A snickerdoodle is a type of cookie made with flour, fat, sugar, and salt, and rolled in cinnamon sugar. Eggs may also sometimes be used as an ingredient, with cream of tartar and baking soda added to leaven the dough. Snickerdoodles are characterized by a cracked surface and can be either crisp or soft depending on the ingredients used. They are often referred to as "sugar cookies," but traditional sugar cookies are often rolled in white sugar, whereas snickerdoodles are rolled in a mixture of white sugar and cinnamon. The name "snickerdoodle" is of uncertain origin, but some food historians argue that it is probably German in origin, and that the name is a corruption of the German word Schneckennudel, a Palatine variety of schnecken. Others trace its origin to New Englands tradition of whimsical cookie names.