Bran Muffins

I worked at Black Butte Ranch one summer as a Batista. One of the many items we offered there was bran muffins. These things were the nastiest, most dry, flavorless muffin I had ever had. Recently our household has been in need of a good recipe for bran muffins and my aunt happens to have an excellent one. So, in an effort to rid the world of tasteless bran muffins, I'm offering her recipe to you.

Lazy Day Muffins
2 cups whole bran cereal
2 cups boiling water
4 1/2 cups all purpose flour
4 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
5 cups bran flakes ( or raisin bran)
1 cup vegetable oil or melted vegetable shortening
3 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 quart buttermilk
1 teaspoon salt

Pour the boiling water over the whole bran and set aside.
Sift the flour with the baking soda and salt and add the bran flakes.

In a large bowl mix sugar with the vegetable oil. Beat the eggs in a separate bowl and stir into the sugar-oil mixture. Gradually stir in the buttermilk. Add the bran-water mixture and stir to blend. Gradually add the flour and bran flakes stirring until smooth.

Fill as many greased muffin tins as desired 2/3 full and bake in a 400 degree oven for about 20 minutes. Remove from pans immediately

A side note, don't double the batch unless you have a really large bowl. This made about 36 nice sized muffins. And they are really good!