Add the butter and sugar to a large mixing bowl. Beat together until light and fluffy. - About 5 minutes.

Mix in 2 of the egg yolks and the vanilla.

Slowly mix in the flour and the salt until the dough pulls together.

Divide the dough into two portions. Form them into a disk and wrap each tightly with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to firm up to a rollable state.

Once the dough is chilled, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Working one batch at a time - roll the dough out between 2 pieces of parchment or on a silicone mat - working it to about ¼ inch in thickness.

Use a 2” round cookie cutter - cut out the cookies and use a thin spatula to transfer the cutouts to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Place the cookies at least 1” apart. Reroll the remaining dough and continue the process until all of the dough has been used. Discard any scraps.

In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining egg yolk with the water. Brush the egg wash onto the tops of the unbaked cookies.

Then use the tines of a fork and gently drag them across the top of the cookies to form a hatch pattern. Don’t press down into the cookies as you would when making peanut butter cookies. You want a light pattern, not an indentation.

Bake the cookies for 12-15 minutes or until the edges start to turn golden.

Cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Store in an airtight container at room temperature.