Preheat the oven to 425°F.

Roll out half of your pie pastry and line a deep dish pie plate, draping excess over the edges. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, toss the apples with the cider syrup, vanilla extract and lemon juice. In another smaller bowl, whisk together the sugar and clearjel or cornstarch until evenly combined. Pour over the apples and toss to evenly distribute. Use your hands to carefully pile and pack the apple slices into the pie plate. You may have to break up some pieces to find a way to get it all in there and it WILL mound up over the crust, just keep the excess pie crust clean and uncovered.

Roll out the second pie crust so that it is large enough to drape over the apples and around the edges of the pie plate a bit. Tuck the top crust under the excess bottom crust and crimp in whatever style you prefer. Cut a couple of vent holes on top of the crust (slits or shapes), brush the crust with milk and sprinkle with coarse sugar.

Put in the oven and bake at 425°F for 15 minutes, lower the heat to 375°F and continue baking for 45-50 minutes or until the juices are bubbly in the pie and the apples are tender when pierced through the vent holes. If the crust starts browning too quickly, tent loosely with foil around the edges.

Cool at least to room temperature before slicing if you want the slices to hold together.