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snickerdoodle

noun

snick·​er·​doo·​dle ˈsni-kər-ˌdü-dᵊl How to pronounce snickerdoodle (audio)
plural snickerdoodles
Synonyms of snickerdoodlenext
: a cookie that is made with usually butter, sugar, and flour and that is rolled in cinnamon sugar before baking

Examples of snickerdoodle in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Over at Universal Studios Florida, try the snickerdoodle crepe from Central Park Crepes, which is filled with cinnamon mascarpone and snickerdoodle crumbs. Megan Dubois, Southern Living, 28 Nov. 2025 This twist on snickerdoodle cookies is all rolled up and ready to impress. Elizabeth Fogarty, Better Homes & Gardens, 11 Nov. 2025 The sweet treat can be made with either a chocolate or vanilla signature Frosty base, and is then blended with snickerdoodle cookie sauce and topped off with real cookie crumbles. Sabrina Weiss, PEOPLE, 10 Nov. 2025 Mini Cinnamon Sugar Cookies Hardened snickerdoodles. Alex Beggs, Bon Appetit Magazine, 28 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for snickerdoodle

Word History

Etymology

probably a fanciful coinage, from snicker entry 2 + doodle "doodlebug" (though without clear semantic connection to either word)

Note: An alternative etymology derives the word from Palatinate German dialect Schneckennudel, Scheckennurel, Schleckenurrl "sweet pastry made from yeast dough twisted into a spiral" (from Schnecken "snail" and Nudel "dough in various forms"), with variants in other dialects (Swabia, Saarland). However, none of these words appear to have surfaced in 19th-century American English, and early attestations of snickerdoodle do not suggest a German-American connection.

First Known Use

1889, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of snickerdoodle was in 1889

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Cite this Entry

“Snickerdoodle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/snickerdoodle. Accessed 6 Dec. 2025.

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