In a large saucepan, cook cranberries, sugar, spices and orange juice, until bubbly and almost all berries burst. Stir often.
Mix cornstarch with water.
Add cornstarch slurry and vanilla and stir into the hot filling. Set is aside to cool. The filling should be very thick.
Taste the filling and add more sugar if needed.
Preheat oven to 375° F.
Roll out the pie crust and line the bottom of a 9" pie plate.
Bake the bottom crust for 6 to 7 minutes. I like to do that to prevent a soggy, underbaked crust.
Spread the filling over the crust and add any decorative top crust elements (I made a braid along the edge).
Mix egg with milk and brush the crust edges.
Cover any edge of the crust that was prebaked, with aluminum foil.
Bake pie for 15 to 18 minutes or until the top crust is golden.
Cool pie before slicing.
Notes
You can prepare the filling up to 1 week ahead. Bake the pie up to 1 day in advance. If you refrigerate the pie for longer, the crust won’t be as fresh.
Brushing the crust edges with egg will make for a prettier, deep golden brown look. It is not necessary.
You can add raspberries, blueberries or even blackberries to the filling.
Please note, that the nutrition value can vary depending on what product you use. The information below is an estimate. Always use calorie counter you are familiar with.