Recipes Desserts Birdseed Rice Crispy Treats Be the first to rate & review! Kim Alter’s original recipe featured a “birdseed” mixture of puffed grain and brown rice; we riffed on her idea and added some toasted and raw seeds and flaky sea salt to add even more layers of flavor to these updated classic treats. By Kim Alter Kim Alter Restaurant: Plum (Read a review) Location: Oakland, CA Why She's Amazing: Because she brings down-to-earth boldness to cerebral dishes. Culinary School: California Culinary Academy (San Francisco) background: Acquerello, Masa's, Gary Danko, Coi (/sites/default/files/an Francisco); NoMI (Chicago); Manresa (Los Gatos, CA); Ubuntu (Napa); Plate Shop (Sausalito, CA) Quintessential Dish: Braised apples, celery root and rutabaga with red quinoa On Chicago: Alter interned at Blackbird, Charlie Trotter's and Alinea before working at NoMI. "I'm from California. I wanted to see what Chicago was like, but winter there destroyed me." Money-Making Secret: Waiting tables. While working in the kitchen at Manresa, "I was pretty grumpy because I had to wait tables to pay for my commute from San Francisco." Her Mentor: Suzette Gresham from Acquerello. She "[helped] me understand the basics, gave me opportunities to be on the hot line, sat me down every night—she used to give me homework—she was just really motherly. It was good for me; she really took me under her wing and gave me a good base to go on to my next job." Food & Wine's Editorial Guidelines Published on June 16, 2020 Print Rate It Share Share Tweet Pin Email Photo: Photo by Johnny Autry / Food and Prop Styling by Charlotte Autry Active Time: 15 mins Total Time: 50 mins Yield: 16 Ingredients Cooking spray 4 cups organic puffed brown rice cereal 1 3/4 cups mixed puffed grains (such as quinoa, amaranth, kamut, or millet) 3/4 cup raw pepitas 1/2 cup salted roasted sunflower seed kernels 1/3 cup poppy seeds 10 ounces marshmallows (about 7 cups) 3 tablespoons unsalted butter 1/2 teaspoon flaky sea salt Directions Line an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on all sides. Coat with cooking spray; set aside. Stir together brown rice cereal, puffed grains, pepitas, sunflower seed kernels, and poppy seeds in a large bowl; set aside. Combine marshmallows and butter in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium, stirring constantly, until mixture is melted and smooth, 4 to 5 minutes. Immediately pour marshmallow mixture over puffed grain mixture in bowl; quickly stir until cereal, grains, and seeds are evenly coated. Transfer mixture to prepared pan. Grease hands with cooking spray; press mixture into an even layer in pan, smoothing top. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt. Let stand at room temperature at least 30 minutes or up to 2 hours. Using parchment paper overhang as handles, remove cereal mixture from pan. Using a serrated knife, cut into 16 (2-inch) squares. Make Ahead Crispy treats can be stored in an airtight container up to 2 days. Notes Find puffed grains at health food stores and on amazon.com Rate it Print