Since moving from Yokohama, Japan to the San Francisco Bay Area when I was 20 years old, I get a craving occasionally for the snacks I grew up eating. Whenever my mom comes to visit me, I ask her to bring my favorite Butter Cookies called Hato Sabure (鳩サブレー) from the popular confectionery store Toshimaya.
Since it’s not easy to get my hands on these delicious treats, I decided to create my own Copycat Hato Sabure recipe. I’m really happy with the way it turned out! I hope you give it a try at home for a taste of this delicious Japanese butter cookie recipe.
What is Hato Sabure?
Hato Sabure (鳩サブレー) is a brand of butter cookies sold at Toshimaya in the city of Kamakura (鎌倉) near Yokohama.
These sablé cookies originated all the way back in 1887 during the Meiji period 1868-1912). Around that time, Japan started to open itself up to the world, allowing many foreign goods to come into the country.
One day, a foreigner visited Toshimaya and gave a biscuit to the store’s founder. It was his first taste of a Western cookie, and he was immediately intrigued to make these butter cookies. However, butter wasn’t a common ingredient in Japan at that time, so he had to look for butter in neighborhoods where Westerners lived.
Once he found butter, he tested his butter cookie recipe and eventually created his own version that became the Hato Sabure.
Why Dove-Shaped?
You may wonder why these famous Japanese butter cookies have a dove shape. Hato (鳩) means dove in Japanese, and sabure (サブレー) is the Japanese spelling for sablé, the French cookie. Sablé means “sand” in French and refers to the sandy texture of these crumbly and tender cookies.
This famous confectionery store is very close to Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gu Shrine (鶴岡八幡宮), where the founder often went to pray. He was inspired to make dove-shaped cookies because children at the shrine adored doves. Also, the shrine’s name contains Japanese character number eight “八” which resembles the shape of two birds facing each other.
How I Made A Copycat Hato Sabure Recipe
I was inspired by a Japanese blog (unfortunately, the website no longer exists) where the blogger dedicates his time to making the perfect Hato Sabure! After reading his blog and comparing it with sable cookie recipes online, I came up with this simplified recipe that works very well that I’m sharing today.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- super buttery, yet light
- crisp on the edges
- quick – only 30 minutes of chill time
- shape anyway you like – you can cut out the cookies with a knife using my dove-shaped pattern, use cookie cutters of your choice, or slice into rounds
- versatile – dip in melted chocolate or matcha chocolate and add sprinkles
Downloadable Dove-Shaped Pattern
I made a dove pattern that you can download and print. I was extremely happy that they looked and tasted just like the Hato Sabure I love!
Ingredients You’ll Need
This butter cookie recipe is made with only 5 ingredients:
- all-purpose flour – weigh your ingredients with a kitchen scale for the best results; for weights, click the “Metric” button at the top of the recipe card
- sugar
- unsalted butter
- large egg
- baking powder
You can add vanilla extract if you like, but the original recipe didn’t include it.
How To Make Homemade Hato Sabure
These are delicious, and it’s fun to make especially with your kids who can help cut out the dough.
- Measure/weigh and sift the flour.
- Print out the dove pattern (if using). Trace the shape onto parchment paper and cut out.
- Make the cookie dough. Add the butter (at room temperature) and sugar to the bowl of an electric mixer. With the whisk attachment, whisk on high speed until fluffy and light in color. Add the large egg (at room temperature) and mix to incorporate. Switch to the beater attachment and mix in the flour and baking powder on slow speed until just incorporated. Do not overmix.
- Chill the dough for at least 1 hour wrapped in plastic wrap in the fridge. If you want to make slice-and-bake cookies instead, form the dough into logs instead of a ball.
- Roll out the dough ¼ inch thick on a lightly floured surface. Cut out the cookies around the dove pattern with the tip of a sharp knife. Transfer the cookies to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Bake in a preheated oven until golden brown on the edges, about 15–20 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack.
These cookies stay fresh in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week. You can reheat the cookies at 350ºF (180ºC) in the toaster oven (or oven) until crisp, if you wish.
5 Tips for Making Hato Sabure Cookies
1. Use room temperature butter and eggs.
It’s crucial that your eggs and butter are at room temperature so the ingredients blend more evenly and cohesively. Did you forget to take out the eggs and butter from the refrigerator? Here are two quick tricks I learned from my daughter, the home baker in my family:
- Eggs: Soak the cold eggs in warm water for 10–15 minutes.
- Butter: Microwave 5 seconds for each long side of the stick and turn (total 20 seconds; our microwave is 1000W).
2. For even dough thickness, use chopsticks as a guide.
I place long Japanese cooking chopsticks that are about ¼ inch thick on either side of the dough ball. Using the chopsticks as a guide, I roll out the cookie dough with a rolling pin to the same height of the chopsticks. This keeps my dough an even thickness. You can see how I do it in the photo in the recipe card below.
3. Use parchment paper to make the dove pattern.
To make dove-shaped Hato Sabure cookies, print out my dove-shaped pattern. Trace it onto parchment paper, cut it out, place it on your rolled-out cookie dough, and cut around the shape with a sharp knife.
4. Use a light-colored aluminum baking sheet.
I strongly encourage this because aluminum conducts heat uniformly so your cookies and pastries brown evenly. I had success testing this recipe on an aluminized steel baking sheet as well. Do not use another type of baking sheet with a dark-colored surface. In the past, I’ve burned the bottom of my baked goods on a dark-colored carbon steel baking sheet, so I highly discourage using this kind of pan.
5. Check your oven’s actual temperature with an oven thermometer.
The actual temperature inside may differ from the display setting. Every oven is different; please adjust your setting to achieve the correct actual temperature. Also, I tested this recipe in a full-sized oven. Your baked goods may cook faster if you use a countertop (or other small) oven. Closely monitor your baking and be ready to adjust the bake time if needed.
Other Cookie Recipes You’ll Love
- Miso Butter Cookies
- Black Sesame Cookies
- Matcha White Chocolate Cookies
- Cherry Blossom Cookies
- Madeleines (French Butter Cakes)
- Matcha Madeleines
Butter Cookies (Homemade Hato Sabure)
Ingredients
- 1⅔ cups all-purpose flour (plain flour) (weigh your flour; click Metric button for weights; or use the “fluff and sprinkle“ method and level it off)
- ½ cup sugar
- 8 Tbsp unsalted butter (at room temperature)
- 1 large egg (50 g each w/o shell) (at room temperature; beaten)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp pure vanilla extract (optional; I did not add since the original Hato Sabure does not include it)
Instructions
- Before You Start…Please note that this recipe requires at least 1 hour of chilling time.
- Gather all the ingredients. Sift 1⅔ cups all-purpose flour (plain flour). I highly encourage you to weigh your ingredients using a kitchen scale for this recipe. Click on the “Metric" button at the top of the recipe to convert the ingredient measurements to metric. If you‘re using a cup measurement, please follow the “fluff and sprinkle“ method: Fluff your flour with a spoon, sprinkle the flour into your measuring cup, and level it off. Otherwise, you may scoop more flour than you need.If you want to make dove-shaped Hato Sabure cookies, print out the image and trace the pattern on parchment paper.
- Fit an electric mixer with the whisk attachment and combine ½ cup sugar and 8 Tbsp unsalted butter (at room temperature) in the bowl. Whisk on high speed until fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add 1 large egg (50 g each w/o shell) and mix to combine. Optionally, add ½ tsp pure vanilla extract now if you‘re using it.
- Change the whisk to the beater attachment. Add the flour and 1 tsp baking powder and mix on low speed until the flour is incorporated.
- Roll the dough into a ball and wrap it in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour (or freezer for 15–20 minutes). Tip: Form the dough into logs at this stage if you plan to make slice-and-bake cookies. For how to make cookie dough logs with step-by-step photos, see my recipes for Matcha Cookies and Miso Butter Cookies.
- Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). For a convection oven, reduce the cooking temperature by 25ºF (15ºC). After one hour of chilling, roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface, to ¼ inch thickness. Tip: I place long cooking chopsticks (they are about ¼ inch thick) on either side of the dough to use as a guide when rolling. This keeps my dough an even thickness.
- To make dove-shaped cookies, cut the cookie dough around the dove pattern with the tip of a sharp knife. For round cookies, you can use a 2-inch round cookie cutter or a tall glass.
- Use a large spatula to transfer the cookies to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, about 1 inch (2.5 cm) apart. Use the tip of your knife to add the dove‘s eye and wing details, if you wish. Tip: I highly encourage you to use a light-colored aluminum baking sheet and check your oven‘s temperature with an oven thermometer; see the Notes section below for details.
- Bake until golden brown on the edges, about 15–20 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool completely on a wire rack. Enjoy!
To Store
- These cookies stay fresh in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week. I usually reheat the cookies at 350ºF (180ºC) in the toaster oven (or oven) until crisp.
Notes
Nutrition
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