If you’re a fan of Twin Bing or Cherry Mash candy, we created an allergy friendly version! We made our bing bar recipe dairy free, peanut free, gluten free, and we used real cherries for the filling – no red food coloring!
For anyone who misses the Cherry Mash or Twin Bing candy, but needs an allergy-friendly option, we made this recipe for you! Our cherry bing bars are completely dairy free and peanut free, and the filling is made with real cherries (no red dye in our filling).
This recipe is inspired by “bing bars” my oldest sister used to make when we were teens. She got the recipe from a friend, and we would usually make these around Christmas as a holiday candy (it’s almost like fudge!).
The original recipe had chopped Spanish peanuts mixed into the chocolate layers and cherry chips for the filling. We loved these and I had been thinking of ways to remake them for years before I finally landed on some good ideas I finally tried.
These candy bars turned out great! The cherry filling is a bit like a sweet and tart fudge, and the roasted, unsalted sunflower seeds make a great stand-in for the usual chopped Spanish peanuts mixed with the dairy free milk chocolate.
Why we love this recipe
While this recipe has multiple steps, it’s not super complicated to make and it’s a great alternative to cherry mash candy and is well worth the effort to make if you’re craving candy bars.
These are great for any time of year, but they also make a great Christmas candy since you can cut them small like fudge and are a great holiday party treat. Plus, it’s allergy friendly, school safe, and still decadent!
How to make peanut free twin bing bars (cherry mash bars)
- Line an 8×8-inch pan with parchment paper and set aside.
- This recipe works best with roasted and unsalted sunflower seeds. I used raw sunflower seeds and toasted them in a pan on the stovetop until golden to get that roasted, nutty taste without the salt.
- If you toasted your sunflower seeds, allow them to cool, then pulse them in a food processor once or twice to chop the sunflower seeds up a bit (but you don’t want them to be chopped too fine or powdery). Set aside.
- Add the mini white chocolate chips to a microwaveable bowl and heat in the microwave in 30-second increments (stirring each time) until completely melted. Set aside. We want this to cool down a bit while we prepare the rest of the ingredients (this will be for the filling), but we don’t want it to cool so much it sets up.
- Add the rice milk chocolate chips to a separate microwaveable bowl and heat in the microwave in 30-second increments (stirring each time) until completely melted.
- Add the chopped sunflower seeds to the melted rice milk chocolate and combine, then divide in half and spread half the sunflower chocolate into the prepared pan. Set aside the rest for the top layer of chocolate.
- You can refrigerate the bottom chocolate layer in the pan to firm up while preparing the cherry filling.
- Add the freeze dried cherries to a small blender or food processor and process into powder.
- Stir or whisk the cherry powder into the cooled but still liquid white chocolate, adding the coconut milk in increments until everything is mixed thoroughly. You might need a hand mixer to mix it completely. It will be quite thick but still spreadable. If the white chocolate is too hot still, the coconut milk will not want to mix well, if that happens, keep mixing with a hand mixer until it cools enough to mix everything together.
- Spread the cherry filling evenly over the bottom layer of sunflower chocolate.
- Add the rest of the sunflower chocolate on top of the cherry filling and spread it evenly.
- Let this sit at room temperature until it sets completely (this might take 30 minutes to an hour or so to completely set up).
- Once it’s set, cut into 1-inch pieces (or 1 ¼ inch pieces) and store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. These might last longer in the fridge, but the texture of the chocolate and filling may change when chilled.
We used the rice milk chocolate chips for the chocolate layers (which we love), but you can swap the rice milk chocolate for dark or semisweet chocolate if you want a darker chocolate in this candy.
Can I use a different brand of white chocolate in this recipe?
We tested this recipe out with the Enjoy Life mini white chocolate chips specifically. Since their brand of white chocolate doesn’t actually have cocoa butter in it, and we add cherry powder and coconut milk, I am not sure if the filling would work with other brands of dairy free white chocolate.
Until we do more testing with other brands of dairy free white chocolate, we can’t guarantee the results if a different type of dairy free white chocolate is used for the filling.
I did test out a version of the cherry filling using coconut oil, cherry powder, and powdered sugar, but it ended up gritty and not the right texture. The melted white chocolate chips give the cherry filling a fudgy texture, which is perfect in this recipe.
Dairy Free Bing Bars (Peanut Free)
Ingredients
- ½ cup roasted, unsalted sunflower seeds
- 9 ounces Enjoy Life rice milk chocolate chips
- 9 ounces Enjoy Life mini white chocolate chips
- 2 ounces freeze dried cherries
- 3 Tablespoons canned coconut milk
Equipment
Instructions
- Line an 8×8-inch pan with parchment paper and set aside.
- This recipe works best with roasted and unsalted sunflower seeds. If you have raw sunflower seeds, you can toast them in a pan on the stovetop until golden (that’s what I did).
- If you toasted your sunflower seeds, allow them to cool, then pulse them in a food processor once or twice to chop the sunflower seeds up a bit (but you don’t want them to be chopped too fine or powdery). Set aside.
- Add the mini white chocolate chips to a microwaveable bowl and heat in the microwave in 30-second increments (stirring each time) until completely melted. Set aside. We want this to cool down a bit while we prepare the rest of the ingredients (this will be for the filling), but we don’t want it to cool so much it sets up.
- Add the rice milk chocolate chips to a separate microwaveable bowl and heat in the microwave in 30-second increments (stirring each time) until completely melted.
- Add the chopped sunflower seeds to the melted rice milk chocolate and combine, then divide in half and spread half the sunflower chocolate into the prepared pan. Set aside the rest for the top layer of chocolate.
- You can refrigerate the bottom chocolate layer in the pan to firm up while preparing the cherry filling.
- Add the freeze dried cherries to a small blender or food processor and process into powder.
- Stir or whisk the cherry powder into the cooled but still liquid white chocolate, adding the coconut milk in increments until everything is mixed thoroughly. You might need a hand mixer to mix it completely. It will be quite thick but still spreadable. If the white chocolate is too hot still, the coconut milk will not want to mix well, if that happens, keep mixing with a hand mixer until it cools enough to mix everything together.
- Spread the cherry filling evenly over the bottom layer of sunflower chocolate.
- Add the rest of the sunflower chocolate on top of the cherry filling and spread it evenly.
- Let this sit at room temperature until it sets completely (this might take 30 minutes to an hour or so to completely set up).
- Once it’s set, cut into 1-inch pieces (or 1 ¼ inch pieces) and store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. These might last longer in the fridge, but the texture of the chocolate and filling may change when chilled.
Nutrition
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Sarah Jane Parker is the founder, recipe creator, and photographer behind The Fit Cookie which she founded in 2011. Sarah is based in Wyoming and has been managing food allergies for herself and her 2 children for over 20 years. Sarah was also a certified personal trainer for 12 years, as well as a group fitness instructor, health coach, running coach, and fitness nutrition specialist.