Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prep one cookie tray with parchment.

In a medium bowl, combine the butter and sugar using a hand mixer. Mix until light and fully incorporated.

Add the vanilla & eggs and mix for about 1 minute.

Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl.

Add the flour, salt and baking powder. With the mixer on low speed (do not switch to a higher speed), begin to incorporate the dry ingredients. Stop mixing once all the flour is absorbed. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl.

Using a spoon or spatula, mix in the chopped almonds.

Once the mixture comes together, sprinkle a bit of flour onto the cookie tray that is lined with parchment. Carefully dump out the bowl onto the tray and gently form the dough into a log. The dough will be a little bit sticky and soft.

Continue to flour your hands as you mold and shape the dough.

Once the log is ready (it should be about the length of the tray), press down so that the dough log is about ½ inch thick. You may need to shape and square up the edges again.

Mix the egg and water for the egg wash in a bowl using a fork.. Brush the top of the dough with the egg wash.

Bake for about 30 minutes until puffy, golden brown and firm.

Once the cookie log is done baking, remove from the oven and set aside. Drop the oven temp to 300°F.

Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes on the tray. Once the cookie log is done resting, use a serrated knife to slice the log into about 1 inch cookies (or slightly thinner or thicker if you wish).

Place the cookies on their flat sides and place back into the oven for at least 10 minutes* (or more time if desired, SEE NOTES).

After the cookies are done baking on the one side, flip them over again and bake the other sides for at least 10 minutes (or more time if desired, SEE NOTES).

After the last bake, remove the cookies from the oven and allow to cool on the tray.