Earl Grey Tea Granola

Tea is so good. And so is granola. So obviously, tea flavored granola pretty much beats everything else.

This tastes like a cup of lemon earl grey tea, and blueberry white chocolate chip oatmeal cookies mixed together; the flavors are all subtle, but really good. I adapted this recipe from Baking Magique, but feel free to switch it up however you would like to. Part of the beauty of granola is you can add or take away whatever you want!

This granola isn't super sweet, because I wanted to be able to make it a part of my daily routine and wasn't looking for a bowl full of sugar first thing in the morning, but if that's your thing, or you like things sweeter you can add more sugar, honey, both, or whatever floats your boat :)

This is kind of a large recipe for granola, so if you don't plan on sharing it with at least a couple other people I would recommend halving it. And be careful not to burn it! I did- and cried because of the copious amount of burned granola sitting in my cupboard, so make sure you're checking it often, and take it out of the oven as soon as it's a beautiful golden color.

My measurements for this recipe, and all granola I make really, are pretty approximate- basically, as long as your granola isn't doughy and wet before baking and you don't put your chocolate in the oven, you're set :)

 Earl Grey Tea Granola:

2/3 cup water
2 earl grey tea bags
2 1/2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup walnuts
1/2 cup pecans
1/3 cup chia seeds
2/3 cup dried blueberries
1/2 cup chopped white chocolate
1/2 cup melted coconut oil
zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 tbsp sugar
roughly 3 tbsp honey
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp cinnamon
heaping 1/2 tsp cardomon
scant 1/4 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

Boil your water, and once it's stopped boiling (if you make tea with water that's still boiling your tea will be bitter) pour it over both your tea bags. Let them steep while you prep the rest of your ingredients, or about 15 minutes.

Combine your oats, chia seeds (don't spill them- they make an awful mess!), spices and salt in a big bowl. Mix well and set aside.

Zest your lemon, and mix the lemon zest and 1 tbsp sugar together with your fingers to release the oils in the zest. Add the zest mixture, lemon juice, honey, and vanilla to the hot tea. Pour the tea mixture and melted coconut oil over your dry ingredients and combine well.

Pour granola onto a large parchment-paper lined baking sheet or pan and bake for 30-40 minutes, stirring every ten minutes. After about 20 minutes in the oven, stir in the walnuts and pecans. Be sure to watch for your granola to turn golden, and take it out as soon as it does. The granola should still be soft when you remove it from the oven, but will become crunchy a it cools.

After letting the granola cool completely, for 15-30 minutes, stir in the dried blueberries and chopped chocolate. Store in an airtight container cute mason jar in a cool dry place for as long as it takes to get eaten!

Enjoy!