Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper then lightly dust with flour.
Warm up a small skillet over medium heat, add in the almonds.
Flip a few times to make sure each side gets nice and toasted. Should only take a few minutes.
Add almonds to a blender or food processor and pulse.
It should be mostly a coarse flour consistency with some small and medium sized chunks of almond.
Divide almonds. ¾ cups of the chopped almonds will go in the batter and the other ¼ cup will go on top.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, using a paddle attachment, cream together the sugar and butter until very smooth.
Add in the starter and mix.
Mix in the eggs, vanilla extract and almond extract. Mix just until combined.
Add in the dry ingredients and ¾ cups of the chopped up almonds
Mix together just until fully combined.
Turn the dough onto the parchment paper and divide in half.
Form the dough into two logs. Using lightly floured hands press them into two rectangle shapes.
They should be equal size. About 10"long by 4" wide and about 1" tall.
Take the remaining almonds and press them into the top of the dough.
Place in the oven and bake for 35 minutes.
Remove from the oven and allow them to completely cool. If cut too soon they will become crumbly and fall apart.
Once cooled, use a serrated knife and slice into 1" thick pieces and lay them flat on the cookie sheet.
Place back in the oven and bake for 15 minutes.
Flip and bake the other side for 10-15 more minuets or until they are brown and crispy.
Allow them to cool on a wire rack. They may seem a bit soft still once they are out of the oven. They will toughen up as they cool.