1/2 c unsalted butter
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 c sugar
1 lg egg
1 1/4 c sifted flour
7 1/2 ozs macadamia nuts — whole
Adjust rack high in oven, about 1/3 to 1/4 down from top. Preheat oven to 350?F. Use a flat-sided cookie sheet or any other sheet turned upside down. Line the sheet with parchment paper or foil, shiny side up.
In small bowl of electric mixer beat butter until soft. Beat in the vanilla and almond extracts, salt, and sugar. Then beat in the egg and on low speed, gradually add the flour and beat only until incorporated. Remove from mixer and with spatula, stir in the nuts.
Work with half the dough at a time. Place it by heaping tablespoons in a strip about 9″ long down the middle of a piece of plastic wrap about 15″ long. Lift the 2 long sides of the wrap and bring them together on top of the strip. Then, pressing gently on the plastic wrap with your hands, shape the strip into a smooth loaf about 9″ long, 2″ wide and 1″ thick. Turn upside down and smooth the other side. Repeat with second half of dough add a second legth of plastic wrap.
Place them in the freezer for only 10 to 12 minutes (no lkonger), just so they will become nonsticky enough to be unwrapped. Unwrp the packages of dough and place them across the sheet (not lengthwise) with plenty of space in the midle and on the ends. These will spread out to 4″ or more in width.
Bake for 25 minutes, reversing sheet front to back once during baking. When done, the tops will be pale with golden spots and the edges will be slightly darker. Remove from oven and reduce temp to 300?F.
The baked loaves will be fragile. Carefully slide the parchment off the sheet onto a cutting board. If the edges are too dark or too uneven, without waiting trim them slightly using a long and sharp knife. Let the loaves wait 5 minutes before you slice them.
With a long, thin, sharp knife cut the loaves crosswise or on a slight angle into slices 3/4″ to 1″ wide. Carefully place the slices on the cookie sheet standing upright.
When oven has reduced temperature to 300?F, bake for 25 more minutes, reversing the sheet front to back once during baking. When done, the slices should be golden on the tops but only slightly colored on the cut sides. The end slices and any thinner slices will take less time. They should be removed one by one as they are ready.
Place the baked slices on a brown paper bag or on a double thickness of paper towels to cool. Handle very carefully and store in an airtight container.