tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-330556976891434773.post981838149682509077..comments2023-09-17T09:59:43.393-05:00Comments on Vesna's Fun World: Grandaunt Naka's Vanil GrancleVesna VKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13064900795747489085noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-330556976891434773.post-77514617148338500672009-01-05T13:14:00.000-06:002009-01-05T13:14:00.000-06:00My aunt wrote to say that she believes your Baba's...My aunt wrote to say that she believes your Baba's cookies are the same as her mother's. I've incorporated some of the other info she sent into the background portion of my post above. No word on the fig bars yet, though.Vesna VKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13064900795747489085noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-330556976891434773.post-79201416262654236592009-01-04T07:17:00.000-06:002009-01-04T07:17:00.000-06:00Paula, yes, there is tragedy aplenty. My father wa...Paula, yes, there is tragedy aplenty. My father was from Lika and my mother from Srem, near Belgrade but on the other side of the Danube, so overall almost the mirror of your description.<BR/><BR/>Your cookie does sound similar, just without the hole on one side, and with both sides nut-covered. I really wonder how similar the doughs are. Thanks for the additional info, I'll ask my aunt if she has any thoughts on it. Maybe you can give it a try, getting the recipes from your aunt to share with the world, it would be so wonderful.<BR/><BR/>The Vanil Grancle definitely freeze well. Naka would make and freeze hundreds every year and they were always fantastic. I think she made them months ahead of time. The vanilice in my Baka's recipe have frozen well for me this year. The other vanilice/vanil grancle, the ones I made up from memory and posted about earlier, I imagine would freeze well, but I haven't tried.Vesna VKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13064900795747489085noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-330556976891434773.post-44067487279519220572009-01-02T11:04:00.000-06:002009-01-02T11:04:00.000-06:00My Baba was from near Belgrade. On my mother's si...My Baba was from near Belgrade. On my mother's side, we are Licani and Bosanski. My heart is broken to think that my mother's family are no longer in their villages!<BR/><BR/>This cookie was two tiny round cookies with a thin layer of apricot jam between them, and both flat sides dipped into egg white and chopped walnut. I wish I had a picture. My aunt has her recipes, but is somewhat reclusive, so I don't know my chances of getting copies. It may be that the cookie you have here is the same recipe, but a different shape from the one I remember. <BR/><BR/>I will try your recipes that you have here for my Slava January 20th, Sveti Jovan. Do they freeze well?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-330556976891434773.post-76002051321570718752008-12-30T20:22:00.000-06:002008-12-30T20:22:00.000-06:00Paula, thanks for posting! I recently learned that...Paula, thanks for posting! I recently learned that "granzle" is German for "wreaths," so it would seem that the ring appearance of the cookie is critical to its identity. But maybe it's related.<BR/><BR/>When was your Baba born? What part was she from, do you know? My aunt's family is from Kikinda in The Banat, which is famous for its apricots. I think this recipe is from there.<BR/><BR/>The first cookie you describe, what shape was it? I'll ask my aunt about them and see if they seem familiar to her.<BR/><BR/>I have some more family Serbian cookie recipes that I got last year that I will be posting. I hope to post them in time for Serbian Christmas coming up soon!Vesna VKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13064900795747489085noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-330556976891434773.post-22224452503979784672008-12-30T13:18:00.000-06:002008-12-30T13:18:00.000-06:00Vesna, thank you for your Serbian recipes. I foun...Vesna, thank you for your Serbian recipes. I found your blog while googling for Vanilice. I remember making a similar cooking with my Baba when I was a child, and they were exceedingly small, but she dipped both ends into the egg white and chopped nuts and would lay the cookies on their sides to serve. They were really not more than a mouthful. Do you think this is the same cookie?<BR/><BR/>My Baba also made an extremely hard bar cookie that she baked in a rectangular pan and then cut after baking. They were so hard, she had to lean heavily on the knife to get through them. I recall they had a lot of dried fig in them, but I don't remember much else. Do you have a memory of such a cookie?<BR/><BR/>Again, thanks for posting these recipes. I don't want to lose the Serbian cookie tradition.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com