WASHINGTON — What happens when rules designed to ensure public safety fray so much that undocumented residents can obtain commercial driver’s licenses for big rigs, even if they are not qualified to drive them and do not speak English? In 2025, Americans saw the danger of allowing unvetted migrants to drive big rigs without obtaining bona fide commercial driver’s licenses, often thanks to what Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy calls “scam schools.” (RELATED: When Sanctuary Policies Hit the Highway) In November, an illegal immigrant with a California commercial driver’s license was charged with killing a newlywed couple in Oregon. In October, an immigrant truck driver who had been in the United States illegally since 2011 allegedly caused a fatal accident. He did not hold a valid CDL, the New York Post reported. In August, three people were killed in Florida after an Indian driver made an illegal U-turn on a major freeway. If you see the video, you have to wonder, what was the illegal immigrant from India thinking when he blocked all lanes of the highway? And who gave this guy a CDL? The answer, according to the Department of Homeland Security: California. Again. (RELATED: How Did a Migrant Who Can’t Speak English Get a License to Drive a Big Rig?) After President Donald Trump withheld $40 million in federal funds to punish California for not complying with its new English-speaking requirements, Gov. Gavin Newsom revoked some 17,000 CDLs. Good. Fatal crashes were bound to happen more frequently when unqualified individuals who should not be behind the wheel were able to drive 18-wheelers that weigh as much as 80,000 pounds — and on roads with family cars, light trucks, and pedestrians. As Paul Enos, CEO of the Nevada Trucking Association, said of big-truck drivers, “They should be able to read a runaway ramp truck sign.” Truckers who can’t read traffic signs won’t see warnings they need to see. But as a report you can read at TruckingResurgence.com informed, the requirement that truck drivers be able to read road signs and basic English instructions “was essentially removed in 2016.” “This administration is cracking down on every link in the illegal trucking chain,” Duffy maintained. “Under Joe Biden and (his Transportation Secretary) Pete Buttigieg, bad actors were able to game the system and let unqualified drivers flood our roadways.” According to the report, “90 percent of trucking carriers remain unrated for safety.” Scary. When truck drivers aren’t properly trained by experienced professionals who know why smart regulations make travel safer, they may not appreciate how lethal their profession can be. So they might flout the rule limiting drivers to 11-hour days behind the wheel, Enos noted. And they might tinker with electronic monitoring devices meant to make sure that they don’t drive too much in a day. Another issue is the problem of “chameleon carriers” who shutter when they are busted for flouting regulations, then reopen with new names. It takes brass to go after bad actors at a time when America is experiencing a trucker shortage. That’s probably why the Biden administration did not make compliance a top priority. On the one hand, trucking provides opportunities to men and women who aren’t interested in desk jobs. But the demands — long hours, living on the road away from family — mean the job is not for everyone. The rules and testing regimen can discourage marijuana users, which Enos tells me has limited the driver pool. But professionals want a system that protects them from bad actors. So it’s heartening that the Trump administration isn’t out to simply cut the size of government. Duffy wants to make it work. READ MORE from Debra J. Saunders: Sleepy Donald Trump? Umm, No, He’s Not Joe Biden. Yes, the New York Times Really Ran a Story About Social Services Fraud by Immigrants The Flying Public Is Getting Surly. Don’t Let It Ruin Thanksgiving. Contact Review-Journal Washington columnist Debra J. Saunders at dsaunders@reviewjournal.com. Follow @debrajsaunders on X. COPYRIGHT 2025 CREATORS

You are an experienced Navy SEAL Commander  (rank 05) with a solid combat record in Iraq and Afghanistan. You have been a student at the National War College for the past eight months. You have been identified as a potential flag officer, and the college is preparing you for decision-making at the political-military level. And you are now in the final exam period of the course of instruction. You have just completed the first of three war game role-playing simulations, where you have been asked to make difficult political-military decisions under time constraints. In the game scenario, you are acting as a senior commander supervising an action regarding a high-speed boat believed to be carrying drugs. Administration policy is to destroy such craft when located and confirmed to be transporting narcotics. The Secretary of Defense (SECDEF) has been monitoring the situation and has given the order to kill them, with the assumption being that the weapon used was deadly enough to eliminate the vessel and everyone aboard. The strike is successful, but the post-strike photos show that — amazingly — two of the crew have survived.  Now, it is decision time. You have three potential courses of action: (1) Call the SECDEF and ask for a clarification of intent. (2) Order a second strike to finish off the survivors. (3) Order a quick reaction force to apprehend the survivors for interrogation. You also have the option of coming up with your own solution. You order option 2, the second strike, and the survivors are eliminated. Part of the post-game debrief requires you to justify the rationale for your decision. You explain that the decision was to follow military procedure and carry out the last order given, and with the rationale that the survivors might try to call for help to recover the drugs. If I were evaluating the exercise and conducting the debrief, my response would be as follows: “Commander, you made a poor decision. At least, I will give you credit for making a decision decisively. First, let’s look at this from a moral standpoint. You knowingly violated both the Law of War and the Uniform Code of Military Justice, which prohibit the execution of helpless survivors of combat at sea and unarmed prisoners of war. The ‘I was only following orders’ excuse doesn’t fly here any more than it did at Nuremberg. “Second, faced with an unanticipated situation that was not covered in the original rules of engagement, you did not ask for clarification. There was time to get such clarification; the survivors were not going anywhere in the immediate future. Your action forced the SECDEF into being involuntarily complicit in a potential war crime without his being given the option of changing the commander’s intent based on an unanticipated situation. That decision has far-ranging legal and political implications far beyond the tactical situation. “Third, is the purely military aspect of your decision. Those crewmen may have been mere mules, or they might have had information useful in dismantling the cartel involved. Based on your decision, we will never know. Given your rationale that the survivors might call for help to recover the drugs, you blew the chance to acquire a second target. “You will have two more scenarios to try to redeem yourself. But frankly, Commander, based on this scenario alone, I would not recommend you for high-level command.” The evaluation situation above does not exist in the war colleges or in the military promotion system today, but it should. Our war colleges currently stress theory and academics rather than evaluating the decision-making skills of officers under pressure. During my military career and as a State Department field officer, I ran into too many officers who had succumbed to the Peter Principle, where, through no fault of their own, they had been promoted beyond their level of competence. In peacetime, that only leads to confusion and poor morale. In combat situations, it can lead to unnecessary death and international repercussions. Because of a series of unusual circumstances, I was placed into situations similar to the one above, where tactical decisions could have had far-reaching political-military implications, before I went to the Marine Corps War College. Fortunately, I got through them without killing anybody who wasn’t actively trying to kill Americans or causing an international incident. Nothing I learned in the schoolhouse would have prepared me for that; however, the kind of rigorous decision-making tests described above might have weeded out the flag-level officers who made bad decisions ranging from the Afghan withdrawal to the recent boat debacle. We need to reform professional military education. READ MORE from Gary Anderson: The Marine Corps Could Not Fight Fallujah Today The Best Birthday Present for the Marine Corps US Marine Leader Misread History and the Patterns of Conflict Gary Anderson is a retired Marine Corps colonel who served in Lebanon, Somalia, and Bangladesh. He served as a civilian advisor in Iraq and Afghanistan.

For any writer, losing a mentor is a painful moment, and such was the case when I found out that Allan Brownfeld had died on August 4, 2025, at 85 years old. Allan passed so quietly that I missed the news at the time. I fear many others did as well. I did not want his passing to go by without writing a tribute. The end of any friendship causes moments of reckoning and gratitude, but Allan in particular will be sorely missed. I agree with this: It is how we learn that matters, and it makes life more interesting. Allan knew how to learn. Who was Allan Brownfeld? His resume is stellar: syndicated columnist; longtime writer for the St. Croix Review; popular speaker here and abroad; expert on the Middle East; staffer for a vice president, for congressmen, and for the U.S. Senate Internal Subcommittee; editor of respected journals like The Lincoln Review and Issues. His books included Hung Up On Freedom (1969); The New Left (1978); Dossier on Douglas (1970); co-author with Jay Parker of What the Negro Can Do About Crime (1974); and co-author with J. Michael Waller of The Revolution Lobby (1984). He was a fiscal conservative and, as time passed, a social liberal. According to the beautiful tribute his son Peter wrote for the American Council for Judaism, a group Brownfeld worked with for decades, Allan’s Jewish grandparents immigrated from Lithuania and Poland to New Jersey and New York. Hardworking and dreaming of a better life for their children, they embraced the land of the free and home of the brave, and family members like Allan thrived as he grew up in Brooklyn. Education was first and foremost. Brownfeld attended the College of William and Mary, where he became involved in politics and journalism and wrote for the student newspaper. He eventually attended law school at his alma mater, but never practiced because his passions were the power of the written word and statecraft. Civil rights were fiercely important to Allan, and he defended blacks and American Indians with fervor and respect. Probably my favorite quote from Allan occurred when he was still a student at William and Mary during the 1960s, when he had invited the college’s first black speaker. The college president criticized Allan’s decision by saying, “I thought you were a conservative?” Allan responded: “Racism isn’t something I want to conserve.” Touché. I met Allan Brownfeld quite by accident. In 1980, I travelled around the world to New Zealand, Australia, crewed on sailboats in the Indian Ocean and Red Sea, and ended up settling in the Seychelles, a communist country a thousand miles off the coast of East Africa. After teaching school, I left in 1982 after a very bad coup d’etat. When I arrived home, Jerry Van Voorhis, the rector at my boarding school, Chatham Hall, asked me to write about my trip for the alumnae magazine. He later sent my article to his friend Allan Brownfeld, who republished it in The Lincoln Review. Allan and I finally met in Washington, D.C., where he took me out to lunch and encouraged me to write for a living, proceeding to publish my first articles and encouraging me to carry on. His influence on me was enormous. When I talked to people who knew Allan Brownfeld well, they all shared that they had respected him deeply. Many used the same words to appraise him: “loyal,” “a true intellectual,” and “a gentleman who was able to reach across the aisle because he was from a kinder, gentler age.” Stephen Naman is the president of the Board of Directors for the American Council for Judaism (ACJ), a group whose focus is Judaism beyond nationalism through education, social connections, and religious guidance, a break with Zionism. The council was founded in 1942, and Brownfeld became involved when he was 17 years old. At one time, he even edited the council’s magazine, Issues. As Naman explained, Brownfeld, “did not believe in Jewish nationalism. Humanity was more important, and his belief was that Jewish Nationalism was oppressive to the Palestinians.” This was the core belief of ACJ, and for decades, Brownfeld was the voice of the council. Naman described Brownfeld as a very thoughtful person who was firm in his beliefs, especially rights for all peoples. “He was a force to be reckoned with,” said Naman. Van Voorhis, who had been one of Allan’s roommates at William and Mary, called Brownfeld not only a writer, but a polemicist whose articles usually focused on civics, education, and love of country, race relations, and the Middle East. He said that Allan’s “first sentences were like a dagger in the heart.” He was highly effective with his words. But aside from polemics, Allan Brownfeld also had a kind and gentle side. A father to three successful children, he was also a loving grandfather to six grandchildren, whom he spent time with, reading books with them and listening to what they had to say. Brownfeld always struck me as the type of person who befriended people from all walks of life and all ages. I agree with this: It is how we learn that matters, and it makes life more interesting. Allan knew how to learn. Allan’s son Peter wrote in his obituary that his father was “an eternal optimist about America.” He acknowledged that we had made “grave errors — slavery, racism, treatment of Native Americans, Vietnam, Watergate — but he thought of America as a resilient nation.” Comforting words from someone who knew what he was talking about. Allan Brownfeld’s legacy will not only be his scholarly work, but also the mark he left on people like me. READ MORE: James Stevens Curl: A Champion for Beauty, Tradition, and Heritage in Architecture RIP Mike Greenwell — a Good Ball Player and a Good Man ‘Everything is Personal’ — Remembering Jane Goodall Tyler Scott is a freelance writer living in Blackstone, Virginia, who has been publishing her articles since the early 1980s. Her website is tylernscott.com

from State Of The Nation: But, really, why has the Trump Administration so radically morphed into a dangerous camarilla of Khazarian Mafia hitmen? (See answer below.) BECAUSE: The Chicago’s Jewish Supermob uses their wholly owned and operated Military Industrial Complex to conduct WW3-triggering Economic Warfare and Financial Terrorism worldwide while the captured U.S. Armed Forces […]

by Mike in Alaska, Survival Blog: When it all hits the fan and the grid is gone for whatever reason, be it EMP, all out nuclear exchange, a hurricane, or possibly a tornado, snow knocking down trees, or as we say up here in the interior of Alaska the four reasons power goes out: it’s […]

by Caitlin Johnstone, Caitlin Johnstone: President Trump has been holding talks with top advisors this week regarding potential US attacks on Venezuela in order to bring about regime change in yet another oil-rich nation. As the western political/media class frames Venezuela’s President Maduro as a “dictator” who must urgently be removed from power, it is worth noting […]

These white chocolate cranberry bars are my answer to easy holiday baking. The bars come out soft in the center with golden, crisp edges and just the right mix of sweet and tart. It’s a winning holiday treat! I bake these White Chocolate Cranberry Bars when I need a dessert that feels festive but doesn’t take much effort. In This Article Amy’s NotesKey Recipe IngredientsSubstitutions And VariationsStep-By-Step Recipe InstructionsHow To Prep AheadWhite Chocolate Cranberry Bars RecipeFrequently Asked QuestionsMore to Bake and Eat View more This post may contain affiliate links, at no additional cost to you. Amy’s Notes These White Chocolate Cranberry Bars are the perfect holiday treat, and they never disappoint. Here’s why we love them: Perfect Sweet and Tart Balance: The fresh cranberries bring a bright, tangy flavor that pairs beautifully with the creamy white chocolate. It’s the same flavor combo I love in these White Chocolate Cranberry Scones. Chewy with Crisp Edges: These bars bake up soft and chewy in the center with golden, slightly crisp edges. Quick and Easy to Make: No need to chill dough or shape cookies. Just stir, bake, and drizzle. Festive and Pretty: The bright red cranberries and white chocolate drizzle make these bars look instantly festive. They’re perfect for gifting or adding to a dessert tray, much like these White Chocolate Raspberry Muffins. Stays Fresh and Chewy: These bars keep their soft, chewy texture for a couple of days in an airtight container. Key Recipe Ingredients Salted Butter – Softened butter adds richness and moisture, helping the bars bake up chewy with lightly crisp edges. Unsalted butter works too; just add a small pinch of extra salt. Large Egg – Binds the ingredients together and gives the bars structure while keeping them soft and tender. Light Brown Sugar – Adds sweetness and a hint of caramel flavor that pairs perfectly with the tart cranberries. Dark brown sugar can be used for a deeper flavor. Pure Vanilla Extract – Brings warmth and enhances the flavor of both the white chocolate and cranberries. All Purpose Flour – Provides the base and structure for the bars, keeping them sturdy yet chewy. White Chocolate Morsels – Melt into creamy pockets throughout the bars and add sweetness to balance the cranberries. I also melt extra morsels for drizzling on top once cooled. Fresh Cranberries – Add bright pops of tart flavor and moisture. If fresh cranberries aren’t available, frozen ones can be used straight from the freezer without thawing. Substitutions And Variations Here are some of our favorite substitutions and variations: Fruit Options: I like using fresh cranberries for their tart pop, but dried cranberries work too if that’s what you have. You can also swap in chopped cherries or raspberries for a different flavor. Chocolate Choices: You can replace the white chocolate with milk or dark chocolate chips for a richer taste. Try mixing two kinds of chocolate for extra depth. Nut Add-Ins: Stir in a handful of chopped pecans, walnuts, or almonds for crunch. Toast them first if you want a deeper flavor. Step-By-Step Recipe Instructions Beat the egg, butter, sugar, and vanilla in a stand mixer until smooth and fully blended. This creates a rich, cohesive base for the bars. Add the flour and baking powder and mix just until combined. Overmixing here can make the bars tough instead of soft. Fold in the white chocolate chips and dried cranberries with a spatula. These add sweetness, texture, and a festive flavor to every bite. Spread the batter into a greased, parchment-lined 8×8 pan and bake at 350°F for 30–33 minutes until golden. This ensures a chewy center with crisp edges. Cool completely, then drizzle melted white chocolate over the top. The drizzle sets into a sweet finish that makes the bars look and taste bakery-worthy. For full list of ingredients and instructions, see recipe card below. How To Prep Ahead Take a look at our best prep-ahead strategies for this recipe: Prep the Batter Early: You can mix the batter a day in advance and keep it covered in the fridge. When ready to bake, let it sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes before spreading it into the pan. Bake and Store: These bars stay chewy and soft for a couple of days. Bake them the night before, let them cool completely, and store in an airtight container at room temperature. Drizzle before serving. These White Chocolate Cranberry Bars are chewy, golden, and full of fresh cranberry flavor. Print White Chocolate Cranberry Bars These White Chocolate Cranberry Bars are extremely chewy and mouthwatering. They are full of fresh cranberries, which balance out the sweetness perfectly. Be sure to give them time to cool completely before digging in. Great for the holiday season! Course DessertCuisine AmericanDiet VegetarianMethod Bake Prep Time 10 minutes minutesCook Time 30 minutes minutesTotal Time 40 minutes minutes Servings 12 Calories 160kcal Author Amy Dong Ingredients¼ cup butter salted, softened to room temperature1 large egg beaten⅔ cups light brown sugar packed1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract¾ cups all purpose flour½ teaspoon baking powder⅛ teaspoon table salt½ cup white chocolate morsels plus 1/2 cup more for drizzling1 cup fresh cranberries InstructionsPreheat oven to 350F with rack on lower middle position. Line the bottom of a 8×8 baking pan with parchment paper and grease both the paper and side of pan.In a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat together the egg, butter, sugar, and vanilla on medium until well incorporated. Add flour and baking powder and mix to combine, but don't overmix. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the white chocolate and cranberries.Transfer batter into greased baking pan, evening the top out. Bake 30-33 minutes or just until top is golden brown and puffy. Don’t overbake.Allow dessert to fully cool to room temp before cutting into bars. Melt 1/2 cup white chocolate chips and drizzle over bars. Bars will keep well at room temp in airtight container for 1-2 days. Notes Use room temperature butter and egg so the batter mixes smoothly and bakes evenly. Don’t overmix once you add the flour. A gentle stir keeps the bars soft and chewy. Fold in the cranberries carefully to avoid crushing them and turning the batter pink. Line the pan with parchment paper for easy removal and clean slicing. Check for doneness at 30 minutes. The top should be golden and slightly puffed, but the center should stay soft. Let the bars cool completely before cutting so they hold their shape. Melt the white chocolate slowly over low heat or in short microwave bursts to prevent seizing. This recipe is part of our Christmas Recipes Collection.   If you enjoyed this recipe, please come back and give it a rating. We hearing from you!  Join our Free Recipe Club and get our newest, best recipes each week! NutritionCalories: 160kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 27mg | Sodium: 89mg | Potassium: 60mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 17g | Vitamin A: 148IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 40mg | Iron: 1mg Frequently Asked Questions What kind of white chocolate works best? White chocolate chips or morsels are easiest to use, but chopped white chocolate bars melt nicely too. Choose a good-quality brand so the drizzle sets smoothly and tastes creamy. Can I use dried cranberries instead of fresh? Yes. Dried cranberries work well if fresh ones aren’t available. The bars will be slightly sweeter and less tart, so you might want to reduce the sugar by a tablespoon if you prefer a more balanced flavor. How long do these bars keep? Store the bars in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days. For longer storage, refrigerate them for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw at room temperature and drizzle with freshly melted white chocolate before serving if desired. More to Bake and Eat Coconut Peanut Butter Cereal Bars – These Crispy Rice Cereal Bars with Peanut Butter are nutritious, protein-packed, crispy-delicious way to fuel the day. Gluten-Free. Raspberry White Chocolate Scones – These Raspberry White Chocolate Scones are bursting with raspberries and white chocolate. They’re ultra-moist and not at all dry! Salted Caramel Cheesecake Bites – These Salted Caramel Cheesecake Bites are dense, creamy, and loaded with our favorite homemade salted caramel sauce. Pumpkin Bars With Cream Cheese Frosting – These Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting are the ultimate fall treat. They’re full of our favorite fall flavors and freeze well too!

These M&M cookie bars are a crowd-pleasing dessert, without scooping dough. They’re deliciously crisp on the edges and have a soft and chewy center. I make these M&M cookie bars when I want a dessert that’s easy to bake and even easier to love. In This Article Amy’s NotesKey Recipe IngredientsSubstitutions And VariationsStep-By-Step Recipe InstructionsHow To Prep AheadM&M Cookie Bars RecipeFrequently Asked QuestionsMore to Bake and Eat View more This post may contain affiliate links, at no additional cost to you. Amy’s Notes I make these M&M Cookie Bars whenever I want a fun, easy dessert that’s guaranteed to make everyone happy. Here’s what makes them special: Chewy and Soft Texture: These bars bake up perfectly chewy in the center with just the right crisp edges. They remind me of the texture I love in these M&M Chocolate Chip Cookies, only even easier to slice and share. No-Fuss Baking: No scooping, no rolling, no chilling. You just press the dough into the pan and bake. Colorful and Customizable: You can switch up the M&M colors for any holiday or celebration – red and green for Christmas, pastels for Easter, or bright rainbow for birthdays. Buttery, Sweet Flavor: The melted butter and brown sugar give these bars that deep, rich cookie flavor that’s hard to beat, just like these M&M Cookies. Perfect for Sharing: These bars slice cleanly and travel well, making them ideal for bake sales, parties, or neighbor gifts. Key Recipe Ingredients All-Purpose Flour – Provides structure and helps the bars hold their shape while staying soft and chewy. Salted Butter – Adds rich flavor and moisture. If using unsalted butter, add an extra pinch of salt. Light Brown Sugar – Brings a deep caramel sweetness and helps create that chewy texture. Granulated Sugar – Adds crispness around the edges and balances the brown sugar’s richness. Egg – Binds the ingredients together and provides structure. Pure Vanilla Extract – Rounds out the flavor with a warm, sweet note. M&M Candies – Give color, crunch, and chocolatey pops in every bite. Use seasonal colors to match any occasion. Substitutions And Variations Here are some of our favorite substitutions and variations: Chocolate Mix-Ins: I like to swap out half the M&M’s for chocolate chips or chunks when I want extra gooey bites. You can also use peanut butter chips or white chocolate for a fun change. Add Nuts: Try adding a handful of chopped pecans or walnuts for a little crunch and nuttiness. They pair perfectly with the buttery dough. Step-By-Step Recipe Instructions Whisk together flour, salt, and baking soda in a medium bowl and set aside. In a separate bowl, stir melted butter with brown and white sugars. Mix in the egg, yolk, and vanilla until smooth. Fold dry mixture into wet just until combined. Stir in 1 cup M&Ms, reserving the rest for topping. Press dough into a greased and lined 9×13 pan. Top with remaining M&Ms and bake at 325°F for 25–28 minutes. Let cool before slicing. For full list of ingredients and instructions, see recipe card below. How To Prep Ahead Take a look at our best prep-ahead strategies for this recipe: Prep the Dough Early: You can mix the dough up to two days in advance. Cover it tightly and keep it in the fridge until you’re ready to bake. Let it sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes before pressing it into the pan. Make Entirely Ahead: These bars stay soft and chewy for several days. Bake them a day or two ahead, let them cool completely, and store them in an airtight container at room temperature. They’ll taste just as fresh when you serve them. These M&M cookie bars are everything I love about cookies without all the scooping and waiting on batches. Print M&M Cookie Bars These Chewy M&M Cookie Bars are the chewiest, happiest cookie bars you'll ever sink your teeth into! They'll stay chewy for days and freeze well. Course DessertCuisine AmericanDiet VegetarianMethod baking Prep Time 15 minutes minutesCook Time 25 minutes minutes Servings 20 Calories 257kcal Author Amy Dong Ingredients2 ¼ cups all purpose flour½ teaspoon table salt½ teaspoon baking soda12 tablespoons salted butter melted and cooled to lukewarm1 cup light brown sugar packed½ cup granulated sugar1 large egg room temp1 large egg yolk room temp1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract1 ½ cups M&M candies colors of your choice InstructionsPreheat oven to 325F with rack on lower middle position. Line a 9×13 baking pan with foil, with enough overhang on either side to make a sling (for ease of removal after baking.) Grease foil and set aside.In a bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking soda.In another bowl, stir together the melted butter and both sugars. Stir in the egg and extra egg yolk. Stir in vanilla extract.Using a rubber spatula, fold together the dry mixture into the wet mixture, just until incorporated. Do no overmix. Fold in 1 cup of the M&M’s. Reserve the rest for pressing on top.Using slightly wet fingers, press dough into an even layer in the greased and foiled pan, making sure to get an even thickness throughout. Press remaining M&M’s on top of dough.Bake 25-28 minutes or just until it’s puffy and golden brown. It may seem a bit underbaked, but go ahead and take it out. It will set nicely upon cooling.Let cool completely at room temp before removing with the foil sling. Remove entire dessert with the foil sling and place on a cutting board. Cut into squares. Leftovers will keep for days at room temp in an airtight container. Notes Cool the melted butter before mixing. If it’s too hot, it can scramble the eggs or make the dough greasy. Use room temperature eggs. They blend more smoothly into the batter and help create a uniform texture. Don’t overmix the dough. Stir just until the flour disappears to keep the bars soft and chewy. Press the dough evenly into the pan. This ensures the bars bake uniformly without thin, crispy edges. Reserve some M&M’s for the top. Pressing them in before baking gives the bars a bright, bakery-style look. Watch the bake time closely. Pull them out when the edges are golden and the center looks slightly underdone – they’ll firm up as they cool. Let the bars cool completely before cutting. This helps them set and makes cleaner slices. This recipe is part of our Dessert Bar Recipes Collection.   If you enjoyed this recipe, please come back and give it a rating. We hearing from you!  Join our Free Recipe Club and get our newest, best recipes each week! NutritionCalories: 257kcal | Carbohydrates: 37.7g | Protein: 2.7g | Fat: 10.8g | Saturated Fat: 6.5g | Cholesterol: 39mg | Sodium: 107.4mg | Fiber: 0.8g | Sugar: 25.7g Frequently Asked Questions Why do my bars look underbaked when I take them out? That’s actually how they should look. The bars will continue to set as they cool, giving you that soft, chewy texture. Taking them out too late can make them dry instead of tender. Do I need to chill the dough before baking? No chilling is needed for this recipe. The melted butter helps the dough come together quickly, and it bakes perfectly chewy without any extra waiting time. Can I make these in a smaller pan? You can bake them in an 8×8-inch pan for thicker bars, but you’ll need to increase the baking time slightly. Keep an eye on the color and pull them out when the top is golden and the edges are set. How long do they keep? Store the bars in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3–4 days. You can also freeze them for up to a month. Thaw at room temperature or warm briefly in the microwave before serving. More to Bake and Eat Double Chocolate M&M Cookies – These Double Chocolate M&M Cookies are chewy, soft, and they stay that way for a long time! A sure hit at any gathering. Monster Cookies – These Monster Cookies are soft, chewy, and gloriously thick. They’re packed with oats, peanut butter, chocolate chips, and M&Ms. Carmelita Bars – These Carmelita Bars are out of this world. They’re loaded with oats, gooey with caramel, and irresistible with chocolate. Triple Chocolate Chip Cookies – These Triple Chocolate Chip Cookies are a union between chewy brownies and chocolatey cookies.

Aerosmith have been the stars of Disney's Rock 'n' Roller Coaster since 1999