Happy 2012!
There’s nothing quite like a new year, full of promise and unlimited possibilities to make me feel like winter isn’t so bad. I love anticipating all the exciting and tantalizing things I’m going to experience in the coming twelve months. 
A vacation on the horizon or a new flavor of gourmet cookies, organic brownies or vegan fudge to look forward to each month, can be great motivators to propel you through the stressful or challenging times that will almost certainly accompany the good times. Plus the 15% monthly club member discount will help take the stress out of gift giving for as long as you’re a monthly club member, since it’s automatically applied to every order you place!
In this new year, as we strive to live healthier, happier and more conscientious lives I have great hope that the positive forces working for compassionate and humane treatment of animals in this country and worldwide will increase and grow. 
Let’s strengthen the already expanding vegan revolution, one sweet bite at a time. Introduce your friends, colleagues, and loved ones to just how excellent (both in flavor and in health) animal-free eating can be. One step at a time, one person at a time, one meal at a time. It’s so easy to eat vegan, especially when the options include outrageously awesome vegan recipes and cookie of the month flavors like Vanilla Almond and Double Chocolate Chunk.
From Allison’s kitchen of heavenly delights: Happy New Year!
Happy Thanksgiving!
It’s Thanksgiving tomorrow, and with the holiday busyness paused until Monday, I’m finally taking some time to pause myself. It’s like the last deep breath before the long sprint that will be the next five weeks until New Year’s. 
In this rare moment of stillness, I’d like to express my gratitude to you, our readers, clients and loyal fans and followers. You are the reason we are here, making all these compassionately decadent desserts, and why I get to live my passion every single day. Thank you for seeking excellence beyond the mainstream, for demanding superb, cruelty-free sweets, and for savoring every exquisite bite. It is our pleasure to serve such discerning clientele.
Speaking of Thanksgiving, in case all the Black Friday hype has you thinking about buying all your holiday gifts online instead of braving the horrors of holiday mall shopping, consider the added bonus of being able to order all your compassionate fair-trade gifts right now from the comfort of your computer, and being able to decide exactly when you want them delivered! That is exactly the scenario we offer with our easy delayed delivery date option. You can even shop in your coziest bath robe and fuzzy slippers; we won’t mind!
I would also like to extend an extra-special thank you to all of our monthly clubs members. We love being able to share our unique and exciting brownie, fudge and cookie of the month flavors with you each month and we so appreciate those of you who give monthly clubs as gifts for your friends and loved ones. You live by the golden rule of gift-giving: Give to other what you would like others to give to you! If you are considering becoming a monthly club member or are new to the whole monthly club membership thing, remember that you can enjoy your 15% membership discount on ALL order, including gifts!
Happy Vegan Thanksgiving!
And the Winners Are…
Our Tee and Tote Design Contest was a great success with the entry of many beautiful and creative designs. 
In the end the final challenging decision was left to our judges and myself, and after painstaking deliberations, I am very excited to announce these winners…
It was a tie for third place among all the judges, so instead of having to choose between these two elegant designs, I decided to award two third-place prizes:
Karen Rosenstein (above) and Devin St Clair (right) will each receive a 3-month brownie, fudge or cookie of the month club membership from AG, plus a year’s subscription to VegNews Magazine so they can stay current on affairs of the veg world and always have access to my latest VeganizeIt! recipe.
The second place prize goes to Jonathan Day. 
We especially love his “A” inspired logo design (left). He will enjoy a 6-month monthly club membership, 6 containers of his favorite So Delicious Dairy Free ice cream, and an autographed copy of Kathy Freston‘s new book “Veganist.”
And finally, the grand prize of $500 cash and a 3-month Allison’s Gourmet monthly club membership goes to Erika Themaras for her gorgeous logo design. I especially love her “Sustainably Sweet” tag line.
Congratulations to Erika, Jonathan, Devin and Karen!
Congratulations are also in order for Jessica Campbell, Heather Cox, Adam Youngers, Ashley Blodgett, Colin Redmon, and Brooke Parker whose designs made the final 10 after public voting. You will each receive a $25 gift certificate to Allison’s Gourmet as my way of saying thank you for submitting your work.
A big thank you to everyone who participated and helped make this contest such a success!
Monthly Clubs Offer Discounts and So Much More…
We often receive calls and emails asking about discounts on our products. Since we’re a gourmet company offering only the very best premium-quality products, we don’t normally offer discounts. 
But, there is one sure way to get a deal on our sweets: join one of our easy and delicious monthly clubs. As our most loyal customers, monthly club members automatically receive 15% off of everything they order from us, including their monthly club itself. This discount applies whether the club ordered is for personal enjoyment or a gift for someone else, and it continues to apply to all orders placed with us as long as the monthly club membership is active. 
So, whether it’s a brownie of the month for your boss, cookie of the month for your sister, fudge of the month for your best friend, or a combination of two or three for your office or team, our monthly clubs are a great value and provided easy and enjoyable gifts that arrive automatically each month. Eternal gratitude and a continued discount at Allison’s Gourmet, what could be better?
Want to try one of our monthly club memberships for free? Enter our Tee and Tote Design Contest by September 15th and you could win a 3- or 6-month club of your choice plus other awesome vegan and cash prizes.
Favorite Summer Flavors
I hope everyone had a happy and safe July 4th weekend. Now that summer is really here I can tell you that I’ve been looking forward to some of this summer’s flavors for months, and I’m super excited now that they’re finally here! 
July’s cookie of the month flavor is soft peanut butter cookies, and, not surprisingly, they’re one of our most popular cookie flavor all year. Try them warmed in a toaster oven for a little piece of heaven. (In fact, I’ll be right back so I can go try one right now. For quality control, of course…)
In other news, Apple Pie fudge is here this month, too, just in time to share at summer potlucks. 
I have been getting the feeling lately that maybe people aren’t quite sure if our white fudge flavors are as awesome as our chocolate fudge flavors, and I can see why someone might think that. After all, it’s pretty hard to improve on chocolate. But, that being said, you must try Allison’s white fudge to truly understand how amazing it is. The Apple Pie flavor is sweet, creamy and perfectly spiced, with luscious chunks of tart granny smith apple. It’s like having a summer picnic in your mouth! I won’t say it’s better than chocolate fudge, but it’s certainly every bite as good.
And, the summer thrills don’t end with July. August’s brownie of the month flavor will be Toasted Coconut, and I can’t even tell you how fantastically tropical these brownies are, not to mention gorgeous! So, if you’re a monthly club member this summer, consider yourself lucky, and maybe send another thank you to whoever gave you such a great gift. If you’re pouting right now because you’re not a monthly club member yet, it’s not too late to join for July! As always, monthly clubs ordered before July 22nd will have the option of receiving July’s flavors as their first month’s shipment. Plus, all club members receive 15% off all orders, including gifts!
Happy Summer!
Eco-Friendly Gifts for Grads
It’s spring again, and all over the country students of many academic levels are taking finals, matriculating and making plans for next year. It’s a time of celebration, and it’s especially exciting for me to note that more and more of today’s young people are seeing the benefits of a healthy, green, and compassionate lifestyle. 
As you celebrate the accomplishments of the eco-conscious, animal-loving young people in your life, consider giving them vegan, fair-trade gifts they will love that will also align with their values as responsible global citizens. Get your soon-to-be graduate a hot cocoa sampler to keep him or her going through the final weeks of school, or give cookie of the month clubs to graduates going off to college in the fall to sustain them through late nights and all those college exams. 
Monthly clubs can be ordered now to begin shipping in August, September or any other month you specify.
Gentle on the earth, and kind to animals and people alike, our organic, vegan and fair-trade treats will be enjoyed immensely by students of any age. Conscientious young people are sure to appreciate a deliciously decadent fair-trade gift that they can feel great about enjoying and won’t take up closet space.
We’re Completely Wheat-Free!
It’s official, we’re completely wheat-free! This month’s Coconut Key Lime Cookies were the last of our flavors to finally be transitioned to oat flour. Woohoo! And how delicious are they, you ask? 
Amazingly, superbly, decadently delicious! They’re sweep-me-away-to-a-tropical-paradise good, and if you happen to be a member of our cookie of the month club, then you will be receiving some of your very own, very soon!
If you’re not a monthly club member you may want to consider joining. Not only do members get awesome vegan goodies delivered fresh to their doors every month, they also receive 15% off all other purchases like vegan peanut butter cups and 
gourmet caramels for Mother’s Day. Speaking of which, it’s still not quite too late to order those special treats for mom.
Order today with FedEx Overnight shipping to ensure delivery before the weekend.
Monthly Clubs Shipped
It’s that time again, when all our happy monthly club members start expecting their delicious deliveries of fudge, brownies, and cookies of the month! Yesterday we shipped scrumptious Butterscotch Pecan Cookies, heavenly Original Brownies, and divine Vanilla Chai Fudge to everyone on our list. 
Now, I love chocolate as much as the next woman, but I have to say, Allison’s white vegan fudge is quite heavenly, especially the Vanilla Chai flavor. It’s fragrant, sweet, and perfectly spiced with our own proprietary spice blend: warming but not spicy, just right for chilly winter days. And, if you love this month’s Butterscotch Pecan cookies, you may also be interested in our Butterscotch Pecan Fudge, which is similarly flavored and truly spectacular. Hungry yet? You too could become a Monthly Club Member. Learn all about it here.
Our Thanks-Giveaway!
We hope you all had a delicious, relaxing and compassionate Thanksgiving. We certainly did, celebrating with our friends from Animal Place and feeling thankful for all the beautiful and loving animals in our lives (and not on our table). Today we’re all back at work, donning our elf hats in preparation for the holidays which will be here in just a few short weeks (!!) and feeling thankful for all of you, our compassionate and sweet-loving clients and readers. 
To show our gratitude we’re offering you a special free gift to be included in orders over $50 (excluding shipping) placed between today and Monday. Simply type “regular” or “decaf” in the special instructions field at the very end of the checkout process before clicking “Place Order” to receive a 2 oz sample of one of our gourmet fair-trade coffee flavors. Order this weekend with our delayed delivery date option for timely holiday delivery without last-minute shopping stress.
Wondering what to order? Our fudge, brownie, and cookie of the month clubs make great personal or corporate holiday gifts, that will continue to remind the recipient of your goodwill for months to come. For more of our elegant holiday gifts online, check out the lovely gift baskets, gift sets and samplers.
Thank you for making it possible for us to share our passion for sweets with you!
Monthly Clubs Shipping Next Week
It’s the first week of a new month, which means that many of you are probably starting to wonder when your brownie, fudge, and cookie of the month clubs are going to arrive. Because the first of this month fell on Wednesday, and we have a long holiday weekend coming up, your fudge, brownie, and cookie of the month clubs will ship next week, on Tuesday, Sept. 7th for delivery on or around Thursday, Sept. 9th. With delicious flavors like (Wheat-Free) Oatmeal Raisin Cookies, and Butterscotch Pecan Fudge, we know they’ll be worth the wait. 
