If your cookie routine revolves around chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin and the occasional shortbread, it's time to expand your horizons. Aomeisi (澳美思) 功夫桃酥 Kung Fu Tao Su Crispy Cookies are a traditional Chinese treat with a texture and flavour profile unlike anything in the standard cookie aisle. Here's what to know about this classic, and why it deserves a spot in your pantry.
What is 桃酥 (tao su)?
桃酥 (táo sū) is a traditional Chinese walnut shortbread with a history spanning centuries. It's made simply, with flour, butter or oil, sugar and walnuts, and baked until golden and crumbly. That melt-in-the-mouth texture is its whole identity, and it's what sets 桃酥 apart from Western-style cookies. It's a staple of Chinese bakeries and a classic gift during festivals, particularly Chinese New Year, where it's served to visitors as a symbol of happiness and good fortune. In Cantonese you'll hear it called hup toh soh (合桃酥).
Aomeisi's version is 功夫桃酥, or Kung Fu Tao Su. The "kung fu" isn't a gimmick: the phrase carries the sense of skill earned through practice, which is a fair description of what it takes to get this crumb right.
What makes 桃酥 different from everyday cookies?
You might be thinking: I've had shortbread before, what's the big deal? Fair question.
The texture is crumbly, not chewy. Western cookies tend to be soft and chewy like a chocolate chip, or crisp and snappy like a ginger snap. 桃酥 occupies a third category: delicately short and crumbly, with a sandy bite that dissolves on your tongue. Fair warning, it's famously messy in the best possible way.
The flavour is toasted, not sugary. 桃酥 is lightly sweet, with a deep roasted aroma and an earthy, nutty richness from the walnuts. Walnuts are the star here, present in every bite, and the balanced sweetness lets them and the butter come forward instead of burying them. It's the kind of cookie you can eat several of without feeling like you've overdone it.
The richness comes from real butter. That warm, rounded richness is a big part of why 桃酥 tastes the way it does, and it's what makes the toasted walnut read as savoury-sweet rather than dessert-sweet.
It's a snack, not a dessert. In China, 桃酥 is eaten at any hour: a mid-afternoon pick-me-up, a commuting snack, a companion to tea. The 360g pack is built for sharing, so it suits a household as easily as a desk drawer.
Five ways to enjoy it
No special equipment or hard-to-find ingredients required here, just a little curiosity.
Straight from the pack
The most authentic way to start. These are designed to be eaten as-is, and the crumbly texture and toasted walnut flavour shine without adornment. Keep a napkin handy.
With tea or coffee
Because 桃酥 is lightly sweet with a subtle toasted note, it's an ideal companion for hot drinks. Oolong, pu-erh and jasmine tea are the classic Chinese pairings, cutting through the richness while complementing the nuttiness. Black coffee works well too, and if you don't have Chinese tea on hand, a mug of English breakfast or a glass of cold milk does the job.
Crumbled over ice cream or yogurt
For a five-second dessert upgrade, crush a few over vanilla or coconut ice cream. The contrast between the cold, creamy base and the crumbly toasted cookie is simple and genuinely satisfying. You can also layer crushed cookies with fresh fruit and yogurt for a quick parfait.
Dipped in chocolate
Melt whatever chocolate you have, dark, milk or white, dip the cookies halfway, and let them set on parchment in the fridge. Chocolate and toasted walnut is a natural pairing, and the whole thing takes about five minutes.
Paired with fresh fruit
Strawberries, sliced bananas or mandarin segments alongside a few cookies make a light, balanced snack. The fruit's acidity cuts the richness of the butter and walnut.
The bottom line
Aomeisi 功夫桃酥 is a direct line to one of China's most enduring traditional snacks: crumbly, toasted, subtly sweet and endlessly pairable, whether you're dunking it in tea, crumbling it over ice cream or eating it by the handful on your commute. It also makes a genuinely thoughtful gift, and a good entry point if you're introducing someone to Chinese baking for the first time.
Ready to try it? Pick up a pack of Aomeisi 功夫桃酥 Kung Fu Tao Su Crispy Cookies. And if you'd rather have the Hong Kong street snack version of nostalgia, Aomeisi's 雞蛋仔 egg cookies are the other bag worth knowing.
Contains wheat, eggs and tree nuts (walnuts). Please check the actual package for full ingredient and allergen information before consuming.