Crisp and buttery, these traditional Butter Cookies add a whimsical touch to any occasion. In this recipe, I recreated the famous dove-shaped Hato Sabure cookies from Kamakura, Japan (dove pattern included). Only 5 ingredients needed!
Since moving from Yokohama to the Bay Area when I was 20 years old, I get a craving for the snacks I grew up with once in a while. 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.
What’s Hato Sabure?
Hato Sabure (鳩サブレー) is a brand of butter cookies sold at Toshimaya in Kamakura (鎌倉) near Yokohama.
These sablé cookies go all the way back to 1887 (during the Meiji Era). 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 this shop and gave the founder of the store a biscuit. That was the first time he tasted a Western cookie, and he was immediately intrigued to make them. However, butter wasn’t a common ingredient in Japanese food at that time so he had to look for butter in neighborhoods where Westerners lived. Since then he tested and created this version – that’s Hato Sabure.
Why Dove-Shaped?
You may wonder why these famous Japanese butter cookies have a dove shape. The name “Hato Sabure” means dove sablé; Hato (鳩) is a dove in Japanese, and sabure (サブレー) is the Japanese spelling for sablé.
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 (more in Japanese here).
Making Copycat Hato Sabure
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, which I will share today.
This butter cookie recipe is made with only 5 ingredients:
- All-purpose flour
- Sugar
- Unsalted butter
- Egg
- Baking powder
You can add vanilla extract if you like, but the original recipe didn’t include it.
Downloadable Dove-Shaped Pattern
I also made the dove pattern with parchment paper (you can download and print out here). I was extremely happy that they tasted and looked just like the Hato Sabure I love!
These Butter Cookies are:
- Super buttery, yet light
- Crisp on the edges
- Quick– only 30 minutes of chill time
- Can be rolled into a log shape and sliced, or cut out with cookie cutters
- Versatile – dip in melted chocolate or matcha chocolate and/or sprinkles
They are delicious, and it’s fun to make especially with your kids who can help cut out the dough with cookie cutters. Enjoy!
Wish to learn more about Japanese cooking? Sign up for our free newsletter to receive cooking tips & recipe updates! And stay in touch with me on Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, and Instagram.
Butter Cookies (Homemade Hato Sabure)
Ingredients
- 1⅔ cups all-purpose flour (plain flour) (weigh your flour or use the “fluff and sprinkle“ method and level it off)
- ½ cup sugar
- 6–8 Tbsp unsalted butter (at room temperature; use more butter for an extra buttery taste)
- 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
- 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 6–8 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.
Nami-san,
Thank you so much for this Hato Sabure recipe! It is one of my favorite cookies I buy when I visit Japan. Your recipe is so close to the real deal!!! It’s very GOOD. Arigato, Love it!
Hi Didi! So happy to know there is another Hato Sabure fan out there! 😀 Thank you so much for your kind feedback. Hope you can figure out to tweak to make it taste like the real one! 🙂
Thank you very much for this recipe. My son enjoy helping me making it and it’s very tasty, my husband love it too. It’s very easy to make especially for me first time baking cookies 😆
Hi Mariana! Thank you so much for trying my recipe and I’m so happy your family enjoyed these cookies! 🙂
Waiting for them in the oven.. I can’t wait. I think this is the easiest butter cookies. Thank you Nami!
Hi Juliana! I’m glad to hear that and I hope the cookies came out well! 🙂
Hi- Your content was lovely! I have always been a huge fan of Japanese culture and food, desserts . Your blog blends it all together perfectly!
Hi Melinda! Thank you for your kind words. I’m really happy to hear you enjoy the contents I share on my site. Happy exploring and reading! xoxo
Hi! I made these Hato Sable and they taste exactly like the ones from Narita Airport! I love them. I think these cookies can also be iced and decorated…will try one day. Thanks for the recipe : )
Hi Luz! Thanks so much for trying this recipe! I’m so happy you liked them too. They are my favorite cookies. 🙂
Thank you so much for all the recipes. Also making it so easy to download. Thanks!!!
Claudine
Hi Claudine! I’m happy to hear you enjoy my recipes. Thank you for your kind words and support! xo
Thank you Nami! I’ve made 3 trials and on the third the variation suggested by my boyfriend was adding turbinado sugar sprinkled/pressed on the to, baked for 20 minutes-they came out great with lightly browned edges. All the best in the New Year!
Hi Dre! Oh that sounds delicious and crunchy! Great idea suggested by your BF! I’m so happy you enjoyed the cookies. Thank you for your kind feedback. Happy New Year!
Thank you for this recipe! I recently visited Kamakura and, thanks to your post, made sure I did not leave without stopping by their store! Now I can recreate that wonderful flavour and all the memories of a lovely trip to a very friendly town. 🙂
Hi JJ! That is so cool! I’m glad I introduced my favorite cookies to you! So buttery and delicious right? I hope you enjoyed it. 😀 Ah I miss it! I can’t wait to go back to Kamakura in the summer again. 🙂
you can also buy dove shaped cookie cutters on amazon 🙂
Hi Nancy! Thanks so much for your tip! I went to look for a dove cookie cutter like Hato Sable but the shape wasn’t the same…
The original cookie looks like this:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BHj2I3kBqsA/
I wish they have similar ones! Thank you for your comment, Nancy! 🙂
Waaaahhhhh~~~ Thank you so much! This really brings back memories, when i was little my mother worked at a Japanese owned hotel, and she would bring me these cookies, and I LOVED these cookies.
Hi Judy! So happy to find another Hato Sable fan! 😀 It’s so delicious, I can eat a few cookies at one sitting… 🙂
i jist got my cookies out of the oven and they turned out amazing! I’ve had Hato Sabure before and this recipe is right on. I never leave a reply on recipe websites but I had to do it this time because these cookies are amazing.
Hi Erika! Thanks so much for leaving a comment! Your kind feedback means so much to me! I’m happy to hear your cookies came out well. Aren’t these so delicious? Thanks for trying this recipe, Erika!
Not only my friends and family love them, they can’t seem to stop! I am planning on buying a bigger oven because I can’t seem to make enough of them. Thanks for another great recipe.
Hi Meng! Aww I’m so happy to hear yours came out very well! Thank you for trying my recipe! 🙂
These are so good and are easy to make! I made a batch yesterday, and they are all gone. Am making another batch now. (Seriously, they are so addictive!) My whole family likes them. 😀 Made them in teddy bear, heart, hippo, star, and flower shapes, and for the second batch I added a 1/4 teaspoon of salt.
Thank you Nami for this recipe! Keep up the good work.
Hi Esther! I’m so happy to hear you enjoy this recipe! It’s one of my favorite cookies! Love that you made into different shapes. My kids would love the different shapes. Thank you so much for your kind comment!
I made it into flower shapes. Everyone loved it. Thank you.
Hi Maya! So happy you enjoyed this recipe. Thank you for letting me know. 🙂 xo
I tried out this recipe, today and the cookies turned out amazing. I’m so bad at baking, particularly making cookies, but today is a success. Thank you
Hi Katherine! Yay! So happy to hear you enjoyed my favorite cookie. 🙂 These are very simple butter cookies but quite addicting. Thanks for trying this recipe and for your feedback! 😀
おはよございます(*^^*)
Thanks for the recipe! The whole family loves it😊
おはよう、Kate! I’m so glad to hear your whole family enjoyed it! 🙂 Thank you for your kind feedback.
I was searching for the right texture of butter cookies I love to eat and this recipe is by far the best butter cookies recipe I have tried (I have tried soooo many). Thank you very much for sharing this beautiful recipe.
Hi Cathy!
Aww. Thank you very much!!!!
We are so glad to hear you enjoyed Nami’s Butter cookies!
Thank you for your kind feedback.😊