The King’s Arms Tavern was a traditional Williamsburg tavern that had opened in 1772. It is now a great restaurant that has tried to stay as true to the original establishment to this day. It is located in the historic Williamsburg district and has servers dressed in period piece outfits along with serving food from the era. We celebrate our daughter’s 6th birthday there, and we loved it.
When I was grazing through my Williamsburg Art of Cookery cookbook, I had come across this King’s Arm Pecan Confections recipe. I was very excited since I had eaten at the restaurant and loved it. I figured this recipe was going to be just as wonderful. Also, for a vintage recipe, it was easy to follow the directions as you can see below.
King’s Arm Pecan Confections
Beat one Egg White to a stiff Froth, add gradually one Cupful of brown sugar, one Pinch of Salt, one level Tablespoonful of Flour. Stir in one Cupful of chopped Pecans, drop on greased Tin by small spoonfuls far apart. Bake in a very slow Oven for fifteen Minutes. Remove from Tin when partly cooled. Makes two Dozen.
(from The Williamsburg Art of Cookery; an old recipe from Travis House with date unknown)
The result of these pecan confections is a delicate cookie that has the taste of pecans and caramel. They are easy to make and have a small number of ingredients that are needed. This recipe works great for the fall when pecans are in season.
You can easily double or triple the recipe as well. You may be able to squeeze out two dozen confections if you use a small teaspoon to drop on a baking sheet or less if you make them larger.
Cost to make this recipe.
With very few ingredients, this recipe is extremely cheap and cost-effective for a dessert. I have calculated the cost for the entire recipe to be about $3.98 for 24 cookies. We grow our pecans, so the bulk of the cost is free. My homesteading recipe comes to about $0.50 or $0.02 per cookie.
We would love to hear from you, so comment and rate the recipe down below. Also, check out more vintage recipe posts.
18th Century Pound Cake
Simple pound cake recipe that dates back to the 18th century, colonial period.
This recipe is adapted from The Williamsburg Art of Cookery cookbook. All images and text are all my own and original to One Acre Vintage Homestead – Pumpkin Patch Mountain Homestead.
Beat one egg white until frothy and then gradually add and beat in brown sugar, flour, and salt. A hand mixer or stand mixer works the best for this step.
Stir in pecans and drop small spoonful’s far apart on a greased baking sheet. The mixture will spread like a cookie.
Bake at 300 °F for 10-15 minutes or until edges are lightly brown. Remove from oven and let cool halfway on sheet then remove pecans with a spatula to a cooling rack.
