Birdseed Rice Crispy Treats

Rice crispy treats are a nostalgic dessert we’ll never pass up. Sweet, slightly sticky, and incredibly simple to make, they’re the perfect snack to whip up when you don’t feel like turning on your oven and want something ready within the hour. These Birdseed Rice Crispy Treats from Kim Alter, chef-owner of Nightbird in San Francisco, are a grown-up take on the classic. Her original recipe’s “birdseed” mixture included puffed grain and brown rice, and we riffed on it by adding a mix of toasted and raw seeds (pepitas, roasted sunflower seed kernels, and poppy seeds), along with a flaky sea salt topping.

Frequently asked questions

Can I customize the ingredients in this recipe?

These treats are easily adaptable to substitutions, so feel free to experiment. As long as you use the same volume of puffed grains, you can mix up the ratio — for example, all quinoa, or an even mix of millet and amaranth. You could even just do all puffed brown rice cereal, if you want, or another favorite puffed cereal you have on hand. As for the seeds, you can try adding sesame seeds, and nuts like peanuts or pecans would stir in really well, too. The recipe can easily be made vegan by simply swapping in vegan marshmallows and plant-based butter.

To add an extra decadent touch to these treats, try drizzling melted dark chocolate or nut butter on top, or even a combination of the two. Drizzle or no drizzle, they’ll be delicious.

What's the best way to melt the marshmallows?

In Step 2 of the recipe, Alter instructs you to combine the marshmallows and butter in a medium saucepan and cook over medium heat. You definitely want to stick to medium heat here — if the heat is too high, you could scorch the marshmallows and burn the butter. And if it’s too low, the marshmallows won’t quite melt down. What you want is a melted, smooth mixture that looks like marshmallow sauce.

Notes from the Food & Wine Test Kitchen

In addition to using cooking spray to coat the parchment paper-lined pan, you’ll also need it to coat your hands. Yes, your hands. After you’ve combined the melted marshmallow mixture with the puffed grain mixture and added it to the pan, grease your hands so you can press everything into an even layer without it sticking to you. Use gentle pressure so that you don’t crush the grains and end up with dense treats.

Another important note: As soon as you’ve combined the marshmallow mixture and the grain mixture, act quickly to get it pressed into the pan, since it won’t take long to set. Then, be sure to sprinkle on the flaky sea salt right away while the marshmallow is still sticky.

Make ahead

Crispy treats can be stored in an airtight container up to two days.