London Fog Blondies

I am a tea fiend.  I have an entire cupboard devoted to teas and tisanes.  The only tea I disliked was Earl Grey- I used to think it tasted like old lady perfume.  However, I learned to love the heady aroma of bergamot when my partner, who loves Earl Grey, moved in and I bought him a tin of The Earl's Garden from  David's Tea.  Earl Grey is my favorite now!  London fog lattes are one of my favorite indulgences.

Here's a recipe for those of you who made my vanilla Earl Grey apple butter and don't know what to do with all of it- and these blondies would be wonderful for a tea party!

London Fog Blondies

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup plus 2 tbsps almond milk boiled and brewed with two bags of Earl Grey tea, cooled
• 2/3 c Vanilla Earl Grey Apple Butter
• 1 tsp tapioca starch
• 1 vanilla bean, split
• 2/3 c sugar
• 2/3 c canola oil
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1 1/2 c flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 c toasted chopped pecans
• optional- 1/3 c chocolate chips
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line an 8x8 baking pan with parchment paper.
2. Mix  the apple butter, tapioca starch, sugar, and canola oil in a large bowl.  Really mix this well.  Add in vanilla, 1/4 c of the almond milk, and scrape half of the vanilla bean into the bowl.  Mix again.
3. Sift in the flour, baking powder, and salt.  Mix until just combined, and then fold in your nuts and chocolate chips.
4. Pour the mixture into your pan and smooth the top.  Bake for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the mixture comes out clean.
5. Make the glaze- mix the rest of the almond milk and scrape the rest of the vanilla bean in with the icing sugar.  Mix well and bring to a boil, then remove from heat and pour over blondies.  
6. Enjoy!

What's your favorite kind of tea?