Butter Cookies (Homemade Hato Sabure)

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. 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.
9. 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

1. 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.