Chunky cinnamon apple bars topped with a luscious cream cheese frosting...

We are back to our regular schedule and can talk about the weekly Wednesday Treat Day treat we made for Jeff to take into the office tomorrow. There really was not anything behind me choosing today's recipe, Frosted Cinnamon Apple Bars - it just sounded too good to pass up!

Jeff was quite excited as this recipe contains one of his most-favorite ingredients - cinnamon chips (which happens to be the key ingredient for his Cinnamon Fudge I am required to make each Christmas!). With a high proportion of oats and rich brown sugar, these bars are a little more dense and chewy than light and cake-y. Bringing moistness to the bars are chunks of fresh apples - I would suggest a more firm all-purpose baking apple - I used an unpeeled tart Granny Smith. Each forkful from these bars contained an intensely cinnamon-flavored bite from a generous amount of the cinnamon chips.

The bars naked look pretty homely, so we slathered the top with a combination of luscious cream cheese, softened butter, a shot of vanilla and sweet confectioners' sugar. I nibbled on a piece without the frosting and it was good, but this heavenly concoction brought these bars to a new height and I implore you not to skimp on this part. We sprinkled our favorite Vietnamese cinnamon over the stark white frosting to give a hint of what was to come inside these flavorful bars.

On the weekends, I like to roast or poach chicken and either use it right away in a salad or freeze some to use in recipes like tonight's Chicken and Orzo Frittata. While we waited for the orzo (rice-shaped pasta) to cook, we whisked up a combination of eggs, egg whites, ricotta and crème fraîche. I could easily see using cottage cheese and sour cream for those last two if you don't happen to have easy access to those ingredients. After the orzo was drained and slightly cooled, it was stirred into that egg-y mixture, along with chopped cooked chicken, a few green onions, fresh parsley and roasted red bell peppers.

I'm not sure if our baking dish was not exactly the right size or what, but we did have to bake ours a tad longer than the recipe stated (closer to 35 minutes) - not really a problem, but just pushed back the time we were ready to eat. Be sure to give it at least 5 (preferably 10) minutes to rest once it comes out of the oven so it has time to set up a bit before cutting into it. Firm, yet creamy, this thick version of a baked frittata was comforting and filling - I wouldn't call it "bland", but it wasn't exploding with flavor either. Maybe some Parmesan cheese to amp up the flavor a bit? Now, saying that, we both agreed it was still quite good and wouldn't hesitate to make it again!

Recipes
Frosted Cinnamon Apple Bars
Chicken and Orzo Frittata