The Name Behind the Company -and Grandma Sylvia's Brownies
How two streets, one extraordinary family, and a very good recipe shaped everything we built.
There's a smell I've never been able to shake. It hits you before you even open the door: warm vanilla, melted chocolate, something sweet and dense baking underneath a layer of cream cheese. For me, that smell doesn't belong to any bakery or holiday party. It belongs to my grandmother's kitchen, and every time it finds me, I'm eleven years old again, standing on Freemont Avenue, completely certain that everything in the world is fine.
I've thought a lot about what it means to build something that lasts - something with real character behind it. When I started Freemont Yardley Search, I knew I didn't want a name that was just a name. I wanted it to mean something. And it does.
Much of my childhood was spent on Yardley Road - the street that gave the second half of our name its roots. But just as formative were the visits to my grandparents on Freemont Avenue. Those two places, those two worlds, are sewn into every part of who I am and how I lead.
My grandmother, Sylvia, was something else entirely. She was the kind of person who made you feel like the most important person in the room simply by being in it. She brought people together - family, friends, neighbors, anyone who happened to wander in and she expressed her love the way so many great people do: through food. Through feeding you. Through making sure you had seconds, and then thirds, and then asking if you were sure you didn't want more.
The values I watched my parents and grandparents live out - loyalty, generosity, hard work, genuine care for other people - those are the values I've tried to build Freemont Yardley Search around. We're a recruiting firm, yes. But more than that, we're a team of people who believe that how you treat someone matters as much as what you do for them.
At FYS, we think of everyone we work with as family. And in that spirit, I wanted to share something I've held close for a long time - something that belongs to all of us now.
This is my grandmother Sylvia's recipe for Cream Cheese Brownies. It's simple. It's a little indulgent. And it will make your kitchen smell like everything is going to be just fine.
Grandma Sylvia's Cream Cheese Brownies
A family recipe · 9×13 pan · serves many
Ingredients
2 logs of chocolate chip cookie dough
2 packages (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
2 oz vanilla extract
9×13 baking pan
Non-stick cooking spray (Pam or similar)
Aluminum foil
Preparation
Preheat your oven to 350°F.
Spray your 9×13 pan generously with non-stick cooking spray.
Cut one log of cookie dough into ¾-inch slices and arrange them evenly across the bottom of the pan, pressing gently to maximize coverage.
In a blender or mixing bowl, combine the softened cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla extract. Mix until smooth and thick - it should look like a pourable, syrup-like batter.
Pour the cream cheese mixture evenly over the cookie dough layer.
Cut the second log of cookie dough into ¾-inch slices and lay them on top of the cream cheese layer, covering as much of the surface as possible.
Cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil.
Cooking
Bake covered at 350°F for 45 minutes.
Remove the foil and bake uncovered for an additional 30 minutes, until the top is golden.
Remove from the oven and let the brownies sit and cool completely - this is important. The cream cheese layer needs time to set and solidify before you cut in.
Enjoy!!! (Sylvia would want you to have at least two.)
The hardest part is the waiting. But resist the urge to cut them early - they're worth it.
To everyone we've worked with over the years - every candidate, every client, every colleague - thank you for being part of this family. We don't take lightly the trust you place in us, and we try every day to honor it.
And to Grandma Sylvia: I hope you know how many people you still reach.