walk into Stouffers resteraunt which was huge it was either L or even a J shaped resteraunt which went all the way aroudn the back on itself, I remember the bathroom being very clean and the fountain downstairs in the exit way but I would appreciate it if you could tell me more about Stouffers resteraunt in Short Hills it is shame they went out of business because if they remained open my parents probably would have patronized Stouffers a few times before they started renovating the mall anyway thank you Hope to hear from you if you have any stories of what it was like to work at Stouffers please tell me I am curious. I am extremely curious of what it was like to work at Stouffers resteraunt what your colleagues were like and the management I think it only had a male manager called Mr. Meeker and then all the rest of the Managers were women from 1965 onwards it what I have been told by Emma Wilson a lady who worked there anyway hope ot hear from you thank you again
i began eating at the Stouffer’s in Garden City, Long Island as a child about 50 years ago and am forever grateful to have had that place to train my palate.
Would love to have their hushpuppy recipe and their gingerbread cake recipe if anybody has them.
Maria- I’ll see if I can find it, and maybe someone here has the recipes? Thank you for writing!
I remember the Stouffers in the Short Hills N.J. A great elegant resteraunt, it opened in july 1961 and it closed in august 1977 i think it actually closed four days after elvis presley death it closed on the 20th of august 1977 I remember it being a resteraunt which had capacity for the three hundred people and it was a two storey resteraunt was a fountain with a statue of a cherub in the downstairs part of resteraunt, sadly i remember little about it since I was only seven when it closed I remember all of their managers were women except for the first manager great reseraunt served food until eleven on friday and saturday and until ten monday through thursday where can you get service like that, Stouffers great american resteraunt from yesteryear, at least the frozen food line still exists all the resteraunts were closed in the late 1970s earlyt 1980s
Hi Nathan- I love hearing all the Stouffer’s history, and you remembered a lot at age seven! It must have made quite an impact on you. Thanks so much for writing.
Hello Yes it did I just wished it had remained opened until they started renovating the mall in 1979 rather than closing, do you remember the Stouffers in Short HIlls? or any other branches? I only know about the opening times because of a advertisement I found in a newspaper from 1970 which announced the opening of Pete and Charlies concession in the Stouffers resteraunt in 1970. If you know anything about Stouffers resteraunt in the Short Hills or any stories regarding what it was like to work there please let me know you do not know how much I appreciate you getting back to me, love reading about peoples experiences I live in the U.K. and the life here is so boring, and dull get tired of hearing about the stupid royal family and those idiots Harry and Megan it is good to remininise about a time when people meant what they said and said what they menat and there was no double talk, look forward to hearing from you.
Hi Nathan- I never visited the Short Hills Stouffers but there are many people who have replied to this post, and comments come in often, so maybe keep checking back to see if someone new has written about their experiences and memories. It seems there are so many who have such fond memories like yours. Thanks for keeping up!
My mother, Catherine Nicholson, worked at Stouffers in Garden City, NY in the 60’s-early 70s. I remember her telling me about the day Barbra Streisand and Elliot Gould came in for lunch. She could barely speak to them. She was Barbra’s #1 fan. I just found this Stouffers cookbook online and bought it. Cant wait to get into it.
What a great story about your mother working at Stouffer’s! I would have been speechless too. I have received so many comments about Stouffer’s, but never a Barbra story! I wonder what she ordered to eat?! Thanks for sharing, and enjoy the cookbook.