Little can match the seasonal joy of baking holiday cookies: the smell of cinnamon and sweetness filling the air and, if it’s Christmas cookies you’re making, the festive glimmer of green and red sugar crystals. There’s nothing quite like it.

But for those moments in a busy life when you’d like a shortcut to holiday cookies — something to have on hand when friends and neighbors drop by that blends the festive and the familiar — Oreo is releasing a brand-new limited-edition flavor that may be just the thing: Snickerdoodle.

Oreo Snickerdoodle Sandwich Cookies, which will be available nationwide, while supplies last, starting October 17, combine sugar and spice — cinnamon, to be precise. They feature snickerdoodle-flavored cookies sandwiching cinnamon-flavored “creme” decorated with green and red “crunchy” sugar crystals. The golden 12.2-ounce packaging boasts little pine trees and snowflakes — so you know it’s a winter-holiday thing.

A Nabisco spokesperson suggests monitoring the OREO Twitter channel for “clever” hints about the new flavor. We think it’s clever to have them on hand. Always good to have a backup treat to serve guests, in case you just happen to have eaten all the freshly baked holiday cookies yourself before they arrive …