Preheat the oven to 350 and grease 24 muffin cups with nonstick cooking spray.
Add 3/4 cups of the walnuts to a food processor or blender with 1/2 cup of the flour. Process until a nut flour forms.
In a bowl, sift together the other 2 cups of flour, the "nut flour", the sugar, baking powder, and salt. Create a little well in the middle and add the beaten eggs, melted butter or margarine, milk and syrup. Stir for about 1 minute, or until smooth-ish but slightly lumpy batter forms.
Coarsely chop the remaining walnuts and gently fold into the batter. Pour the batter into the greased muffin cups.
Bake for 18-22 minutes, or until begin to golden on the edges and center has cooked through. Let cool for about 10 minutes on a wire rack, then remove the muffins from the pan. Serve warm with butter.
(This can also be baked in a loaf pan for 50-55 minutes. Let cool completely before slicing.)