Moravian Cookie Named North Carolina's Official State Cookie After Fourth Graders' 2018 Letters

Guilford County, N.C. – North Carolina has a new state cookie, and it’s all thanks to a group of Guilford County Schools students. 

This week, Governor Josh Stein passed a historic budget. Tucked away in the legislation was the approval of the Moravian Cookie to be the state cookie. A dream of a few former Brooks Global Studies students that took eight years to bake.  

Back in 2018, under the leadership of former state Rep. Ashton Clemmons, who was the principal at Brooks at the time, students in John Phillips’ 4th-grade class were learning about how the government works. During a lesson, a student asked about state symbols and suggested additions. Phillips informed the class that state symbols have to become laws, and the class became flurried with curiosity and ideas on what things make the state so unique. “It was one of those fluke moments,” Phillips said. “Sometimes, as a teacher, you plan, and plan, and plan, and things get off track, and you have to go with it. These students had a genuine thirst for knowledge.”  

The students spent about a week researching the perfect state symbols and had to build arguments to support their ideas. The class landed on two, the USS North Carolina as the state battleship and the Moravian Cookie as the state cookie. Why the Moravian Cookie? The thin, crispy treat has a long history in the state and particularly the Piedmont-Triad Region, dating back to the 1700s when Moravians brought the dessert with them when they immigrated to the region.  

After students learned how to write a proper letter, Phillips sent about 60 requests to state lawmakers. They landed on the desk of former state Representative John Hardister, who led the charge to get the bill through the House in 2019. Teamwork, in the form of Representative Donny Lambeth, got the legislation across the finish line and on the Governor’s desk in July 2026. “It was an honor to work on this legislation during my time in the House, and I am grateful for Rep. Lambeth’s efforts to see it through,” Hardister said. “I am thrilled to be able to move the cookie bill forward for final approval and to recognize the student who suggested the idea.  As a Moravian, I am thrilled to make this a state symbol,” Rep. Lambeth continued. 

Phillips’ 4th graders are now entering their first year of college. Although he hoped that the bill would become law before they graduated, he says it’s still important for them to know that a cool idea, persistence, and a little molasses are the key ingredients for the sweetest lesson in civic engagement.  

“To my Brooks Global Studies Magnet School 4th Grade Class of 2018, 

IT FINALLY HAPPENED! 

Eight years ago, we walked into our classroom with an idea, a dream, and the belief that even a group of fourth graders could make a difference. We wrote letters, shared our ideas, learned how the government works, and refused to give up—even when the process seemed slow and uncertain. 

Today, I received an incredible message from Ashton Clemmons [former Brooks Global Studies Principal and former state representative] with the news we've been waiting years to hear: the Moravian Sugar Cookie and the Moravian Star have officially been included in the North Carolina state budget and will become law. 

WE DID IT! 

Words can't express how proud I am of each of you. What started as a classroom project became something so much bigger. You showed that age doesn't determine your ability to make a difference. Your voices mattered, your hard work mattered, and your perseverance mattered. 

After eight years, North Carolina will have a new state symbol, and each of you helped make that happen. That is something no one can ever take away from you. 

I hope this reminds you that when you believe in something, work together, and never give up, amazing things can happen. I have never stopped believing in this project—or in all of you. 

Thank you for allowing me to be your teacher and for showing our state what a group of determined fourth graders could accomplish. This will always be one of the greatest honors of my teaching career. 

Congratulations, 4th-grade Class of 2018. You made history.”