Neopolitan Cookies

I've spent the past week at our daughter's home in Saskatchewan celebrating an early Christmas. We made up a batch of Neopolitan Cookies which have been part of my Christmas Cookie lineup since before I married. They are so pretty and there's no fancy decorating required. Doesn't my 6 year old grandson's handmade ornament set the cookies off nicely?

2 1/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp. salt
1 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 cup red maraschino or glazed cherries, chopped
1/4 cup green maraschino or glazed cherries. chopped
1/4 cup finely chopped pecans or walnuts
red and green food colouring


Sift together flour, baking powder and salt.
Cream butter, sugar, egg and vanilla.
Blend in flour mixture.
Divide dough into 3 equal parts.
Add red food colouring and the red cherries to one part, blending well.
To the second part, add the green food colouring and green cherries.
To the third part, blend in the chopped nuts.
Wrap each portion up in plastic wrap and chill for about 1 hour.

Divide each colour dough into 2 parts.
On waxed paper, form a 10-12 inch-long log of one portion of thethe red dough and then flatten to about 1/4-1/2 inch thickness.
Repeat using the green and white doughs.
Stack the white dough on top of the red and then add the green layer (see picture above).
Wrap with waxed paper, squaring up and smoothing each long side as you wrap it.
Repeat with the remaining dough.
Chill logs about 4 hours or overnight. Unwrap log and cut into1/4 inch slices and place on cookies sheets.
Bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes - just until the edges begin to turn a light brown.
Remove from cookie sheets to a rack or brown paper and let cool.
These keep well in a tightly closed container stored in a cool place.