Honey Caramel Apples

I found this recipe and the caramel flavor was excellent but didn't firm up enough to really make good caramel apples out of them.  If anyone tries it, let me know how it turns out for you.  Maybe cook it for longer and see what happens? I used two types of very small apples, one being a crab apple.  I don't think many people really loved the flavor but I'm just sick of the same old thing, so I did something different. I like new things.

• 6 medium apples (or substitute 8 small apples)
• 1 cup honey
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 teaspoon unrefined sea salt
• natural red food dye (optional)
• 1/2 cup crushed pecans (preferably soaked and dried)
• 6 sticks or wooden dowels
• 

Instructions

1. Whisk honey, cream, butter and salt in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat until it begins to bubble, then immediately reduce the heat to medium. Stir in food coloring, adjusting the volume to match the intensity of color you like. 
2. Continue to whisk the caramel frequently to prevent scorching and to prevent it from bubbling up and out of of your saucepan. Continue to cook until the caramel reaches a temperature of 260 F (about 25 minutes). The caramel should be a rich brown or red-brown if you also used food coloring; the bubbles should be small and should uniformly cover the surface of the pan and the caramel should be thickened.
3. Prepare an ice bath. Then pour the hot caramel into a mixing bowl and place the bowl in the ice bath, taking care not to splash water into the hot caramel. Stir the caramel until it is uniformly cooled and it begins to thicken just a bit. 
4. Plunge a wooden stick or dowel into the core of your apples and roll them, one by one, in the caramel until uniformly coated. Roll them in chopped pecans and place them on a piece of parchment paper to cool completely before serving.