Pan melt butter, stir in sugar, corn syrup and salt. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly.
Remove from heat. Stir in baking soda and vanilla. Gradually pour over popped corn. Mix well. I use my broiler pans, but the disposable lasagna foil pans would work well too. Bake at 250 degrees for one hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Remove from oven and cool. Break apart and place in large bowl.
Melt the chocolate coating completely (according to package directions). Mix in peanut butter until combined and pour over cooled caramel corn. Allow to cool about ten minutes. Add in marshmallows and chopped candy. Pour onto wax paper to harden. Store in airtight Ziploc or tupperware containers.
Notes
Use a pan with enough space to spread the popcorn evenly. I make this with two large broiler pans. Friends of mine use those big disposable lasagna trays. Both work beautifully!
Be sure to remove any unpopped kernels and seeds from the popped corn before making this recipe. The last thing you want is to break a tooth on a hard kernel when you’re trying to enjoy some sweet caramel corn.
When giving this popcorn treat as a gift, store it in mason jars wrapped with ribbon or in colored plastic wrap with treats like candy canes or other wrapped candy to fill it out. Decorative tins are also wonderful for storing and gifting caramel corn!