Blackberry Vanilla Panna Cotta and Florentine Cookies - A Daring Baker's Challenge

Panna cotta has always looked difficult to make and I was never certain if the outcome would be worth the effort seeing as I've never had panna cotta before and always thought of it as a creamy jello (yuck!). So, I never even considered making it until this month when it was chosen to go with Florentine cookies for our Daring Baker's challenge. 
 
Once I started looking at the ingredients and how you change it up and make it more interesting, I too became more interested and less apprehensive about the jiggly creamy dessert. The florentine cookies, however, sounded delicious from the start!
________________________________________________________Giada's Vanilla Panna CottaIngredients
1 cup (240 ml) whole milk
1 tablespoon (one packet) (15 ml) (7 gm) (¼ oz) unflavored powdered gelatin
3 cups (720 ml) whipping cream (30+% butterfat)
1/3 cup (80 ml) honey
1 tablespoon (15 ml) (15 gm) (½ oz) granulated sugar
pinch of salt
Directions:
Refrigerate at least 6 hours or overnight. Add garnishes and serve.
Fruit Gelée Recipe by MalloryIngredients:
1 cup (240 ml) (230 gm) (8 oz) fruit (strawberries, raspberries, mango, blackberry, etc.)
*Note: Certain fruits interact with gelatin and stop it gelling like pineapple and kiwi etc.
3 tablespoons (45 ml) water
1/4 cup (60 ml) (60 gm) (2 oz) granulated sugar
1½ teaspoons (7½ ml) (3½ gm) (1/8 oz) unflavored powdered gelatin
Directions:
Remove from heat and allow to cool (close to room temp, again, if you're planning on layering on pouring on top of your Panna Cotta, a hot mixture will also heat up your chilled Panna Cotta).
 Being one who cannot just let a recipe be and must add my own touch, I decided to add some poppy seeds to the vanilla panna cotta after it was done cooking but before refrigerating.

For my gelée, I decided to use some blackberries. I cooked the blackberries down and poured the liquid part on top of the panna cotta. I used the cooked berries for a couple of panna cotta I had that were in ramekins and were un-molded later on (sorry, I didn't get any photos of those!)

Both the hubby and I were pleasantly surprised by the creamy flavor and the smooth texture. I was especially surprised by how much better the whole thing was than what I thought it was going to be and how unlike jello it really was.

And, yes, totally worth the effort!
_________________________________________________________ Nestle Florentine CookiesRecipe from the cookbook ?Nestle Classic Recipes?, and their website.
Ingredients:
2/3 cup (160 ml) (150 gm) (5.3 oz) unsalted butter
2 cups (480 ml) (160 gm) (5 2/3 oz) quick oats
1 cup (240 ml) (230 gm) (8 oz) granulated sugar
2/3 cup (160 ml) (95 gm) (3? oz) plain (all purpose) flour
1/4 cup (60 ml) dark corn syrup
1/4 cup (60 ml) whole milk
1 tsp (5 ml) vanilla extract
pinch of salt
1½ cups (360 ml) (250 gm) (9 oz) dark or milk chocolate
Directions:
Preheat oven to moderately hot 375°F (190°C) (gas mark 5). Prepare your baking sheet with silpat or parchment paper.
Spread a tablespoon of chocolate on the bottom/flat side of your cookie, sandwiching another (flat end) cookie atop the chocolate.
This recipe will make about 2 1/2 - 3 dozen sandwiched Florentine cookies. You can also choose not to sandwich yours, in which case, drizzle the tops with chocolate (over your wax paper).
These cookies tasted creamy. That's right, I said they were a creamy tasting cookie. I was shocked that a cookie had the taste of cream to it. With that and the sugar, they came out very rich and needed no chocolate whatsoever. I'll probably not use whole milk or as much sugar next time and try for a healthier version, even though these did taste great as they were, just a bit on the rich side of things.

All in all I'd say this challenge was delicious as per usual!