Favorite Bran Muffins

I make these constantly - bake them all and freeze them so I can have them whenever. They are from Jane Brody's Good Food Book - my favorite ever cookbook

YIELD: 24 muffins

INGREDIENTS
3 cups shredded bran cereal (e.g. All-Bran, 100% Bran, etc.)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup raisins (I use chocolate chips and chopped pecans - stir them in at the end)
1 cup boiling water
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups buttermilk (or milk and a few TBS lemon juice)
1/4 cup molasses
2 1/4 cups whole-wheat flour 4 teaspoons sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

PREPARATION
1. In a large bowl, combine the cereal, oil, and raisins, and pour the boiling water over them. Set the mixture aside to cool slightly.
2. In a small bowl, combine the eggs, buttermilk, and molasses. Add this to the partly cooled cereal mixture.
3. In another small bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Add the flour mixture to the cereal mixture, stirring just enough to moisten the dry ingredients. Cover the batter with plastic wrap, wax paper, or a damp towel, and let it stand for at least 15 minutes, preferably for 1 hour.
4. Preheat the oven to 400. Grease 24 muffin cups, and divide the batter among them filling each cup about three-fourths full. Bake the muffins for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove the muffins from the oven, and, when they are slightly cooled, take them out of the tin and place them on a rack to cool completely.