Preheat the oven to 350 F. Very generously grease several baking sheets. Set out several rolling pins, wine bottles, or other similar-sized cylinders for shaping wafers and lightly grease them. Warm butter in a small saucepan over lowest heat. Remove from the heat and set aside to melt and cool slightly. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the egg whites and salt with a wire whisk until frothy. Gradually sift in powdered sugar, whisking until blended and smooth. Whisk in almond extract. Gradually sift flour into mixture, whisking until very smooth and slightly thickened. Whisk in the cooled butter. Drop 4 to 5 very small rounded teaspoonfuls of batter onto a baking sheet, spacing them at least 3 1/4 inches apart. (Keep the portions very small and don't crowd them as they spread a great deal.) Using the tip of a table knife, and swirling in a circular motion, spread each spoonful of batter into a 1 3/4-inch round. Very generously sprinkle sliced almonds all over each round.

Place on the top rack of the oven and bake for 5 to 7 minutes, or until the wafers are rimmed with 1/2 inch of brown. Reverse baking sheet from front to back halfway through baking to ensure even browning. Remove baking sheet from the oven and let stand for about 20 seconds. Begin gently testing the edges of wafers with a spatula and as soon as they are firm enough to lift without tearing, quickly loosen each from the sheet using a thin-edged, wide-bladed spatula. Immediately drape wafers over rolling pins or cylinders. (If the last wafers on baking sheet cool too much while others are being removed, return baking sheet to oven for 1 or 2 minutes to rewarm. They may still be difficult to remove, however.) As soon as tuiles are stiff, transfer from rolling pins to wire racks to cool thoroughly. Cool, clean, and thoroughly regrease baking sheets before reusing. Repeat with remaining batter. Store tuiles in an airtight container for up to a week. Freeze for longer storage. Handle wafers gently as they are extremely fragile. Makes about 30 3- to 3 1/2-inch wafers.

Recipe and comments are from _The International Cookie Cookbook_ by Nancy Baggett.