Chocolate-Peanut Popcorn

Oh, my. I made a batch of this yesterday afternoon so that we could enjoy it in lieu of dessert with a movie in the evening. The stuff is addicting. I'm guessing that you could leave out the cocoa powder for a caramel-peanut mixture - might try that next time just to see how it is.

20 cups air-popped popcorn (I used 2 - 3.5 oz. bags of microwaveable natural popcorn)
1 C. salted peanuts
1 1/2 C. sugar
3/4 C. butter
1/2 C. corn syrup
3 tabl. water
1 tsp. salt
1/4 C. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. baking soda

Preheat oven to 250. Place popcorn and peanuts in a large roasting pan (which I don't have so I used a large cookie sheet with a lip); set aside. In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, butter, corn syrup, water, and salt. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Cook for 8-10 minutes, or until mixture reaches 260 on a candy thermometer without stirring. Remove from heat and add cocoa, vanilla, and baking soda, stirring to combine. Working quickly, pour sugar mixture over popcorn mixture, stirring until popcorn is evenly coated. Bake for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Immediately spread popcorn onto parchment paper to cool. Store in airtight container. Makes 20 servings which is a lot!