In 1-quart saucepan, mix syrup ingredients; heat to boiling. Remove from heat; cool 10 minutes. Discard whole cloves.
Meanwhile, in food processor bowl with metal blade, place nut filling ingredients. Cover; process with on-and-off pulses until finely chopped. Set aside.
In the bowl of the food processor (can use the same bowl/blade from nut mixture), add flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Pulse to combine.
Add the cream cheese and butter and pulse until mixture is a coarse meal. Remove from food processor and place in a large bowl.
Add buttermilk and mix with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon until a dough starts to form.
Dump dough onto a clean, lightly floured counter and work into a ball. Roll dough with a floured rolling pin to ¼-inch thickness and cut out biscuits with a 3-inch biscuit cutter. Reroll dough as needed to get 24 biscuits.
Place 1 biscuit in the bottom of each of the 8 muffins tin cups. Brush dough with syrup; top with 1 ½ tsp. nut filling and drizzle with 1 ½ tsp. syrup. Place second biscuit layer on top; press edge of second biscuit into side of bottom biscuit. Brush with syrup; top with 1 ½ tsp. nut filling and drizzle with 1 ½ tsp. syrup. Top with third biscuit layer. Brush with syrup; sprinkle with 1 tsp. nut filling. Reserve remaining syrup.
Bake 18-22 minutes or until deep golden brown. Cool 1 minutes. Remove from pan. Serve warm with remaining syrup.
To make ahead, prepare as directed through step 8; cover and refrigerate overnight. Bake as directed. Reheat reserved syrup in microwave on High 30 to 60 seconds until hot.
Nutrition
Serving size
(1 muffin)
Calories 370
Calories from Fat150g
Total Fat 17g
Saturated Fat 2g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0g
Monounsaturated Fat 0g
Cholesterol 0mg
Sodium 570mg
Potassium 0mg
Total Carbohydrates 52g
Dietary Fiber 2g
Sugars 31g
Protein 6g
Vitamin A 0%
Vitamin C 0%
Vitamin D 0%
Calcium 0%
Thiamin 0%
Niacin 0%
Zinc 0%
Riboflavin 0%
Iron 0%
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet