"The Foodielicious World" moved to calvintimo.com, Valentine Cookie Making at Asian Food Channel (AFC) Studio

Valentine Cookie Making at Asian Food Channel (AFC) Studio

Food bloggers tea party at the kitchen playground

Last Saturday, Asian Food Channel (AFC) hosted a tea party for an exclusive group of food bloggers at their AFC Studio Cooking School located at the 7th floor of Orchard Central. As Valentine’s Day was a couple of days away, we got our hands dirty and had some fun baking heart-shaped sugar cookies!

AFC has a cosy, well-equipped kitchen studio for small and casual culinary classes. Hence, you can have lots of fun, up-close and personal time with the AFC chefs while picking up valuable culinary tips.

If you’re a chef wannabe, I am sure you will be interested to check out the cooking wares and utensils available at the AFC cooking studio. They too, have many cook books written by celebrity chefs for sale. This cafe area is also open to public if you like to browse culinary books from their library and chill out over a cup of coffee or tea.

With the relaxing atmosphere, I am sure this is a perfect place to escape from the shopping crowd along Orchard Road. I am a fan of TWG tea and I am glad that they serve it here.

I was very excited as this blogger session was hosted by the Managing Director and Co-Founder Hian Goh who spiced up the session with witty jokes and our “teacher”, Chef Sue-Ann.

After her demonstration of making the dough for the sugar cookies, we were each given a dough to make our own heart shape cookies.

It wasn’t a challenge for us at all! Look at all those lovely heart shaped we made and also the cow shape dough made by The Hungry Cow.

After the doughs were sent into the oven for baking, Chef Sue-Ann demonstrated how to make the Chocolate Chip Biscotti.

I love biscotti to go along with my tea but never knew how it was made until Chef Sue-Ann showed us how.

I learnt that the crispiness of the biscotti is actually done by baking it twice! I have to admit that I’m not good at baking and this session had widen my knowledge.

Look at the delish piping hot Chocolate Chip Cookies right out from the oven! It’s time to indulge with a cuppa.

Look at all these colourful sugar icing! I felt like a kid once again as I started designing my heart-shaped cookies with it.

I felt a great sense of accomplishment after designing these lovely cookies. I wish I have an oven at home so I can bake more delicious cookies and muffins!

Time sure flew by fast when we were having fun in the kitchen playground at AFC studio. After an enjoyable morning, here’s a group photo with fellow food bloggers wishing you and your special one a Happy Valentine’s Day everyday of the year!

Sugar Cookies Recipe

Ingredients:

Dough

2 cups flour

A pinch of salt

85g of butter, softened

170g sugar

½ tsp vanilla

2 Eggs

Method:

Preheat oven to 160°C.

Cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time and mix to combine. Add salt, vanilla and flour and mix until dough just combines.

Chill for 30 minutes.

Roll chilled dough and cut with desired cutter.

Transfer to baking tray and bake at 160°C for about 8 to 12 minutes or until edges of cookies turn golden brown.

Royal Icing Recipe (Using Egg Whites)

Ingredients:

2 large (60g) egg whites

2 tsp fresh lemon juice

3 cups (330g) confectioners (powdered or icing) sugar, sifted

Method:

In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the egg whites with the lemon juice until combined.

Add the sifted powdered sugar and beat on low speed until combined and smooth.

Use icing immediately or transfer into an airtight container before it hardens.

Cover with plastic wrap when not in use.

Chocolate Chip Biscotti

Ingredients:

1 cup of white or brown sugar

½ stick (¼ cup, 4 tablespoons) of butter, softened

2 eggs

1 tbsp vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tbsp cocoa powder

1 tsp of baking powder

A pinch of salt

1 cup chocolate chips

Method:

Preheat oven to 160C.

Cream the sugar and butter together in a stand-up mixer until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, and continue to beat for a few more minutes, then add the vanilla.

Whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt, then add to the mixer. Combine well then stir in the chocolate chips.

Shape the dough into a log, approximately 12 inches long and 3 inches wide with lightly floured hands. You may find it easier to divide the dough in half and form two shorter logs. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet and flatten slightly. Bake for 30 minutes.

Remove from oven and allow to cool until you can handle it. Slice diagonally, into ½-inch slices and return to the baking sheet. Bake again until the cookies turn light brown for about ten minutes. Flip them over and brown for another few minutes.

Allow to cool and enjoy with a cup of espresso!