Fairytale Brownies prepares for the holidays in September

Wednesday, September 1, 2010 by Alyssa Andrews

It's September! Sixteen weeks from today is the Wednesday before Christmas. How's that for time flying?

No need to panic though. Fairytale Brownies has everything you need to guarantee your gifts will be well received. New tower gifts, new gourmet cookies, new gift bands, new truffle flavors - the hardest part of purchasing will be deciding who is getting what new gift!

Personally, I like the tower gifts because they include a little bit of everything we bake - brownies, Sprites, Magic Morsels and cookies. I love to reuse my boxes so once the fudge brownies are gone, something else will fill their place.

September is also is the month when our retail store goes back to winter hours. Beginning Tuesday, September 7, we will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Once the holiday season officially begins in December, we will be open Saturdays, but until then we are on a Monday through Friday schedule. Find our address and retail store hours here!

Although most of the country is enjoying some cooler temperatures, Arizona still is experiencing high 90- to 110-degree temperatures. Fairytale Brownies will continue its practice to ship all gifts in an insulated box with cold packs Monday through Wednesday. October soon will arrive with cooler temperatures and our regular Monday - Friday shipping schedule will resume. Getting brownies delivered or cookies delivered is easy! 

Hmm. All of this talk about the holidays is making me want some hot chocolate. Who has the marshmallows?

My Fairtyale Cookie Review - By Minda C.

Monday, August 30, 2010 by Customer Brownie Stories
Let's start off first with receiving the white Fairytale box! Friday afternoon after a long work week - what a TREAT! Well done... well done! Every time I've ever received something from you guys in the mail, the apartment complex management is ALWAYS intrigued when they see "Fairytale Brownies" on the box. They get more excited than ME to know what sort of package I've just received!

I got the package inside my place and opened it up to find the very classy brown box and purple wrap. Each cookie is individually wrapped and let's just say if we were reviewing these cookies alone - they'd get a perfect 10. I've been sharing and eating my own share of Fairytale Brownies since 2003, so I knew I was in for a big treat!

The first cookie I tried was the Double Chocolate Cookie, and it was DELECTABLE! It was cooked to perfection. The cookie was moist, not gooey... It didn't fall apart in your hand. It didn't crumble all over you either. It was perfection! It held together while eating it - but yet melted in your mouth. I decided to wait until AFTER dinner to try the Caramel Pecan Cookie - and I must say - I'm typically not a fan of nuts in my cookies or brownies. I don't add them when I make them myself, and most often find myself picking them out of they ARE in a cookie or brownies. But this combo... The caramel and the pecan... You guys have outdone yourselves! There were JUST enough pecans to match the sweet caramel flavor. These cookies tasted as though they had just come out of MY oven! They didn't taste packaged or store bought. They tasted better than any cookie I've ever purchased.

Well done, Fairytale Brownies! You have created another treat that will satisfy any cookie lover! Enjoy the pics!


Name: Minda C.
City:
State: Texas

Homemade Chocolate Chip Banana Waffle Recipe - Using Fairytale Brownies!

Monday, August 30, 2010 by Hilary Lee
Hi Fairytale Fans!

I am writing this blog on behalf of our Human Resources Assistant, Janet. Janet recently sent a package of fudge brownies to her cousin Liz, and Liz's grandkids, Carson and Riley. Carson and Riley were so excited about the brownie gift that they decided to create a homemade waffle recipe using the best brownies, Fairytale Brownies! I have to admit, while writing this blog my mouth began to water. The recipe sounds delicious and very simple to make.  Thank you Carson and Riley for such a yummy homemade waffle recipe. I can't wait to try these at home with my own son, Austin. What a great way to spend quality time together while eating delicious fudge brownies! If you'd like to use Fairytale Brownies for your recipe too, just visit brownies.com and send brownies to yourself today! 

Fairytale Chocolate Chip Banana Waffles

Ingredients:
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 and 3/4 cup milk
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 4 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 large or 2 small bananas (mashed)
  • 1 crumbled up Chocolate Chip Fairytale Brownie

Directions:
  • Preheat Waffle Iron
  • In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs until fluffy
  • Add remaining ingredients and mix together
  • Spray waffle iron with non-stick cooking spray
  • Pour mix into hot waffle iron and cook until golden brown.
  • Keep warm in oven while remaining waffles cook.
Carson & Riley pictured below.




The Holidays Already?

Thursday, August 26, 2010 by Melissa Eisenstein
This week has been extremely fun-filled and interesting. Here at Fairytale Brownies, we are gearing up for the Holidays! We've brought in additional staff to help bake the best brownies for holiday gifting, and we're working on ramping up our staff here in customer service too!  The holiday boxes are coming, and they're gorgeous! Those should be up on our site soon, as well as the new delicious Fairytale Cookies, which are eagerly anticipated!

If you'd like to see a preview of all our new offerings, go to www.brownies.com/new to take a look.  I'm sure those beautiful new packages will inspire you to ship brownies to your friends, neighbors, and business associates.

          

As for customer service, we're helping businesses gear up for the holidays already! We're offering up to 30% off their holiday brownie orders if they prepay before the end of this month. Just think of the awe when your customers or collegues receive a beautifully wrapped brownie gift delivered right to their door, and they don't have to know you received a large discount!

Delicious, wonderful fudge brownies are a great way to celebrate any holiday! Remember, only 4 months left until Christmas - visit brownies.com today!


Triple B: Beer, Brownies & Buzzcation!

Monday, August 23, 2010 by Hilary Lee
Last Thursday, Fairytale Brownies participated in Buzzcation (Buzzcation is mostly a networking and happy hour event attended by local media and professionals) at The District Kitchen, Sheraton Hotel in Downtown Phoenix. The event was a fundraiser to help raise money towards our KaBOOM! playground build scheduled for April 2011. The event had over 200 attendees and raised over $1,500 towards our fundraising goal!  

Fairytale Brownies was there armed with brownie gifts donated for the raffle and with hundreds of gourmet brownies and new cookie flavors for attendees to indulge in. We asked attendees to try our new Caramel Pecan Cookie and Double Chocolate Cookie and then tweet about how they liked them. We had an overwhelmingly positive response to the new cookies and are very excited for their debut in a few weeks. 

Altogether, Buzzcation was a great way to support a fantastic cause and have fun with Phoenix locals! If we had the chance, we'd most definitely do it again! Below are some pictures of the event.


Alyssa (Fairytale Brownies PR/Marketing), Hunter (Fairytale Brownies IT), and Hilary (Fairytale Brownies Web Designer) taking a rest toward the end of the night. Alyssa counted up the donations and we grossed over $1,500! Great thanks to Buzzcation and to all who donated!!


Jo (Fairytale Brownies Customer Service), Lisa (Fairytale Brownies Corporate Sales), Hilary (Fairytale Brownies Web Designer, and Michelle (Fairytale Brownies Accounting) having a great time together! 


Our new cookies ready to be sampled! We asked attendees to tweet with our @ftbrownies Twitter handle on how they liked the new flavors!


Daphne Monroe of ABC15's Smart Shopper stopped by too! (photo courtesy of Christopher Stark www.BauhasPhotography.com)


Lars, Yvette, and Mike - the creators of Buzzcation! (photo courtesy of Christopher Stark www.BauhasPhotography.com)


Happy Buzzcation attendees! (photo courtesy of Christopher Stark www.BauhasPhotography.com)


Alyssa (Fairytale Brownies PR/Marketing) thanking attendees for their generosity! We raised over $1,500 towards our KaBOOM! playground build goal! (photo courtesy of Christopher Stark www.BauhasPhotography.com)

What's the buzz? Beer, Brownies, Buzzcation at The District

Wednesday, August 18, 2010 by Alyssa Andrews
I just want to remind everyone about the event Triple B: Beer, Brownies, Buzzcation happening Thursday at The District American Kitchen in Phoenix.

Bring your appetite for food, beverage and gourmet brownies because there will be plenty available beginning at 5:30 p.m. A suggested $5 donation at the door will go towards Fairytale Brownies' (and Aerotek) playground project with the nonprofit KaBOOM!

The District has reserved the wine bar room for for all buzzcation participants, and the house DJ will begin playing tunes around 7 p.m. Happy hour appetizer and drink prices will be in affect all night long.

 
Bring extra cash or your checkbook to purchase $2 raffle tickets for the following prizes: Two fudgy brownie gift towers from Fairytale Brownies; gift certificates provided by @BarterGroupAZ to Campus Flowers, Greene Video, Organic Cleaners, Az Powerchutes for 2 people, and a Hot Air Balloon Ride; a gift certificate to Famous Dave’s BBQ courtesy of @charshaff; and dinner for two at The District American Kitchen, from @DistrictKitchen.

Each person leaving The District for the evening will receive a Chocolate Chip Sprite and a NEW Fairytale Caramel Pecan or Double Chocolate cookie. We would like for you to tell us what you think of the cookies by tweeting @ftbrownies or commenting on our Facebook page. We LOVE feedback!

Come join in the fun while helping raise funds to build a playground for disadvantaged children in the Phoenix area.

 

 

Fairytale Brownies gears up for the holidays . . . in July?

Friday, July 16, 2010 by Kim Silva
It might not seem like the holiday season is just around the corner, especially considering the extremely high temperatures in Arizona right now, but peak season for Fairytale Brownies is coming and plans are already being set for the upcoming holidays. 

We're in the final stages of putting together our staffing plans and projections for the coming holidays and will be bringing on temporary seasonal staff beginning in late August.  We typically stagger the teams for each department.  Our brownie bakers will be coming first, followed by some of our CSRs, gift packers and data entry teams.  We will have a few rounds of hiring up through November.  We are lucky enough to have most of the same team members return year after year, but we also have to source new team members as our volumes continue to increase each season.  By the time it's all said and done in December, we'll have brought on 100+ additional temporary team members to help us bake and ship delicious gourmet brownies to customers all over the world!

If you are interested in temporary seasonal employment, or any other available positions with Fairytale Brownies, you can download an application at www.brownies.com or send resumes to careers@brownies.com.  We also accept applications in our Retail Store Monday through Friday from 8am - 3pm.  For more detailed information on the various positions, requirements and start dates, contact Janet at 602-489-5154 or via email at janet@brownies.com.

Belgian Chocolate Brownies for Special Occasions

Monday, June 28, 2010 by Hilary Lee
Today my husband called me and said, "Honey, we forgot to send brownies to our niece in Texas for her birthday." He was right, her birthday was 2 weeks ago and I can't believe that I forgot! So with an apologetic "Sorry, we're old and forgetful" note, I shipped her Happy Birthday Brownies today. She loves our gourmet brownies and loves to receive them for any special occasion. So, I sent her a Happy Birthday Sprite Dozen, since it has 1 of every delicious flavor we bake (Chocolate Chip and Toffee Crunch are her favorite flavors). I'm sure she'll delight in the brownie gift we are sending her as she always does.

Thank goodness for Fairytale Brownies! My gifting needs, especially for special occasions and for those people who "have everything" are taken care of! So, thank you Fairytale Brownies for the scrumptious gourmet brownie gifts! I am especially looking forward to the gourmet cookies debuting this September. My friends and family who are used to getting brownies delivered will delight in soon getting gourmet cookies AND gourmet brownies delivered :)!


Cookie Delivery Begins This Fall!

Monday, June 28, 2010 by David Kravetz
Well, after 17 years of creating the best brownie gifts anywhere, we've decided to branch out.  Fairytale Brownies began with just two flavors - walnut and plain.  Since that time we've expanded our line to include 12 flavors in three sizes (Original 3" x 3" Brownies, snack-size 3" x 1.5" Fairytale Sprites, and bite-size 1.5" x 1.5" Magic Morsels).  We've also introduced brownie trays and our most recent creation - Fairytale Truffles (bite-size gourmet brownies completely enrobed in 60% dark belgian chocolate).

After much soul searching we decided it was time to branch out beyond our brownie beginnings.  Customers sending thank you food gifts kept asking for more variety.  So the next logical step was cookies.  But these couldn't be just any cookies - they had to be worth of the Fairytale name. So after months of testing, baking, evaluating and tasting hundreds of cookie experiments, we've created two decadent and delicious cookie flavors:  Caramel Pecan and Double Chocolate.

Fairytale Cookies are made with the same premium, all-natural ingredients that we use in our brownies, including creamery butter and farm-fresh eggs.  So this fall when you're ready to send corporate gifts or ship brownies to a friend, you can feel confident that our new cookies will be as delicious and well received as the brownies you've sent before!























Caramel Pecan and Double Chocolate Fairytale Cookies!

Gourmet Brownies Handcrafted With Food Safety In Mind

Friday, June 11, 2010 by David Kravetz
Not only do we bake the best brownies in the world - they're baked with meticulous attention to detail and a dedication to providing a safe and wholesome treat.  This means we thoroughly inspect all incoming ingredients, track lot codes, bake nut-based brownies on separate days, and maintain a spotless facility.  Our Baking Team adheres to strict Sanitation Standard Operating Procedures (SSOP's) and Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP's).  These industry standards ensure that every time we ship brownies, you can rest assured they are created with safety in mind.  

In addition to regular self-inspections, we have also been inspected by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration, the American Institute of Baking ("Superior" rating), and Costco Wholesale (one of the strictest inspections nationally).  We also receive regular inspections from the Maricopa County Arizona Healthy Department.  Below is a picture of our most recent inspection certificate that shows we have received the highest gold rating on all of our inspections.  We are all very proud to receive this recognition.

So the next time you decide to order brownies from Fairytale Brownies, you'll receive fabulous brownies that are also baked to the highest standards!

 






















Gold inspection ratings from the Maricopa County Arizona Health Department

Fun at the Fairytale Bakery!

Tuesday, June 1, 2010 by Kari Gayes
As I mentioned last week, we had a summer kickoff party here at Fairytale Brownies last Wednesday. All 33 of us took a break from baking gourmet brownies, packing and shipping brownie gifts and figuring out what makes people want to buy brownies for a couple hours of fun in the sun. David put together a fun video of the party, and I thought it would be fun to give you a little behind-the-scenes peek at our party at the Fairytale Bakery. You might notice that we also got to sample some of our forthcoming Fairytale Cookies. They are coming right along, and each batch is more delicious than the last. I can't wait to add them to our food gift product line this fall! 

We're having a party!

Wednesday, May 26, 2010 by Kari Gayes
Every month at Fairytale Brownies, we have an end-of-month lunch and staff meeting. Today, we're kicking off summer with a party! Everyone is going to take a little break from baking and shipping the world's best brownies to have a little fun. Our co-founder David is manning the grills, we're having a dessert challenge among the team members, and there will be fun and games for all.

Here's some of what's going on right now at the gourmet brownie bakery to get ready:
The break room getting ready for the dessert challenge. We have high dessert standards, considering we make delicious fudge brownies every day, so it should be yummy! 



















And outside, we're getting ready for cornhole (or bags, but I'm from the Midwest, and we call it cornhole) and plasma car races:



















What's a plasma car, you ask? This! It's going to be hilarious.

Stay tuned for pictures of the actual Fairytale Brownies party, as I'm sure someone will blog about it after.

Students find other uses for Fairytale packaging

Wednesday, May 26, 2010 by Alyssa Andrews
When Fairytale Brownies rebranded awhile ago, we donated some of our old packaging to schools and organizations that would find other uses for the boxes.

Desert Voices Oral Learning Center in Phoenix was one of the recipients. The school teaches deaf and hard of hearing children how to speak and how to understand when others speak to them. The school's ultimate goal is to mainstream children into a traditional school setting with speech, language, academic and social skills equal to those of their hearing peers.

Corporate Sales team member Kristie White took photos of some of the creations her son, Josef, and his friends made at Desert Voices.

Joe sits with a few of his creations: a piggy bank, a grill and a tool box.

More than 100 "banks" were sent out as part of a school fund-raiser, "Coins for Kids." Each child will continue to collect coins until June 24. MidFirst Bank will be at the school on the 24th to count the proceeds. The bank will match the first $1,000, Desert Voices Board of Directors will match the second $1,000, and an anonymous donor will match the third $1,000. The school will have an ice cream sundae party the next day to celebrate the children's hard work.

Joe shows us the tool box and several tools that he made. If Dad borrows thse tools, Joe, make sure he puts them back in the proper place.

The students also have used Fairytale packaging for buildings, vehicles, jewelry boxes, and treasure chests.



My favorite creation is the grill. Notice the fire under the grate cooking those adorable hot dogs and cheeseburgers. There's even a chicken leg cooking on the far right. I'll take my burger well done, Joe!

Thank you Desert Voices. What a great job of creating new things with Fairytale Brownies packaging.

Fairytale Cookies, Cookies and More Cookies!

Friday, May 21, 2010 by Kim Silva
When you think of decadent gourmet brownies, Fairytale Brownies immediately comes to mind, now you'll be saying the same about cookies!  The deadline is just around the corner and we're baking test batch after test batch to get the new Fairytale Cookie line launched.  The official launch is this coming September, but the recipes need to be finalized for our annual Spring catalog photo shoot in June.     
 
We are planning to introduce four flavors of cookies this Fall:
  • Blondie with chocolate chips & white chocolate chips
  • Blondie with pecans & caramel
  • Dark Chocolate with double chocolate chips
  • Dark Chocolate with white chocolate chips & walnuts

So far, my favorites are turning out to be the Dark Chocolate with double chocolate chips and the Blondie with pecans & caramel, which someone likened to pecan pie - yum! 

Our staff has had the arduous task of sampling the cookies, mistakes and all. . . . They just love when we are introducing new products, it's so exciting for everyone at Fairytale Brownies to play a part in the process - especially the tasting process!

Not only will we have our decadent fudge brownies for you to choose from, now we'll have delicious cookies too.  Just add milk (or Fairytale Coffee or Cocoa) and you'll have the perfect gourmet treat!

Oakville Grocery to serve Fairytale Brownies at ice cream extravaganza

Thursday, May 13, 2010 by Alyssa Andrews
Scottsdale's Oakville Grocery Co. will celebrate summer's approach with "Scooped, Sprinkled and Served: A Saturday Ice Cream Social Extravaganza."

Fairytale Brownies will be a part of the festivities from noon to 3 p.m. Saturday, May 15, at Oakville Grocery, 15015 N. Scottsdale Road. Attendees will be able to sprinkle their favorite ice cream with Original flavor fudgy chocolate brownie pieces.

Other activities include an ice cream competition between local creameries, an ice cream cooking demonstration, frozen treats for adults in the wine bar, and live music.

Donations will be accepted to benefit The Girl Scouts, Arizona Cactus-Pine Council.

Mother's Day Brownies

Monday, April 26, 2010 by Hilary Lee
Our goal at Fairytale Brownies is to provide the highest quality products and incomparable service. That's why all of our gourmet brownie gifts are baked with Callebaut Belgian chocolate, fresh eggs and creamery butter. They're all-natural and free of trans fat, hydrogenated oils and artificial colors.

This Mother's Day, a gift of fudgy chocolate brownies from Fairytale Brownies will make her tastebuds dance and her eyes light up with joy. You can even add a personalized store quality greeting card to express your heartfelt sentiments to her. View our Mother's Day Gifts here.

"I had some of your wonderful brownies sent to my mother for Mother's Day last year. She was extremely pleased and impressed with the quality of your product. She raved about the Toffee Crunch and Peanut Butter brownies, saying they were the best brownies she has ever tasted. Thank you for making this a great Mother's Day for her and for me. I will definitely purchase from your company again!" ~ Shawn T., Dexter, ME



Here's a delicious Mother's Day gift suggestion to WOW Mom this year. Especially if she is a dark chocolate lover. You can't beat this great gift for under $27 dollars!

Mother's Day Morsel 24
Contains 24 bite-size magic Morsels in Original, Caramel, Chocolate Chip and Walnut. Arrives in our classic box with a Happy Mother's Day gift band. 
Regularly $30.90  On Sale $26.90

Visit brownies.com for our other decadent brownie gifts for occasions!

How Do Factories Work? And making dreams come true...

Saturday, April 24, 2010 by Eileen Spitalny
My daughter Bebe is a first grader and recently her class came to learn how factories work.
They are learning to write non-fiction so we used the Bakery as a learning lab for a morning.
Every day I wear purple,  brown or black so Bebe wore her "uniform" that day to school. Just like mommy. Oh yea, and of course a hairnet!

I had them start the tour through our overhead back door just like an ingredient. We showed them how we track everything... Every mail order Brownie, Sprite or Magic Morsel (our 3 sizes) has a lot code. Bebe is looking at a Magic Morsel.

      

At the end they got to pick their brownie flavor from our store. Yum! Then back at school they wrote about various topics - ingredients, baking, cutting, wrapping, shipping, test kitchen and toppings to name just a few. Their teacher then paired groups to write about each step back in the classroom. 

Eating by George and Wyeth - "Fairytale Brownies are yummy, yummy, in my tummy. There are different kinds of brownies you can eat. George's favorite is chocolate. Wyeth's is raspberry. There are lots of kinds - chocolate, cream cheese and much, much more."

It was so wonderful to share with them that Fairytales do come true - I have known my business partnwer since I was 5 years old. Back then we got to take the tour of the Carnation Ice Cream factory here in Phoenix. I remember like it was yesterday; you got the little ice cream cup with the wooden spoon. Another yum! Who would have ever thought David and I would grow up and do this; spread joy through gourmet chocolate brownies. May all your dreams come true!

Sometimes moms don't want to share

Wednesday, April 21, 2010 by Alyssa Andrews
There is a saying, "A mother is a person who seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie." This may be true for pie, but Mom might not share if Fairytale Brownies are being served.

Mother's Day is two weeks away - plenty of time to think of a great gift. If your mom loves chocolate and you want to be her permanent "favorite," just order brownies from Fairytale.

Our brownies are made with butter and fresh eggs, and are baked in 12 different flavors and three sizes. The Mother's Day Medley includes all three brownie sizes, and the Mother's Day Dozen includes all 12 flavors. Add some Fairytale Cocoa or Fairytale Coffee to the gift and Mom will be in chocolate heaven.

But just because she's all soft and squishy from her chocolate experience doesn't mean she will readily share those brownies - she loves you, but we're talking gourmet brownies here. You might want to buy two boxes: one for Mom and one for everyone else.


Gourmet Fairytale Brownies @ Whole Foods Local Vendor Day 4/24

Monday, April 19, 2010 by Hilary Lee
Do you have a "Local First" movement in your hometown? We here at Fairytale Brownies are very supportive of the Local First AZ movement and are proud to have our gourmet chocolate brownies for sale in Arizona Whole Foods stores. Whole Foods is a great supporter of local products across the country. There are 7 locations throughout Phoenix and Tucson. 

This Saturday April 24th, Fairytale Brownies will be one of the featured vendors at Whole Foods Local Vendor Day! We'll be at the Whole Foods located at 7111 E. Mayo Boulevard, in Phoenix. We'll be there from 12pm - 3pm and we'll be sampling our decadent Original and new to Whole Foods flavor, Cream Cheese fudge brownies (Whole Foods now carries Original, Chocolate Chip, Cream Cheese, Peanut Butter and Walnut  full size 3" x 3" Fairytale Brownies). If you are in AZ, please stop by for a sample - we'd love to chat and get your feedback.

Remember, Fairytale Brownies are All-natural, free of trans fats, hydrogenated oils, preservatives and artificial colors! And now, we are baking our entire line of gourmet brownie gifts with Unbleached Flour! For information on how to order brownies online, visit our website at brownies.com. Hope to see you at Whole Foods this Saturday.....Remember, local is always in season! 

Learn more about Local First AZ.

Building The Fairytale Bakery

Sunday, April 18, 2010 by David Kravetz
This week we had a visit from Brett Corley, the General Contractor who built our new "Fairytale Bakery" back in 2006 (after 14 years in business we needed more room to grow).  Brett is the founder of C3 Construction in Phoenix, AZ.  He hadn't seen the building since we moved in, so he decided to drop by for a visit and buy brownies for some of his current clients.

Brett and I toured the building together and he watched us making the best brownies in the world.  We had some good laughs about the challenges we went through during construction (which were not funny at the time!).  I showed him our brownie test kitchen and he watched our shipping team pack up some thank you food gifts.  On the way out I gave Brett some of our decadent Fairytale Truffles (gourmet brownies enrobed in dark chocolate) to share with his staff.  It was great to see Brett and catch up on the brownie business, the construction business, and life.

    
4/12/10 - Myself & Brett Corley of C3 Construction       Early 2006 - The walls go up....


    
Almost finished......                                                      October 2006 - ready to move in!