spumoni cookies

(from "Betty Crocker's Cookbook", 1986)
1 cup butter, room temp.
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 egg
2 & 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup chopped pistachio nuts (or toasted almonds)
6 drops green food color
1 sq. unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled, or 3 tbsp. Dutch-processed cocoa + 1 tbsp. melted cooled butter
2 tbsps. chopped drained maraschino cherries (chop and then squeeze dry with a paper towel over a strainer)

cream butter and sugar until soft and fluffy, add sugar, vanilla and egg. stir in flour and salt. divide dough into 3 equal parts. Mix pistachio nuts and food color into 1 part, chocolate into second, andmix cherries into remaining part. Chill dough slightly. Line bottom and ends of loaf pan with aluminum foil, allowing ends to extend over edges to half way top of pan (for easier lifting out and slicing).
Press nut dough evenly in bottom of pan. Press chocolate dough over nut dough, cherry dough over chocolate. Cover dough with extended ends of foil. Refrigerate at least 2 hours but not longer than 6 weeks.
Heat oven to 375F. Remove foil and dough from pan. Cut dough crosswise into 1/4 inch slices, cut each slice cross wise into halves. Place about 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake cookies until set, about 10 minutes. Immediately remove from cookie sheet using thin spatula and let cool in racks.