Serbian or Croatian cookie/bar recipe

My step-father was Serbian and Croatian so I grew up eating this type of food at family events when I was a child. An aunt of mine who has since passed away used to make a cookie/bar that we called "Grooba" cake or moon cake. I'm spelling it phonetically. It was vanilla or almond flavored, had the texture of a cake-like brownie, was cut into crescent moon shapes with a glass, and had a sprinkling of finely chopped nuts on the top. Is anyone familiar with this and do you have a recipe? I thought my mother (who is neither Serbian nor Croatian) used to say that "Grooba" meant "fat" because there was so much butter in the recipe although we never made it ourselves.

Adapted from this website:
http://www.croatianmall.com/croatia/foo ... ecipes.htm

The name is similar to what you recall. They may not shape it like your memory or sprinkle nuts, though you can shape it as you feel and add nuts.

I have a Yugoslav cookbook, which I will check later this evening.

Title: Croatian Garabije
Categories: Cookies, Croatian
Yield: 1 batch

5 c Sifted flour
2 c Sugar
1 c Butter
1 c Shortening
6 Egg yolks
2 tb Sour cream
1 1/2 ts Vanilla

Prepare cookie dough like a pie crust; roll out and cut with cookie cutter or cookie press. Bake 12 to 15 minutes at 350 F.

Source: Chris Chesnik
"Our Favorite Recipes" St. Anthony Croatian Catholic Church
Typed for you by Karen Mintzias

Regards,

Cathy2, thank you!

Hi,

From my copy of Yugoslav Cookbook by Olga Novak-Markovic, she uses Serbo-Croat names for some cookies and others are in English-only. There is a recipe Crescent Cookies:

Vanilla Crescents

280 g (10 oz) flour
210 g (7 oz) butter
100 g (3.5 oz) ground almonds or walnuts
70 g (2.5 oz) castor sugar
2 egg yolks
20 g (0.75 oz) vanilla sugar

Sift flour onto a board and add chopped butter, ground walnuts, castor sugar and egg yolks. Mix it briskly and make into a roll. Leave the pastry to stand for 30 minutes in the refrigerator. Shape the crescents and place them on a greased cookie sheet. Bake at quite a high temperature. While still hot, roll in vanilla sugar.

Vanilla sugar can be prepared at home by leaving a few vanilla pods in castor sugar for a few days.

Please note the gram-ounce conversions are from the book. I would verify those proportions yourself.

Castor sugar is fine sugar, though granulated is ok. Please note their daily sugar is (or was) far coarser than ours.

If you are not satisfied with either cookie, then let me know. I can ask someone in Zagreb, who may or may not know what you are talking about. Also there are several Serbian Orthodox monasteries and churches in Lake county who may be able to help. There is also a Croatian Cultural Center on Devon Ave, which is largely a party hall it seems. I would imagine someone might recognize what you are looking for, too.

I had a similar odyssey long ago replicating my Grandmother's recipes after she died. I have been largely successful, though it took time and some trial and error. If and when you find what you like, please report back.

Regards,

Cathy2, this last one sounds more like it because of the ground nuts so thank you again. The only difference I remember is that they were baked in a square or rectangular cake pan and then cut with a glass into crescents. Once I try these I will let you know how they turn out.

Thank you so much!