Bran Name Only

Well, it's great to be back home. Our cruise was lots of fun. I finally got new batteries for the camera, so I can start taking pictures again. I was going to make this recipe a couple of weeks ago but, I ran out of time. A quiet Sunday afternoon and a couple of football games made this a good time to make these muffins. This is from my Aunt Marian. She lived in Cheyenne, Wyoming and was the wife of my Mom's brother, Uncle Francis McCormick. She knew more about Cheyenne history than any tour guide I ever met.
I'm still not a fan of baking. I had to get some guidance from Carol. The original recipe below is a little confusing. I added some notes in red to clarify.
BRAN MUFFINS

1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup Crisco
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups unsifted flour
2 1/2 tsp soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups buttermilk
1 cup boiling water
1 cup "100% Bran" cereal(This is the cereal that looks like gerbil food)
2 cups "All-Bran" cereal(These are the bran flakes)
Thoroughly cream together sugar and shortening. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add flour, soda, salt and buttermilk, mixing until smooth. Meanwhile, pour boiling water over "100% Bran"; let stand until cereal has absorbed water and has cooled slightly. Blend this mixture into batter. Add "All-Bran", mixing thoroughly. Use immediately, or refrigerate batter covered up to five weeks. When ready to use, dip batter (without stirring) into 2 1/2 inch paper cups in a muffin tin. Bake in oven preheated to 400 degrees about 20 minutes or until done.(More like 25 minutes) Makes 3 dozen muffins. Recipe may be doubled.