Mix butter, sugar, vanilla and eggs. Stir in flour and salt. Divide dough into 3 equal parts. Mix nuts and food coloring in one part. Mix chocolate into 1 part. Mix cherries into remaining part. Line bottom and ends of loaf pan (9x5x3) with aluminum foil, allowing ends of foil to extend 13 cm over each end of pan.
Press nut dough evenly in bottom of pan. Press chocolate dough on top of nut dough. Press cherry dough on top of chocolate dough. Cover dough with extended ends of foil. Refrigerate at least 2 hours but no longer than six weeks.
Heat oven to 190ºC . Remove foil & dough from pan; remove foil. Cut dough crosswise into 1 cm slices; cut each slice into half. Place about 3 cm apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake cookies until set, about 10 minutes. Immediately remove from cookie sheet.