In covered 6-quart saucepot, heat whole sweet potatoes with 1 teaspoon salt and enough water to cover to boiling on high. Reduce heat to low; simmer, covered, about 30 minutes or just until potatoes are fork-tender. Drain. Set aside until cool enough to handle.

Meanwhile, in 1-quart saucepan, heat maple syrup to boiling on high. Reduce heat to medium, and boil gently 10 to 15 minutes or until reduced to ½ cup. Stir in cranberries, butter, and ½ teaspoon salt, and cook just until cranberries pop, about 5 minutes longer.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut cooled sweet potatoes crosswise into 1-inch-thick slices and arrange in shallow 3-quart ceramic or glass baking dish, overlapping slices if necessary.

Spoon maple-cranberry syrup evenly over potatoes. Bake, uncovered, 20 minutes or until hot.

To make Ginger-Almond Sweet Potatoes: Prepare sweet potatoes as above in step 1. In step 2, instead of maple-cranberry syrup, prepare ginger syrup: In 1-quart saucepan, melt 1 tablespoon margarine or butter on medium. Add 2 teaspoons grated peeled fresh ginger; cook 1 minute, stirring. Stir in ½ cup apricot preserves, ¼ cup orange juice, and ½ teaspoon salt; heat to boiling, stirring. Complete recipe as in steps 3 and 4, spooning ginger syrup over potatoes and sprinkling with ½ cup toasted sliced natural (with brown skin still on) almonds before baking.

To make Butterscotch-Spice Sweet Potatoes: Prepare sweet potatoes as above in step 1. In step 2, instead of maple-cranberry syrup, prepare butterscotch-spice syrup: In 1-quart saucepan, heat ½ cup packed brown sugar, 3 tablespoons butter (no substitutions), 2 tablespoons water, 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice, ¼ teaspoon salt, and ⅛ teaspoon ground red pepper (cayenne) to boiling, stirring until smooth; remove from heat. Complete recipe as in steps 3 and 4, spooning butterscotch-spice syrup over potatoes before baking.