How to Make Healthy Orange-Cranberry Granola (Recipe)

Making your own granola allows you to control what goes in it. This healthy granola recipe uses a combination of orange extract and vanilla extract to enhance the flavor of cranberries and pecans. This way, you get intense flavor without extra calories or fat.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• 1/2 cup honey (preferably orange blossom)
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• pinch salt
• 2 tablespoons orange extract
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• pinch cinnamon
• 1 1/2 cups roughly chopped pecans
• 6 cups oats (not instant)
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• shallow 9x13 baking pan
• canola or other nonstick spray (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray the shallow baking pan with canola spray.

2. In a heavy pot large enough to hold all the ingredients, combine the oil, honey, and salt. Place pot over medium heat. Don't let the mixture boil, just warm it enough to make the honey more liquid.

3. Remove from heat and stir in the orange extract, vanilla extract and cinnamon. The honey and oil won't mix entirely, so just get them roughly combined.

4. Put in the nuts, and give a quick stir. Next, add the oats. Now stir to make sure the liquid coats everything evenly. This might take a few minutes, but because the orange extract is so intense, it pays to make sure it's evenly distributed.

5. 
    
   Stirring granola.

   Transfer the mixture to the shallow baking dish. Roast the granola, taking it out of the oven to stir it every 10-15 minutes, until it is evenly browned. This usually takes about 30 to 45 minutes. When you stir, be sure to scrape the sides and bottom, which brown faster.

6. 
    

   If the dried cranberries are on the moister side, add them to the granola for the last 10 minutes of cooking. If they already seem dry, toss them with the granola after it is done cooking.

Tips & Warnings

• Buying ingredients (nuts, oats, honey, dried fruit) in bulk is a great way to cut costs.
• It's worth paying for good quality extracts--fake vanilla is nowhere as good as the real thing! And orange extract should contain only orange oil dissolved in one other ingredient.
• You can substitute dried blueberries for the cranberries, and almonds for the pecans, or even leave out the nuts altogether if you prefer.