Gov. Kay Ivey made it official: The Yellowhammer Cookie is Alabama’s official state cookie.
In a signing ceremony, Montgomery fourth-grader and recipe creator Mary Claire Cook brought a batch of the cookies to Ivey in her office.
The blend of mainstay Alabama ingredients – peanuts and pecans, two crops that have historical and agricultural significance to the state – is now part of the recipe for the official state cookie.
The idea came about when Cook and her fellow classmates, while studying state history, learned there was a state bird, state tree, and state flower – but no state cookie.
Spurred by that discovery, the Yellowhammer cookie was created in a school baking contest won by Cook.
As the governor reviewed the legislation today, she taste-tested the cookie, gave it a stamp of approval and put her signature on the bill to officially name the Yellowhammer Cookie the official state cookie.
“Sweet Home Alabama just got a little sweeter,” Ivey said.
Alabama ranked second in the nation in peanut production in 2021, with more than 1,000 farm families growing some 622 million pounds of peanuts. More than 500 farmers dedicate more than 8,000 acres to pecan production in the state.
Only a handful of states have an official state cookie. Alabama’s now officially becomes the most delicious.
Grayson Everett is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @Grayson270 for coverage of the 2023 legislative session.
Don’t miss out! Subscribe today to have Alabama’s leading headlines delivered to your inbox.