Preheat the oven to 350˚F Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until it is light and fluffy, approximately 5 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla bean seeds, and beat until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
In a small bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the dry ingredients, and mix until well combined. Add the crushed almonds and cranberries and mix until thoroughly incorporated.
Scoop tablespoons of the mixture using a #70 scoop, and gently roll into balls.
Place evenly spaced on the baking sheet, allowing room for spreading, about 2-3” apart. You will need to bake your cookies in several batches.
Bake the cookies for 8-9 minutes, until puffy and barely golden around the edges. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes on the pan. Transfer to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely. Repeat with the remainder of the dough.
Pair up the cookies with another of a similar size. Prepare the cream filling.
Vanilla Almond Cream Filling
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and shortening until well combined. With mixer on low speed, gradually add the powdered sugar, and continue beating until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
Add the vanilla and almond extracts, and beat to combine. Set aside at room temperature until ready to use.
White chocolate dipping icing
Melt the white chocolate and stir in the vanilla seeds.
To assemble, pair like-sized cookies and spread a thick-ish layer of cream filling over the bottom of one of the cookies. Top with the other cookie. Dip about ¼ of the cookie into the melted chocolate, then dip the iced edge into the crushed almonds.
