Full confession: until a few years ago, I turned my nose up at all coconut desserts. All of them. And then one day, the angels spoke to me and I ate an Almond Joy. Boy, did I feel like an idiot. It was delicious.

Since then, I’ve come to realize how much a heap of coconut on top of a dessert can change the game. And when that heap of coconut happens to be couched in easy, gooey German chocolate frosting, so much the better.

For the past few days, my family has been enjoying the benefits of Lancaster, PA. If you’ve never been there, it’s home to kiddie amusement park Dutch Wonderland, designed for kids aged three to eight or so. It’s pretty much a barrel of fun for your little crumb-crunchers. But that’s not the most exciting part.

It’s also home to Turkey Hill ice cream, and they have a museum and ice cream experience. As part of admission, you can not only create an ice cream flavor, but you can also have unlimited ice cream samples. Do you know how big those samples are? A scoop. YES. A whole scoop, my friends! Talk about heaven on earth!

We recently had lunch with a family who informed us that wherever they go, they look for food factory tours, especially those involving chocolate. And I’ve been thinking about it since then. Those people are geniuses. Who wouldn’t make that part of a fun family vacation? And next time we hit Lancaster, I see that there are also pretzel factory tours. Sign. Me. Up.

While I’ve had my fill of ice cream over the past couple of days, it’s comforting to think that waiting for me at home are these brownies. I can never get my fill of brownies. Brownies are always there for me. And these are quite special.

Filled with giant chocolate chunks and smothered in German chocolate frosting, these are pretty hard to resist and not difficult to make. Remember, liking German chocolate doesn’t mean making a cake every time. These brownies are a perfectly acceptable way to get your cravings taken care of without taking out the round cake pans and building layers!

It’s Friday and after all the vacationing, I’m pretty much exhausted. Food factory tours will do that to you, as will kiddie amusement parks. But summer calls for all kinds of activity, not to mention indulgence. Make these brownies part of your season!

While I was baking this cake, I realized that I don’t talk about my dad much on this blog, which is odd. My parents are a huge part of my life. We live close to one another, so I see them almost daily. And my dad explains a lot about who I am.

For one thing, he taught English for 40 some-odd years. I learned to love reading from him. Every Saturday, he’d read aloud to me for about an hour, even when I was a teenager. I’ll never forget that one of my favorite books, Pride and Prejudice, was first introduced to me with my father’s voice.

Also, my dad has been an instrumental part of my kids’ lives. When my oldest was born, my parents took care of him full-time so that he wouldn’t have to be in daycare while I went to work. They took care of my other two children part-time and they still pick all three up from school every day so that I can stay at work and go to meetings. My father is gentle and loving with my children, and I strongly suspect he thinks they’re even more fun than I was at that age. But as their doting mother, I’m not jealous!

So the least my dad deserves on his birthday is his favorite cake. I didn’t even know he liked German chocolate until relatively recently, because he never told me. And then one day it just came out in the course of casual conversation. That makes sense, because my father is pretty selfless. He wouldn’t run around asking people to make specific cakes for him. I would. But I’m a picky girl.

The cake base isn’t strictly German chocolate, so sorry. I stuck with the classic Hershey cocoa recipe, which I think makes an amazing cake. It’s easy as well, using just one bowl and no butter. My mom, who protects my dad’s cholesterol, would approve.

I can’t say that the frosting is butter-free, though. Sorry! It’s easy, though. You make it on the stovetop and let it thicken. It’s pretty much foolproof. How many frostings come that easy?

Happy birthday, Daddy. I love you. And I hope the rest of you love this cake. It’s as basic and easy as they come!

Since this is the time of year that people usually count their blessings and express thanks, I have to think about the amazing teachers I work with. I don’t write about my job much here, but as many of you know, I’m a full-time, National Board certified high school English teacher. It’s a very intense job and my days are anything but relaxing, especially since my downtime is nonexistent with three small kids at home. But man, do I love it.

I’m lucky to work with some amazing people. For years, I’ve developed friendships in the trenches of teaching and as I get older, my department feels like a second family. A lot of my baking goes to these wonderful teachers, so many of whom are underappreciated. And boy, when we get together, we know how to party.

This German chocolate pie is a product of Friendsgiving, hosted by one of my best work buddies. She’s amazing, and her favorite treat is anything in that flavor. So, of course I had to go all mashup with this pie.

I’m just gonna say this: a woman I don’t even know was at the dinner and when she tried the pie, she walked across the room and hugged me. It was definitely a high point. I used a graham cracker crust and a dense, fudgy brownie base. The frosting is a simple stovetop concoction that I got from a fabulous blog, Two in the Kitchen. Check it out!

I might be done with pie for a little while, but I’m sure not done with my buddies at work. They make even the roughest days one laugh after another, and baking them treats is just one way to show my gratitude. And for all you non-teachers out there, just remember how hard we work for you and your kids. We focus too much on the negative sometimes, and there are so many amazing teachers in our schools. Appreciate them this holiday season!