Our Philosophy

Gourmet

We bake extraordinary cookies and cupcakes with the freshest and highest quality ingredients from select purveyors who uphold our standards.

Organic & Local

On average, we use 75% organic ingredients in our baking. In addition, we source local ingredients whenever possible such as eggs, dairy, nuts, honey and more. Better for you, better for the environment. Learn more about organic!

People

We feel our success is a combination of our valuable team and our loyal customers.

Community

We believe in social responsibility. We work towards creating less waste in our production, use recyclable packaging, and support our community with financial pledges, volunteer time and sharing the goodness of cookies with local charities.

How We Began

Husband and wife team, Brady and Shaun Breese are nearly natives of Phoenix. They attended Arizona State University, graduated in 1998, and married in 2001. In 2005, over a Sunday morning breakfast, they hatched an idea that combined Brady’s cooking talent with Shaun’s marketing background – the centerpiece was the Urban Cookie, a dark chocolate walnut cookie that Shaun made for friends and family for years. After six months of research, their dream became a reality Nov. 1, 2005, in the kitchen of Florence Crittenton, a local non-profit organization. With simplicity and quality as the cornerstones of the business, the couple took their idea to the next level with unique, funky gift packaging and gourmet organic ingredients. The couple’s strong belief in social responsibility also was incorporated into the company.

THEN …

AND THEN …

Shaun, Oliver and Brady Breese

AND NOW …

Shaun, Oliver and Brady Breese

Community Work

Gourmet

Urban Cookies' commitment to its community started on day one when its owners created a trade agreement with the non-profit that gave them their start – free use of their kitchen in exchange for teaching some of their at-risk teen girls to bake and run a business. To this day, Urban Cookies continues to support Florence Crittenton's mission with cash donations and in-kind cookie and gift donations for fundraisers.

Throughout the years, Urban Cookies has provided additional job training and mentorship to clients from organizations such as Good Will of Central Arizona and Southwest Autism Resource and Research Center. In addition, it provides internship experiences to culinary institute students from across the Valley, allowing them the rare opportunity to learn directly from a small business owner.

In 2010, Urban Cookies, in partnership with Shamrock Farms launched its Milk & Cookies community project. Fulfilling its mission to make people feel good, Urban Cookies' goal was simply to bring the joy and comfort of milk and cookies to children and families in need.

Visiting organizations such as Phoenix Children's Hospital, Child Crisis Nursery and Florence Crittenton, Urban Cookies' Milk & Cookies project touched more than 500 kids and families in the Valley.

For 2011, Urban Cookies pledged its year-long support to Kitchen on the Street, a local start-up non-profit dedicated to turning hunger into hope by providing meals to school kids on the weekends when they would otherwise go hungry. Its annual support includes cash donations, volunteer time, marketing support and hosting food drives throughout the year.

Learn more about their mission

Meet Our Team

	Co-Founder & Creative Wizard Brady Breese	Started Urban Cookies with his wife Shaun in 2005. A self-taught baker, he creates all of the company’s recipes and oversees quality control. Favorite Cookie/Cupcake: Chocolate Cupcake
	Co-Founder & Marketing Guru Shaun Breese	Started Urban Cookies with her husband Brady in 2005. Oversees business development, operations, marketing and community relations for the company. Favorite Cookie/Cupcake: Dark Chocolate Walnut Cookie
	The Front Man Dan Looney	Officially Urban Cookies’ first team member, Dan joined us in 2009. He now oversees retail operations from the counter, to customer service to gift fulfillment. Favorite Cookie/Cupcake: Pineapple Coconut Cookie
	Bake Shop King Sal Garcia	Sal came to Urban Cookies in 2010 from the Le Cordon Bleu Scottsdale Culinary Institute. He serves as the lead baker overseeing pastries for our bake shop and our wholesale partners. Favorite Cookie/Cupcake: Brown Velvet Cupcake
	Finance Queen Bee Ann Claudio	With us from the VERY beginning is Shaun’s mom, Ann. Without her, there would be no Urban Cookies … literally. She is our finance and IT guru, as well as our long-time business consultant. Favorite Cookie/Cupcake: Strawberry Cupcake
	Kerianne Hayes	Kerianne joined us in 2011 from the Art Institute of Phoenix’s Culinary/Baking program. She supports our bakery operations and is lovingly referred to as “cupcake girl.” Favorite Cookie/Cupcake: Peanut Butter Cookie
	Amanda Hepler	Amanda recently joined us from a bakery in Tucson and leads production of our wholesale pastries. We hired Amanda for her speed in the bakery – if you see a blur go by, you know it’s Amanda. Favorite Cookie/Cupcake: Margarita Cupcake
	Mikee Camacho	Mikee started out helping us out around the bakery during the busy holiday season. We liked him so much, we asked him to stick around. He wears many hats including working our retail counter. Favorite Cookie/Cupcake: Peanut Butter Cupcake
	Kristin Vest	Our newest team member, Kristin spent the last four years wowing her customers at Olive Garden and training new employees. She now spends most of her time wowing our customers. Favorite Cookie/Cupcake:

Where to Find Us

You likely know that we sell our gourmet cookies and cupcakes at our bake shop – but did you know that we have an entire line of wholesale pastries that are available all around town? Find our gourmet morning muffins, scones, brownies, cookies, cupcakes, flourless chocolate cake and dessert bars at the following locations:
Luci’s Healthy Marketplace 1590 E. Bethany Home Rd. Phoenix, AZ 85014	Whole Foods Market Chandler 2955 W. Ray Rd. Chandler, AZ 85224	Whole Foods Market Paradise Valley 10810 N. Tatum Blvd. Phoenix, AZ 85028
Whole Foods Market Scottsdale 7111 E. Mayo Blvd. Phoenix, AZ 85054	Whole Foods Market Tempe 5120 S. Rural Rd. Tempe, AZ 85282	Whole Foods Market Raintree 8688 E. Raintree Dr. Scottsdale, AZ 85260
	Serrano’s Mexican Restaurants 7 locations valley-wide

Press and Awards

Winners Food Network’s Cupcake Wars – 2011
Winners Cupcake Love-In “Most Outrageous Cupcake” – 2011
Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce Impact Award Nominee – 2011
Phoenix New Times – Best of Phoenix – 2009
APS' AAAME Business Mentorship Program – Class 12 – 2009
Rachael Ray Show – Snack of the Day – 2009
Lexus Hybrid Living – Retail Partner – 2008
Sundance Film Festival – Greenroom Partner – 2008
Phoenix Magazine – Best of the Valley – 2007
HGTV – Best Place to Start a Business – 2007
Phoenix New Times – Best of Phoenix – 2007

Associations