Allan Fradkin's Sweet Potatoes with Apples and Dried Cranberries

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil. With the tip of a sharp knife, poke 3 holes into each sweet potato. Arrange the sweet potatoes on the baking sheet and bake for 1 hour. Remove from the oven and let the sweet potatoes cool enough that you can remove the skins with your hands. Place the sweet potatoes in a large bowl. Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees.

In a medium sized saucepan, heat the brown sugar, 1 ½ sticks of butter, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, cloves, cardamom, and orange zest and juice over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved and the butter melted.

Meanwhile, place the apples and 1 stick of butter in a glass baking dish. Cover loosely with plastic wrap, and microwave for 5 minutes. Pour the cranberries into the dish with the apples and stir. Set aside.

Pour the butter-sugar-orange juice mixture over the sweet potatoes and use a fork or potato masher to roughly mash the potatoes. As you do, they will absorb the liquid. Once you have the consistency you like, add the apples and cranberries, and stir. Transfer to a 3-quart (9-inch x 13-inch) casserole dish and bake for 1 hour.