Get to know me

Hello, Fairytale Fans!
 
I'm Alyssa Andrews and work in the Marketing Department at Fairytale Brownies. My official title is Sales and PR. In addition to the obvious, I am Co-Founder Eileen Spitalny's assistant, I research new Fairytale products, coordinate donations, and maintain our KaBOOM! partnership.

I have a journalism background so I'm naturally "nosy." I make it a point to know as much as I can about all things Fairytale Brownies, so if you have any questions, just ask!

Brownies are a hit at Fairytale Ball

Wednesday, March 10, 2010 by Alyssa Andrews
The first-graders at Summit School of Ahwatukee hold a Fairytale Ball every year and Fairytale Brownies are usually served during the event.

The children always write letters to Fairytale Brownies afterwards to tell us what they think of our fudge brownies. Here are some of my favorites:

Sahil writes: Thank you for these brownies. These are the best brownies I had in my whole entire life. I will apsolutely exploed because I like them so much.




















Mataia says: Thank you for the brownies! I had one. It was the best brownie I had ever had in my life! And they were fabulous!!! My two alder sisters had one to. I think they wanted to get as many as they could and pack them in there pussis and leev! I loved them just to saiy agen. Good by now and thank you agen!
















Jocelyn writes: I love the scrumptious treats. My mom had one. She said it is good. My dad had one to. He said the same thing! I thot the same thing. My sister is elerjeckt so she was very sad. Thank you for the brownies!!!



Maximus writes: Thys are apsilutey the best browneys ive ever had in my life! How do you make them? They are so good. Ther so chokcitley. Thank you for donating them.



And Jessica writes: The best brownies I've ever tasted are these! I could eat 2,000,000 of your brownies. They are the best brownies I've ever tasted!

Thank you, Summit School! We love receiving your rave reviews.

Fairytale fans win brownies for Oscar predictions

Monday, March 8, 2010 by Alyssa Andrews
The results from last night's Academy Awards are in: Jeff Bridges won Best Actor, Sandra Bullock won Best Actress, "The Hurt Locker" won Best Film and Kathryn Bigelow won Best Director.

We had 49 entries to our contest and eight winners. Congratulations to Cheryl Ford, Shelly Merrill, Jill Hayes, Mari, Lucy McCann, Kayte Cookwatts, Lorie and Fairytale Fan. Please email your contact information to aandrews@brownies.com so that I can ship your fudge brownie winnings!

Winners will receive a Congratulations Morsel 24 which includes Original, Caramel, Chocolate Chip and Walnut flavors.

Thank you all for participating in our contest. We'll think of more ways to win our gourmet brownies in the future.

Predict Oscar winners and receive Fairytale Brownies

Tuesday, March 2, 2010 by Alyssa Andrews
If Fairytale Brownies was up for an Oscar, the company would win for Best Gourmet Brownies. Of course I'm biased, but I know others would agree with me. We DO bake awesome fudge brownies.

March 7 (Sunday) is a big night for the film industry: The 82nd Annual Academy Awards will air on ABC. Although there's no Oscar for Best Brownie, Fairytale Brownies would like to award a brownie gift to the Fairytale Fan who accurately predicts the winners in the Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Film and Best Director categories.

The prize? A Congratulations Morsel 24. The gift includes two dozen bite-sized 1.5" x 1.5" Magic Morsels in four flavors (Original, Caramel, Chocolate Chip and Walnut).

Simply cast your vote for all four categories by Friday at 2 p.m. (whatever your time zone is.) The person or people who predict all four winners accurately will win the Morsel 24.

The nominees are:

Best Actor in a Leading Role - Jeff Bridges in "Crazy Heart;" George Clooney in "Up in the Air;" Colin Firth in "A Single Man;" Morgan Freeman in "Invictus;" and Jeremy Renner in "The Hurt Locker."

Best Actress in a Leading Role - Sandra Bullock in "The Blind Side;" Helen Mirren in "The Last Station;" Carey Mulligan in "An Education;" Gabourey Sidibe in "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire;" and Meryl Streep in "Julie & Julia."

Best Motion Picture of the Year - "Avatar," "The Blind Side," "District 9," "An Education," "The Hurt Locker," "Inglourious Basterds," "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire," "A Serious Man," "Up," and "Up in the Air."

Achievement in Directing (Best Director) - James Cameron for "Avatar;" Kathryn Bigelow for "The Hurt Locker;" Quentin Tarantino for "Inglourious Basterds;" Lee Daniels for "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire;" and Jason Reitman for "Up in the Air."

Cast your vote as a comment to this blog. The winner(s) will be notified on Monday and will receive their brownie gift by the end of the week. Good luck!


Kids create masterpieces with gourmet brownies

Wednesday, February 24, 2010 by Alyssa Andrews
This past weekend's downpour may have affected attendance at Old Town Scottsdale's Farmer Market, but those who wandered the booths last Saturday received a fudgy treat from Fairytale Brownies.

My co-worker, Kari, and I brought gourmet brownies to the Kids Korner for the children to decorate while their parents shopped the market. The children frosted their Fairytale Brownies and then added sprinkles, toffee pieces, chocolate chips, and/or white chocolate chips to create the perfect masterpiece.












Then they got to eat their creations! Some of the artists took their brownie creations home. Sharing was optional. We hope to come back to the farmer's market again this spring.






Eat brownies on Sundays during Lent

Wednesday, February 17, 2010 by Alyssa Andrews
Today is Ash Wednesday, a day of fasting, and the first day of the 40 days of Lent. Some Christians traditionally give up a habit or food during this time. For those who have given up dessert, chocolate or sugar for their Lenten tradition, don't forget that Sundays are your "free" days.

That's when you can have some gourmet brownies from Fairytale Brownies. I would suggest the Magic Morsels. They are bite-sized and will satisfy your dark chocolate craving without totally blowing the whole purpose of sacrifice during this season.

When I was growing up, I never was told about Sundays not being a part of Lent. Imagine my doubt when I learned about it as an adult! This is how it was explained to me: There are 40 days of Lent to reminds us of Jesus' 40 days in the desert and the 40 years that the Israelites spent in the desert before getting to the promised land. Six weeks of Monday - Saturday makes 36 days. Add Ash Wednesday and the 3 days after it and you get 40 days. Sundays don't count.

So stock up on fudge brownies. Sunday's coming...

I'm getting a seat on the couch!

Wednesday, February 3, 2010 by Alyssa Andrews

Bringing the right dessert to a Super Bowl party will determine whether you get to lounge on the cushy couch in front of the big screen, or have to weave your body from side to side in a folding chair behind a 6'5" guy named "Buck" who won't sit still.

You know there will be plenty of football-shaped cakes and chocolate chip cookies at the party and they'll be quite tasty. But what if you brought fudge brownies from Fairytale Brownies instead? That spot on the couch will have your name on it!

I'm trying to decide what form my gourmet brownie dessert will take.

I might buy a couple of cut-and-serve 1 lb. Brownie Trays (sold at all AJ's Fine Foods in Arizona) and frost one of them with fudge frosting or maybe cream cheese frosting. The other brownie tray will be for the purists who just like their brownies naked, thank you.

If I decide to spend a little time in the kitchen, I might layer some brownies, pudding, fruit and whipped cream to create a delicious trifle. Maybe I'll use Toffee Crunch brownies, and instead of fruit, I'll throw some chocolate chips in between the layers. Would it still be called a trifle? Whatever. If the fruit is that important, I'll decorate with it on the trifle top... and add some chocolate sauce and chopped nuts, too!

Getting people to talk about and eat your dessert is key. While they're "oohing" and "aahing," you'll be lounging ON THE COUCH where you deserve to be because you brought Fairytale Brownies.

Trust me. I know. I've sat behind Buck before.

Fairytale Brownies and Kurt Warner spread the brownie love

Monday, February 1, 2010 by Alyssa Andrews

It's Super Bowl week and Fairytale Brownies is excited to be a part of some of the activities.

First, we want to thank Kurt Warner for being a Fairytale Brownies Fan. He sent congratulations brownies to Saints coach Sean Payton after the team won against the Cardinals in the NFC divisional playoffs, and then sent another brownie box to him after the Saints beat the Vikings. Thank you, Kurt, for spreading the brownie love!

This year also marks the third year that Fairytale Brownies will participate in the Taste of the NFL. This food and wine tasting extravaganza is held the night before the Super Bowl in the host city. A top chef from each of the 31 NFL cities is pared with an alumnus or current player from each team. Arizona's representatives are Chef Eddie Matney from Eddie's House, and Arizona Cardinals tight end Ben Patrick. The event raises awareness and dollars for hunger relief organizations involved in tackling hunger in America. Our brownies will be served to the volunteers and the VIPs at the event.




A new event for us is the Pro Players & Wives Clubhouse, hosted by the Professional Sports Wives Association. Held at the Hyatt Regency Downtown Miami on Friday and Saturday, the soiree is for pro players and adult family members to meet, eat lunch, receive gifts and resources, be pampered, reunite and shop. Our Magic Morsels will be a part of the food station and Sprites will be inside the goody bags. This event will raise funds for local and national charities.

Any day is a good day to say, 'I love you'

Wednesday, January 13, 2010 by Alyssa Andrews

My Dad was a man of few words when he was alive. He was loving, funny and always there for me when I needed him. Although he didn't feel the need to say, "I love you," I never doubted that he did.

Several years ago Dad learned how to use the internet and email, and had a great time keeping in touch with his friends and family. Every day I would receive several joke messages from him. Sometimes there were so many that I left a few of them unopened.

I'm so glad that I read the message he sent my sisters and me one Valentine's Day. The email read, "Happy Valentine's Day! I love you, Dad." I know this is silly, but I still haven't deleted the message! It was so sweet.

One of our mom bloggers just posted a great review about Fairytale Brownies. Although I like the fact that she LOVES Fairytale, I thought her message about what Valentine's Day means to her explains the way I think of this holiday. We show our love to family and friends daily, but Feb. 14 is the day to shout it.

Thank you, Stephanie, for the nice review! Here is her blog:

http://thecreativesideofsteph.blogspot.com/2010/01/fairytale-brownies-review-and-valentine.html

 

Roses, schmozes... give them brownies!

Friday, January 8, 2010 by Alyssa Andrews
In case you haven't noticed, Valentine's Day is quickly approaching. I know... some of you hate Valentine's Day and some of you love it. I come from the FORMER "I hate Valentine's Day" camp. When the emphasis is on romance and you are NOT romantically involved, Valentine's Day just stinks.

But if you look at Valentine's Day from a different perspective, it's not so stinky. Do you have parents, siblings, kids, friends or anyone for whom you feel affection? Let them know on Valentine's Day.

Brownies are happy.
Brownies are fine.
You can eat them before and/or after you dine! (Sorry, I couldn't resist.)




Several "mom bloggers" will be reviewing our brownies this month for Valentine's Day. One of them just emailed me to say she received her sample brownie box.  Part of her email read, "Thank you again for such a tasty treat! I'd much rather get Fairytale Brownies for Valentine's Day than roses...! :-)"

See? I'm not steering you wrong. Give gourmet brownies from Fairytale Brownies and let the "special people" in your life know just how special they are. No romance required.

Peanut Buster Brownies make deliciously easy treat

Monday, December 14, 2009 by Alyssa Andrews

Because I'm considered the "brownie lady" to my friends, when I go to a party, it's expected that I bring brownies. Yesterday was one of those times. I went to a "dessert" theater holiday performance. The audience sips coffee and samples various desserts while the performers do their thing. 

I decided to modify an old dessert pizza recipe to make individual treats. Here is my recipe for PEANUT BUSTER BROWNIES...



PEANUT BUSTER BROWNIES

18 Fairytale Brownies
(I used 6 Original, 6 Peanut Butter and 6 Chocolate Chip)
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 8 oz. package of cream cheese
1 cup brown sugar
2 packages of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups (1.6 oz. size - 2 cups in a package)
chopped peanuts
Fairytale Endings Chocolate Sauce

Mix peanut butter, cream cheese and brown sugar until smooth. Spread over individual brownies.

Chop the peanut butter cups and sprinkle on top of brownies. Sprinkle peanuts on top of brownies as well (I just eyeballed it).

Melt 3 heaping tablespoons of Fairytale Endings Chocolate Sauce in microwave and drizzle over brownies.

You can either serve right away or cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve.

If you are serving more than one dessert, you might want to cut the brownies in half because they're quite rich. Here is a picture of a "Sprites" version.



This is such an easy recipe to make. Not having to bake the brownies saves you lots of time, too!

New York journalist loves Fairytale Brownies

Wednesday, December 9, 2009 by Alyssa Andrews
About five years ago, Fairytale Brownies attended its first Chocolate Show in New York City to sell brownies to chocolate lovers on the East Coast. With 20,000 plus in attendance, we made quite a few new friends. We returned each year since then (except this year) and were welcomed back by many of those dedicated fudge brownie lovers. One fan in particular has been our champion spokesperson - Merle Exit.

Merle is a journalist, comedian and most recently book author ("Whirl with Merle - It's a Humorous Life") who discovered us in 2005 while covering the Chocolate Show for a story she was writing. She has continued to promote Fairytale on her talk radio show. Whenever she travels for her stories, she spreads the brownie word as well. We're so glad Merle loves our brownies!

Most recently, she was interviewing the cast and director of a New York show called "The Gayest Christmas Pageant Ever" and took a moment to talk about her talk radio sponsor, Fairytale Brownies. Everyone was so interested in the brownies that the 30-second spot turned into a 5-minute infomercial! Thank you, Merle!

Here is the link to Merle's mention of us. She eventually does talk about the show.

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/merleswhirls/2009/12/04/whirl-with-merle-1


The out-of-towners are getting brownie gifts for Christmas

Tuesday, December 8, 2009 by Alyssa Andrews
I just finished placing my Christmas food gift order and I hope I didn't forget anyone! All of my relatives back East are getting fudge brownies from Fairytale Brownies.

No surprise really. I used to switch food gift companies each year. One year Aunt Pat received muffins, the next year she received cookies. But once I ordered Fairytale Brownies online four years ago, shipped brownies are just expected.
Now I switch gifts within the Fairytale Brownies family - one year they get brownies, another year they get Sprites.

This year, some of them are receiving Candy Cane Truffles. Our truffles are bite-sized mint brownies covered in 60% dark chocolate and sprinkled with crushed candy canes. I fondly refer to them as "little bundles of joyful essence" because my tastebuds dance a happy dance when I eat them!

Other relatives are receiving our Winter Sprite Wonderland. This gift includes an assortment of 16 Sprites (3" x 1 1.2" brownies) packed in a wintry blue snowflake gift box.

The brownies are delicious, of course, so I know they will love this gift, too.

You can ship brownies to your loved ones in time for the holidays as well. Order online at www.brownies.com or call 800.FAIRYTALE.

All of this talking about shopping made me hungry so I'm going to take a brownie break now.

Fairytale attends to ASU for the day

Thursday, December 3, 2009 by Alyssa Andrews

Everyone roaming the ASU Tempe campus today for work, classes or just visiting is in for a treat - a fudge brownie treat from Fairytale Brownies!

Holly and Eileen are at the bookstore until 6 p.m. today sampling 5 kinds of Fairytale Brownies - Original, Chocolate Chip, Cream Cheese, Toffee Crunch and Walnut flavors.

In celebration of the ASU Employee Appreciation Event 2009, Fairytale Brownies are for sale at 30% off. You don't need to be an ASU employee to purchase the individually wrapped brownies at this reduced price. Just drop by the bookstore, say hello to Holly and Eileen, taste whatever flavor(s) you like, and buy as many brownies as you need. The brownies make great study break treats and "thank you for helping me get through the semester" gifts.

Bookstore patrons also can order select brownie gifts at 30% off. Choose from six different gifts at the special price through 12/7/09 using a specific priority code. Gifts can be shipped (standard delivery) for only $6.95.

Start your holiday shopping now!

 

Behind the scenes with Fairytale on Cyber Monday

Monday, November 30, 2009 by Alyssa Andrews

Today is Cyber Monday, the busiest day of the year for online shopping. Jay Reynolds of ABC 15 stopped by the bakery to discuss web shopping with David Kravetz, Fairytale's Co-Founder and Catalog & Web Team Leader.

David and Jay reviewed web order stats from 2008 and compared last year's Cyber Monday's orders with this year. At 10:30 a.m., Fairytale received 50% more web orders than last year!

Today's Fairytale Brownies sale of 20% on select items is doing well.

Jay toured the bakery to familiarize himself - and photograph - the brownie baking and shipping processes.

Get the scoop on purchasing fudge brownies online during Jay's interview with David at 6 p.m. today on KNXV-TV Channel 15.



Pictured above, David Kravetz talks about online shopping for Fairytale Brownies holiday gifts.
 


Fairytale Brownies spends a night with champions

Tuesday, November 17, 2009 by Alyssa Andrews

Some of the Fairytale Brownies team joined Brenda and Kurt Warner last night for a "Night With Champions" at The Wrigley Mansion. We had a great time!

The evening celebrated the history of the Cardinals team - from their roots in Chicago to their days in St. Louis to their franchise-first Super Bowl run last season - with food, silent auctions and a message on the making of a champion.

The event was a fund-raiser for First Things First Foundation to  build a new Warner's Corner hi-tech recreation center for teens at St. Joseph's Hospital.

Kurt signed some autographs:


He and Brenda posed with some admirers:
Here is Holly Pringle from our Wholesale Team with the Warners.

And fudgy Fairytale Sprites were served in the Chicago room. Each Sprite included a special offer to Kurt and Brenda's fans.

When you purchase regular priced brownie gifts, use the code FTFFTB and Fairytale Brownies will donate 25% of the purchase total to first things First Foundation.

Kurt later spoke about what it takes to be a champion.


 




















Check out that champion ring!



Kurt, Ken Whisenhunt and Larry Fitzgerald participated in a panel discussion led by Ron Wolfley and later by Brenda Warner.



Brenda asked some interesting nonathletic-related questions to these gentlemen.
 
What does Coach Whisenhunt regret? That he didn't marry his wife sooner.
The last movie at which Larry cried? "The Notebook."
The most famous person in Kurt's cell phone contact list? Vince Vaughn.

What a fun night!

Mulching, munching brownies: We had a Fairytale Day!

Thursday, November 12, 2009 by Alyssa Andrews

As I write this, I can feel wood chips in my sneakers, dust on my skin and shoulder muscles that I didn't know I had. But I have a smile on my face because I know - MULCHERS ROCK!

Anyone who has ever experienced a KaBOOM! playground build will understand what I'm saying and will agree. For those of you who've never participated in a build, the procedure goes something like this: You start off with a few holes in the ground and a bazillion yards of wood chips (mulch). The goal of the mulch team is to spread every inch of those chips onto the playground while other teams are building and cementing the play structure in place.

Eileen and I were part of the mulching team today as KaBOOM! and 113 other volunteers helped build a play space for The Salvation Army in Tempe, AZ. We began the day with a few words from reps from KaBOOM!, The Salvation Army and the funding sponsor, Mutual of Omaha. Then we stretched a little to warm up our muscles. Then we divided into work groups. The lady in the photo at left was the team leader of the Acorns. I don't know what their job was. Eileen and I were Paws... the MULCHERS!
Here are some of the Paws team carrying mulch from the huge pile to the play space.

All of this work helped us burn a few calories and as lunchtime approached, we were mighty hungry.

And what do you think was served for dessert?





Fudgy Fairytale Brownies! Walnut was the flavor of the day.


















After lunch, most of the hard work was finished.
 
Notice the mulch pile by the wall has disappeared? I told you MULCHERS ROCK!

Actually, everyone that helped did an awesome job.

This group built a couple of kids' picnic tables. Pretty good for never putting one together before!

Remember when you were a kid and you spent the day playing outside? You came home exhausted, filthy dirty and oh so happy.

Helping build a play space gives you the same results!

The next time you drive down Hardy between Broadway and University, glance East and you will see a gorgeous play space built by the local community.

Some of you can even say, "And I helped!"

 

Fairytale fans choose pumpkin carving winner

Friday, October 30, 2009 by Alyssa Andrews

Our Fairytale Facebook fans voted and the #4 pumpkin was the winner!



Congratulations, Hilary Lee, Fairytale Brownies Web Developer, and thank you, Tony, Tanner, Brandie and Kristie for participating! I'm glad I couldn't vote because I couldn't pick a favorite. They all were so much better than I could ever carve.

Thanks, fans, for voting. Hope your Halloween is scary!

Happy blog winner shares her thoughts

Monday, October 26, 2009 by Alyssa Andrews
Monday morning is not my favorite time of the week, but as I was reviewing my emails today, my day was brightened considerably. Jeanine Feldkamp recently won a Fall Dozen and Caramel Sauce from the mom blog Snafood and Fairytale Brownies. This is what she had to say about her winnings:

We were getting ready to eat dinner last night when we heard the unmistakable sound of the UPS truck outside. Our family loves when the "big brown truck" comes. 90% of the time they are delivering something I've won online and I always share :). This time was no different. It was a big white box that was pretty hefty for its size. I tore into it and found my amazing win from the fall festival courtesy of snafood: a dozen fairytale brownies and a jar of carmel sauce!!!!!!! Think that's too many exclamation points? Well, then you've never tried a fairytale brownie. I am in no way exaggerating. I wasn't asked, bribed or paid to write this. I won these from a random giveaway and loved them so much, I had to share them with all of my readers. What's so great about them? Let me count the ways....

1. Speed. This is the fastest company I've ever won anything from. The period from winning to eating was MAYBE a week. My prizes have never come that quickly before. I don't complain about the wait or anything because, hey, they're free. These people were on the ball though. And I like that in a company.

2. Presentation. It really did feel like Christmas when I opened the packing box. Inside was a lovely jar of carmel sauce wrapped in tissue paper and a box with a gorgeous fall scene on it. When I opened the box there was a nice note and more pretty paper. There was also a catalog in the box so I can order more brownies---which I will ABSOLUTELY be doing for Christmas gifts!!

3. Here's the best part---Taste! These are the freshest, moistest brownies I have ever tasted! I love to bake and I love brownies but I have never had anything that came close to these tasty treats.

There was one of each of the 12 flavors: original (nothing original about it--DELICIOUS!), pecan (with whole, fresh pecans on top), walnut (I love brownies with nuts but can't usually make them because Chris doesn't), espresso nib (HEAVEN!!!), mint (austin's favorite!), white chocolate (i don't even like white chocolate stuff and I enjoyed these!), caramel, raspberry swirl, chocolate chip, peanut butter, cream cheese and toffee crunch. i haven't tried the last 6 yet, that's why there aren't any comments by them.

On the label of the caramel sauce (which is so good, it's sinful) are the phrases "luscious beginnings, fairytale endings" and "a taste so enchanting, it could only be called...fairytale". I couldn't agree more!

Thanks, Jeanine! We're glad you're a Fairytale fan!
Alyssa

Fairytale's partner, KaBOOM!, to be featured on NBC

Wednesday, October 21, 2009 by Alyssa Andrews
Mark your calendars and set  your TiVos…KaBOOM! will be featured on the NBC show Parks and Recreation on Oct. 22!

KaBOOM! was written into the episode as part of the Entertainment Industry Foundation's volunteer week (which is part of the I Participate campaign), fitting into the ongoing storyline of the quest to turn an abandoned construction pit into a community park.

Three real KaBOOM! project managers – Melanie Barnes, Jen DeMelo and Kenny Altenburg (Jen and Kenny are pictured at right) - worked with set designers to build a playground with the cast. The custom PT Cruiser was created specifically for the TV show.

Way to go, KaBOOM! In case you didn't know, Fairytale Brownies has been a partner with KaBOOM! since 2001. We donate brownies and funds each year to help the nonprofit build playspaces within walking distance of children in America.

We have physically helped build many playspaces in Arizona, New York, and Illinois over the years, and have worked with Jen DeMelo many times. Of course we love Jen and all of the other great project managers we get to meet while building playspaces. Now that she's made it to television celebrity status, we can say, "We knew Jen way back when!"

Here's a photo of us with our new TV celebrity friend, Jen DeMelo. This was taken a couple of years ago at a build in Gilbert, Arizona.



Pictured from left are Hilary, Stephanie, Brandie, Jen, Alyssa and Eileen.