The Distracted Cook and The Daring Baker

Just when you thought I had done it all, here it is again! Yes, another episode of The Daring Baker! And this time, it is really a multitasking challenge. Or rather, a multi-dimensional challenge.

The February 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Mallory from A Sofa in the Kitchen. She chose to challenge everyone to make Panna Cotta from a Giada De Laurentiis recipe and Nestle Florentine Cookies.

Although I have made Panna Cotta before, there wasn't much about it that I remembered other than "we liked it a lot" and that it had been an easy, fun recipe to make. And so it was again this time!

The recipe is very easy to follow and even qualifies as "fun" for those who love a quick adventure in the kitchen. Below are some of the various steps outlined in the recipe  - you can see that almost everything gets done in this same one pot!

After the  mixture is cooked on the stove top it rests in the pan until it has cooled enough to be poured into the molds or serving glasses, then it's into the refrigerator for at least six hours.

The next recipe is for the Florentine Cookies which is one recipe that I had never even entertained the thought of baking. So this was a real "dare" for The Distracted Cook. After reading the recipe and seeing that I could actually do this all in one bowl, I decided to just use that cleaned up pan from the Panna Cotta and make this entire adventure a one-pan challenge.

After a few struggles with actually getting the baked cookies to behave and having to adjust the baking time a bit, The Distracted Cook did what she usually does when making cookies and that is to throw in the towel and just bake one big cookie!

 Impatience is never a good thing to have around when you are trying to bake cookies! The result is a lovely "regular" Florentine cookie drizzled with chocolate:

And then a plateful of The Distracted Cook Style Florentines!

Either way you want to make or bake them, they are delicious. You can read all about this challenge at The Daring Kitchen. And if you want to join The Distracted Cook in these exciting baking and cooking challenges, just do it!! I dare you to join The Daring Kitchen and have as much fun as The Distracted Cook is having each month. Come on, you can do it!