Line a baking sheet with parchment. Skewer each apple stem with a lollipop stick or thick bamboo skewer.

In a 4-quart, heavy saucepan, heat the cream and salt over medium heat until steaming hot. Stir in the honey and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Continue to boil, stirring constantly, until the mixture registers 260° on a candy thermometer (I know my candy thermometer temp needs to be 255).  This takes about 30 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and add the vanilla.

Stir the caramel with a wooden spoon until it’s thick enough to coat the apples without running off, about 5 minutes. (If the caramel thickens too much, return the pan to medium heat and stir.)

Wipe the chilled apples dry. Working with 1 at a time, hold the apple by the stick and dip into the caramel, tilting the saucepan and twirling the apple to coat all but a 1-inch border around the stem. Place the caramel apples on the prepared baking sheet and refrigerate for 20 minutes before serving.