Gourmet Brownies

Fairytale Brownies is proud to participate in Local First Arizona's eighth annual National Independents Week.

Arizona residents can download a Golden Coupon from Local First Arizona's web site and bring the coupon into Fairytale's retail store between June 28 and July 2 to receive a 20% discount on all merchandise (excluding sale items).

Local First Arizona works to strengthen communities and local economies through supporting, maintaining and celebrating locally-owned businesses throughout the state. Independents Week is just one way the organization promotes its mission.

We encourage Arizona residents to "go local" next week and purchase fudge brownies from Fairytale Brownies. They make the perfect summertime dessert with or without ice cream.

Fairytale Brownies is located at 4610 E. Cotton Center Blvd., Suite 100, Phoenix. That's just south of Broadway and west of 48th Street. We are open from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday.


 

This weekend, one of my best friends from college is coming to visit, and I am really excited. We haven't seen each other since December (and only for breakfast), so it's going to be a fun weekend, even if it is 105 degrees! She has always loved Fairytale Brownies and gets really excited whenever I send brownies to her back in Indiana. So, when she gets here, I'm going to thank her for coming with a gourmet brownie gift that she can take home with her. I find that a box of the best brownies around can make anyone feel right at home wherever they are! 

Every year, Internet Retailer Magazine (Strategies For Web-based Retailing) announces 100 Retail Web sites that they feel go above and beyond in making their online presence more useful and effective in connecting with customers. This year, Fairytale Brownies web site www.brownies.com, was awarded a "Top 100" award in the Food/Drug category.

We were honored for our commitment to excellent customer service and our customer engagement activities in the social media space. Notably, our blog, blog.brownies.com was recognized as well as our Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube presence for being a branded, useful and unified customer experience.

Fairytale Brownies is your premier gourmet brownie gifting company, offering a large selection of chocolate brownie gifts including Special Occasion and Custom/Corporate Food Gifts. To read the full article, click this link: http://www.internetretailer.com/2009/11/21/food-drug. 

Last year, Fairytale Brownies was a featured item on QVC's segment of luxurious chocolate gifts. Various customers who ordered our special assortment of gourmet brownies from QVC left great feedback on the product and their experience with our company. Below are some of the fantastic reviews left by those customers. Also, if you follow the link below, you can see the special QVC assortment we featured on the segment!

http://www.qvc.com/qic/qvcapp.aspx/view.2/app.detail/params.item.M18026.desc.Fairytale-Brownies-4-lb-Brownie-Assortment

OMG - JUST OUT OF THIS WORLD  ****** (5 stars)
"At first I said how can they be worth the money for brownies, but boy was I wrong. With every bite, you can taste the high quality of the recipe and there are many flavors for everyone. They can each have their favorite. I guess it is true, you get what you pay for. I will wait for easy pay to buy again, but I will buy again and again and again!"
~ Posted by maroc 02-13-10

BEST KEPT SECRET ***** (5 stars)
"I sent these to a friend for Christmas. Took a chance, had never heard of this company. My friend called all of his friends to tell them that these were the best brownies he had ever eaten. What a great purchase. Highly recommend this item!"
~ Posted by beckee on 05-05-10

MOST DECADENT BY A CHOCOLATE LOVER ***** (5 stars)
"I have ordered brownies online for years, and they are the best I've ever had. Decadent chocolate brownies! Love love love them! Order them for everyone you know who loves chocolate!"
~ Posted by cstog on 09-21-09

HAVE A FAIRYTALE DAY! ***** (5 stars)
"I have purchased these brownies for many years for my family, friends, co-workers, and customers. I also gave a box of Sprites to my child's teachers. These have always been of terrific quality and we have enjoyed all of the flavors. One tip... if you can't eat them all at once, put them in the freezer and take out as needed. Great warm with a little ice-cream!"
~ Posted by neani on 02-27-09

Growing up in Phoenix, "the Duck", aka Duck and Decanter (2 locations) is/was the best place to get a sandwich and sit under the trees. Now owning Fairytale Brownies, I love that they sell Fairytale Brownies so I can add that on to my Genoa or Where's the Beef sandwich. And as we are growing our wholesale outreach now you can get a brownie with your sandwich in Mill Valley or San Francisco.

Mill Valley Market which is family owned just like the Duck is an awesome sandwich, wine, cheese/chocolate shop. They are now selling our belgian chocolate brownies in 6 varieties. And as my best friend from college lives there, I will be able to get a brownie with my sandwich this summer while visiting. They are at 12 Corte Madera. And just in case I'm not full I can now get a brownie with my sandwich at the Rincon Market in the city. Rincon is a small gourmet grocery and deli in the SOMA district at 98 Howard St (between Spear & Stuart St). Yum - Happy Summer eating!

I have to admit, I have a great daycare provider for my daughter. They cater to the school-age kids and diversify their activities during the summer with field trips, water play days, Wii Olympics…you name it, they’ve probably done it! Recently, as thank you gifts for the director Heather, and assistant directors Deann and Lisa, I’ve been delivering our Belgian chocolate brownies. Now, mind you, this is a daycare center, so nut products are prohibited, therefor I make sure to only bring the allowed flavors. Heather’s favorite is the Espresso Nib, and Deann and Lisa like any flavors I can manage to get to them, the most recent being Original. I think I’ve created chocolate brownie addicts out of them!

           
Espresso Nib Brownie                                 Original Brownie
 

The kids in School Age have started noticing too. When I come in to get my daughter, her best friend asks me when I can bring her some fudgy brownies, and all the other kids notice my Fairytale Brownies shirt and ask what I do. So I tell them: I get to send brownies to lucky people all over the world! (I think they’re jealous)! So, maybe sometime soon I’ll have to bring a HUGE box of brownies in, so everyone can enjoy!
 

Brownie Extravaganza - An extravagant assortment of 48 handcrafted brownies (4 of each flavor). Enough for everyone to discover their own flavor! JF148 $119.95

 Erin, David and I are back at Rick Gayle Studio taking photos for our holiday gourmet brownie gift catalogs, and I thought I would share a few behind-the-scenes photos. We've been taking pictures of new towers and tins that will be full of fudgy brownies for the holidays, and they all look delicious. Today is the first day we've taken photos of our new Fairytale Cookies, and we are excited to offer customers the opportunity of getting cookies delivered along with our brownies. They are looking and tasting good! 

Here's Erin with a plate of cosmetic sponges that our food stylist, Kim, uses to prop up our brownies. 


And here I am tying ribbon around our monstrous new 6-box Fairytale Tower. It's 20 inches tall, and full of Fairytale Brownies and Cookies and other goodies! 


And here's Kim working on our new Christmas Tower set.

Today is June 14th, which in the U.S. is Flag Day. According to the site USflag.org, the 4th of July was traditionally celebrated as "America's Birthday," but the idea of an annual day specifically celebrating the Flag is believed to have first originated in 1885. Then in 1894, the governor of New York directed that June 14th be designated Flag Day and Flags be displayed on all public buildings. Thus, sparked many patriotic programs throughout the US. But it was not until August 3rd, 1949 that President Truman signed an Act of Congress designating June 14th as National Flag Day.  

On days like today, I often reflect on what it means to me and I find myself thinking about our Military servicemen and women stationed around the world. Chest swelling with pride, I'd like to shout from the rooftops that I am proud to be an American, and send a heartfelt "Thank You" to our Military who remind me that freedom is not free.

Though freedom is not free, we can still show our appreciation and support by sending our soldiers care packages full of homemade treats for free. One way that Fairytale Brownies shows our support and appreciation is by offering Free Shipping on any gift that goes to an APO or FPO address year round. This helps our military families who send brownies to their loved ones, or even those who have anonymously adopted a soldier to send a gift of thanks and support.

To find out more about Fairytale Brownies Free Shipping to APO/FPO addresses, please visit our website brownies.com, or call our customer service number at 800.324.7982. 


Patriotic Morsel 24  $30.90
Free Shipping to APO/FPO addresses!

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

My daughter recently had her first slumber party! She invited her closest friends from school, and made a “fun-genda”. For all of you without daughters, that’s “fun” and “agenda”. Of course, her agenda included Fairytale Brownies.  She even reminded me "Mommy, make sure you bring home some fudge brownies."

 

The night began when moms dropped off their girls at our house. All of them wanted only one thing to start with; swimming. They all RAN to my daughter’s room, did a quick change, and were in the pool within 5 minutes. You’d never believe how fast a child can change clothes, with proper motivation. They swam for about an hour and a half, then came in to eat dinner…a kids fave: chicken nuggets and mac & cheese.

 

     

                   Original                                               Walnut

After playing inside and winding down for a little while, they decided on a movie and all of them wanted a dessert. Guess what they picked? Gourmet Brownies! My kiddo had her usual Original, as well as her BFF, and her friend Victoria asked for Walnut. What a surprise to me! They all downed those moist, delicious brownies! Her friend Mya even went as far as to tell Victoria that one bite of these fudgy chocolate brownies is a life changing snack. (Not those exact words, but close enough.) I think I may have made some Belgian chocolate brownie addicts out of my daughter’s best friends. Is that a bad thing? Not really, as long as they don’t eat them for breakfast. (although, in the wisdom of Bill Cosby, they do contain flour and eggs, so it’s possible). And, by the way, HAPPY 8TH BIRTHDAY, ELIZABETH! 
Fairytale Brownies Birthday Celebration Gift $49.95.

For the past couple of years, I have been an American Cancer Society volunteer for the Phoenix DetermiNation program. This program allows people to train for and participate in endurance events like marathons and half-marathons as part of a team that raises funds to help the ACS fight cancer. Since I've been part of the program, we have provided Belgian chocolate Fairytale Brownies for our volunteers at meetings and for our runners and walkers after each race. The fudgy gourmet brownies are always a hit with both groups, especially after finishing a 13.1 or 26.2 mile race. Everyone always says they are the best brownies they've ever had, and it seems that the all-natural ingredients are a great way for our athletes to replenish some of the calories they've spent in a most delicious way!

Recently, my husband and I purchased a small piece of Real Estate in the small town of Queen Creek, AZ. Due to the economy, it was an extremely arduous task to complete the entire purchase process. We really "worked" our realtor; she definitely earned her commission on that deal! On document signing day, my husband and I went to the title office to complete the paperwork. We went after I had gotten off of work and I was still "in uniform" (still wearing my Fairytale Brownies logo shirt). The ladies in the office noticed my shirt, and commented that they knew who Fairytale Brownies were and proceeded to harass me because I had not brought any of our Belgian Chocolate Brownies with me! 

So, as I do every time somebody asks me for a fudgy chocolate brownie sample, I promised that I would send brownies to their office right away. So to say "Thank You" to our realtor, loan officer, and title company, we sent them each boxes of Fairytale Brownies. Not only are they the best brownies around (hands-down!), they make excellent Thank You Food Gifts. I sent them each a Thank You 8-Sprite Gift Favor which contains 1 Original, Caramel, Chocolate Chip, Peanut Butter, Pecan, Toffee Crunch, Walnut and White Chocolate Sprites (Sprites are our 1/2 size brownies that measure 1.5" x 3"). 

I did receive Thank You messages from our gift recipients; they all loved the gourmet brownies. I even had our realtor tell me that she is going to start sending brownies to her clients as Thank You Gifts for her business! For more information, or to order brownies online, visit us at brownies.com! 

This past weekend we celebrated Memorial Day (originally called Decoration Day) as our nation’s way of commemorating all of our proud U.S. Soldiers who have given their lives in service to our country. Fairytale Brownies supports our forces deployed worldwide. We send our Belgian chocolate brownies to the troops overseas, and we receive nothing but gratitude and happiness in return.

As a way to help everyone who would like to send brownies on their own, we offer Free Shipping to all APO/FPO addresses! Visit us online at brownies.com.



Soldiers’ Angels and the Ladies of Liberty, both organizations that help to provide the troops with morale boosting snacks and hard-to-find necessities helps us out on a regular basis. They provide us with names and addresses of those service people who are in need of a little taste of home, or a little comfort when things aren’t going as well as they had hoped. We are honored that they have chosen our rich, fudgy brownie gifts as a way of filling that role. 

If you’re interested in helping out Soldiers’ Angels/Ladies of Liberty, you can visit their sites at: www.soldiersangelsladiesofliberty.com (Ladies of Liberty) www.soldiersangels.com (Soldiers’ Angels).  They have many branches nationwide who help soldiers from that particular area of the country. To all the members of the U.S. Military, thank you for all you do everyday. 

We want to hear from you and are asking for your help. Providing an extraordinary product and world-class service has always been first priority here at Fairytale Brownies. Our "Mission Statement" is as follows: 

• Our Purpose is to simplify gift giving and spread joy through gourmet chocolate brownies.
• Our Core Values are product excellence, incomparable service, integrity, teamwork and leadership.
• Our Goal is to be the number one and best tasting brand of gourmet chocolate brownies in the world.

That's why we want to hear from you and are asking for your help. If you are a Fairytale Brownies customer and have had a positive experience with us, would you consider sharing your purchase experience with us on our Yelp community business page? Yelp is a social networking site whose goal is "To Connect People With Great Local Businesses" through product and service reviews. Some thoughts about content for your review could be answers to the questions: 

• Why did you decide to buy from us?
• Did we meet or exceed your expectations?
• Would you recommend Fairytale Brownies to your friends and family?

Please visit our Yelp business page here: http://www.yelp.com/biz/fairytale-brownies-phoenix  and leave your review for us. We know you have many choices out there for your gift-giving needs and are grateful that you've chosen Fairytale Brownies as your gourmet brownie solution! Thank you so much for your help and for being great customers!

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! 

I admit, my daughter Elizabeth is not a picky eater. There are very few foods that she will utterly refuse, and our delicious, fudgy brownies CERTAINLY aren’t one of those. However, she has a cute BFF…and her BFF (best friend forever) is an extremely picky eater. When she comes to spend the night, we plan the meal that night around her tastes to accommodate her.
 

Well, my daughter was invited to spend the night over at her house one night in November. I thought, hmmm, let’s send a couple of chocolate brownies over for the girls to have a special treat. Little did I know what I would create! She loved them!!! She came to crave that rich, chocolate brownie taste we all love. Our picky little eater couldn’t get enough.
 

Needless to say, now, every time I see her, she’s very happy to see me! She loves my shirts with their logos, and loves when she gets to come to my house, or Elizabeth goes to hers. She’s addicted her whole family to our gourmet brownies. And, little does she know, she advertises us every time I pick up Elizabeth from their daycare too, because the other parents take notice of what I’m wearing. So, the moral of this story…fudgy gourmet brownies can win over even the pickiest of eaters. Trust me.

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.

Today Fairytale Brownie Gifts are featured on "Daily Grommet!" "The Daily Grommet is an online marketplace where you can discover and buy inventive, new products and learn true stories. Their website that is committed to finding really fresh products, and telling their stories! Those products, and their creators, and the people who love them (the products, that is) are the real heroes at Daily Grommet."

You can join the conversation about our gourmet brownie gifts and how they were created with David & Eileen at http://www.dailygrommet.com/. You can also join the conversation on our Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/fairytalebrownies! We'd love to hear from you. Your opinion and thoughts are welcome, also get answers to your questions today :)!


 

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!

November 14, 2009 was the date of the most recent DragonFly920 benefit motorcycle run for Hernando/Pasco Hospice, located close to Tampa, Florida. My in-laws fly down yearly to help with the set-up and to help Uncle Artie (my uncle-in-law) get everyone registered. This year, I sent them with wonderful gourmet brownie gifts to share with all the friends and relatives involved. Being that some of my father-in-law’s relatives eat only Kosher foods, I thought this would be an ideal gift from all of us while they were visiting. My husband’s great aunt and uncle were thrilled with Fairytale Brownies delicious fudgy gourmet brownies! Many of the other coordinators of the motorcycle run indulged too! Uncle Artie, Aunt Jane, their kids, Steven and Matthew, Uncle Shun and his wife Rosie…all of them enjoyed the richness and decadence of our gourmet brownies. (I think I ruined a couple diets too)!

When I talked to my mother-in-law, Ginny, this year about the motorcycle run and mentioned Fairytale Brownies, she loved the idea! Just think:  A bunch of Harley riding guys, riding for the benefit of Hernando/Pasco Hospice, some in memory of a loved one who has passed away, and being treated to a wonderful fudgy brownie as a part of the after-party. If you’re in the Tampa area, and would like to get info about the run, go to www.DragonFly920.net. The page is in the process of being updated as we speak, so new info will be available soon.