Mini muffins done up as doughnuts

In a perfect world, all Thursdays would commence with a trio of diminutive donut muffins from the Party Girls. After logging years of catering, owners Marcia Herman, Cindy Hurley and Buffy Oesterreich decided "to take it to the next level," said Hurley. Now they're gathering in her large Prior Lake kitchen each week to bake all manner of tempting treats, then hawking them to grateful shoppers at the Minneapolis Farmers Market's Nicollet Mall outpost.

Those "donuts," which have the moist and tender consistency of a fried cake doughnut, minus the calorie-killing trip to the deep fryer, are finished, the way all mini-muffins should be, with a cinnamon-sugar dusting. It's easy for three of them ($1.50, a major bargain) to disappear before you've really noticed that you're not exactly consuming egg whites and dry toast for breakfast.

The fruit-packed, plus-sized muffins (rhubarb, blueberry, raspberry, all $2.50) are exceptionally good, and the crisp-on-the-outside, tender-on-the-inside cookies ($1) are made with obvious care and plenty of butter. There are savory items, too, including a golden calzone liberally stuffed with pepperoni and lively marinara sauce, and expertly made spanakopita (each $4).

Not many farmers market vendors display their wares on ritzy French white porcelain tableware, but there's a reason behind the stand's put-together looks: Herman, Hurley and Oesterreich are also colleagues at Williams-Sonoma in the Galleria, and they obviously know how to make the most of their generous employee discount.